The Draft of the new PAS 63100 standard for protection against fire of battery energy storage systems for use in dwellings is now available for public comment on BSI’s Standards Development web-site.
The public commenting period commences 26 June 2023, and on closes on 24 July 2023.
This topic is directly related to domestic storage installations accordance with BS 7671 and the IET Code of Practice for Electrical Energy Storage Systems.
I've not read it in any detail yet but, since this is a new standard, is there some form of commentary providing justification for the various requirements?
Worth having a look. There is some info on the need and source of certain information.
You will not (as with any standard) get a complete justification for any individual requirement. But there is some commentary on the key lines of thought.
Are you aware of a commercial / industrial equivalent in the offing?
No, and thinking about it, it would be quite complex to provide a standardized approach given the variety of different types of premises and applications (from small "domestic-size" systems up to grid-scale size systems). Such premises have a Fire Safety Risk Assessment, and the guidance (IET Code of Practice for Electrical Energy Storage Systems) points to that as the starting point.
It's not something an electrical designer alone can tackle really?
As above, some insurance companies may not agree.
I have never yet seen an insurance policy that specifies where you are allowed to put batteries.
I have never yet seen an insurance policy that specifies where you are allowed to put batteries.
Perhaps let's not tempt fate, especially where certain lithium battery chemistries go. - it's becoming a popular thing to talk about ... along with EV and Solar PV. There is definitely insurance-sector guidance on these subjects, and some insurance companies have their own.
In my experience, perhaps best not to ask!
Well if you insure a battery powered boat with Zurich they have advice for you ;-)
www.zurich.co.uk/.../51116nglithiumbatterychargingguidance2023.pdf
I suspect it will not be long before similar guidance appears for houses, and then the rise and fall of premiums or excess damages for those that do or do not follow it.
Mike.
Two interesting comments from the Zürich document:
The operation is temperature sensitive so installation of Lithium Batteries in an attic may not be a good idea.
Should a battery or charging failure arise then the battery is to be separated from the vessel! I assume that this means throw it over the side.
I suspect that the only layout which will satisfy the insurance companies will be a detached building of fire and explosive resistant construction with a built-in and monitored fire detection system.
What is the lifespan of a lithium storage battery? How many times can it be charged and discharged before becoming life-expired?
Am guessing that these set-ups will be in lieu of building more nuclear generation insomuch that the grid will suck energy out of your battery storage and then sell it back to you at times of high demand. How many times can this be accomplished before your very expensive battery pack will become life-expired? Similarly, people are getting very cagey about their EVs being hooked up to the grid because of the accelerated 'wear' on their batteries. I wonder how much this will affect the 2nd hand prices of EVs? Given that the battery is the most expensive component?
Should a battery or charging failure arise then the battery is to be separated from the vessel!
That idea might work for installations in rougher blocks of flats too... the kind where broken fridges etc accumulate at ground level. In a building I'd like to think that compartmentalization / containment is preferred.
Mike
The batteries are usually rated for around 10 years. As they get older, they will lose capacity, in the same way as EV batteries.
How/when they get charged and discharged depends on how they are installed. Mine is connected to the solar inverter. It gets charged only from the solar panels, and is discharged only when I need the power. The grid doesn't get any say in that. At this time of year, I may still have up to 50% charge in the battery when I go to bed. That's good for me - less charging and discharging means less wear on the battery. Of course, winter is another matter.
It's possible to have AC coupled batteries without solar. They charge on cheap overnight electricity, that can be used during the day. Electricity companies have dabbled with schemes that allow them to suck the power out of a battery, but it requires the right software installed on the inverter. Otherwise, the inverter is designed to try to match the house load, and no more.
Personally, I have no interest in V2G (vehicle to grid) when I do get an EV. If I've charged the car, I want to to stay charged for when I need it. Vehicle to load (V2L) is another matter. That's a useful feature that many EVs have now.
Should a battery or charging failure arise then the battery is to be separated from the vessel! I assume that this means throw it over the side.
(Sorry, Dutch news article, so those who don't speak Dutch will need to view it in a browser with translate facility).
I believe that kind of emergency response is coming to (or already in) UK.
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