Fire protection distance between energy storage container and building

What are the fire and building codes for energy storage systems?

However, many designers and installers, especially those new to energy storage systems, are unfamiliar with the fire and building codes pertaining to battery installations. Another code-making body is the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Some states adopt the NFPA 1 Fire Code rather than the IFC.

What is the minimum horizontal safety distance between combustible objects and buildings?

A range of horizontal safety distances can be established for different categories of fire objects and structures outside buildings. 5.2 Minimum horizontal safety distance The minimum horizontal safety distance between combustible objects and buildings is 2,5m. This is the horizontal safety distance for, for example, point sources of flames.

Do energy storage systems need active fire protection?

To date there is no publicly available test data that confirms the effectiveness of any active fire protection for energy storage systems. Automatic sprinkler protection is recommended to limit fire spread to the surrounding structure, equipment, and building contents.

Are battery energy storage systems safe?

Owners of energy storage need to be sure that they can deploy systems safely. Over a recent 18-month period ending in early 2020, over two dozen large-scale battery energy storage sites around the world had experienced failures that resulted in destructive fires. In total, more than 180 MWh were involved in the fires.

What are the energy storage operational safety guidelines?

In addition to NYSERDA’s BESS Guidebook, ESA issued the U.S. Energy Storage Operational Safety Guidelines in December 2019 to provide the BESS industry with a guide to current codes and standards applicable to BESS and provide additional guidelines to plan for and mitigate potential operational hazards.

What is an energy storage roadmap?

This roadmap provides necessary information to support owners, opera-tors, and developers of energy storage in proactively designing, building, operating, and maintaining these systems to minimize fire risk and ensure the safety of the public, operators, and environment.