Rooms and storage · Service rooms, kitchen and pantry · rooms-5

Fit out the battery and inverter room

This room holds the batteries, inverter, charge controllers and switchgear. Its size, location, ventilation and fire safety are set in the power and safety modules; this step covers the furniture and fit-out.

How

Follow power-16 for location, ventilation and code limits and safety-8 for fire safety. Do not store anything else in this room.
Never put batteries in bedrooms or living space; power-26 and power-27 cover ventilation, gas venting, detection and the fire response.
Use non-combustible wall linings and a non-combustible floor, and mount equipment on the wall or on manufacturer-approved racks, not on timber shelving.
Keep the clear working space in front of equipment that the code and maker require (power-16). Nothing may be stored in that space.
Put a wall-mounted wiring diagram, the isolation sequence and the battery monitor display at eye height by the door.
Fit a smoke alarm in the room and keep a suitable extinguisher outside the door (safety-9, safety-12).
Know the warning sign of venting gas: white or grey gas leaking out and forming low clouds near the ground. Do not open the room or go in. Get everyone out and call the fire service (power-26, power-27).
The US Fire Administration warns that batteries can go into thermal runaway without any fire, and that the timing and severity of a battery gas explosion are unpredictable.
Provide a battery-backed light and a hook for a head torch by the door so you can work during a fault at night.

Safety: Batteries can release flammable gas or go into thermal runaway, even without fire. If you see white or grey vapour, do not enter: evacuate and call the fire service. Follow power-16 and safety-8 exactly.

Do these first

Sources

Smoke Alarms. US Fire Administration (FEMA), accessed 2026-11
Responding to fires that include energy storage systems are a new and evolving hazard. US Fire Administration (FEMA), accessed 2026-11

Open in the interactive guide