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Fire and safety · Design out fire and fuel hazards · safety-8

Agree battery room and electrical fire safety with the power design

Battery banks, inverters and solar wiring can start fires if badly installed. The power module owns the detail (power-16, power-26, power-27); this step checks that fire safety is built into it.

How

  1. Choose battery systems certified to recognised safety standards. Examples: NFPA 855 and UL 9540 (US), IEC 62619 for lithium batteries (international), AS/NZS 5139 for installations (Australia and New Zealand).
  2. Never put batteries in a bedroom, a closet off a bedroom or living space. Use a location your code allows, where firefighters can reach it (power-16).
  3. Plan for venting gas: a failing lithium battery can release white or grey battery gas with no flames, and its explosion timing is unpredictable (power-26).
  4. In flood-prone sites, mount batteries high or in a waterproof enclosure.
  5. Fit a smoke alarm, or a heat detector in a garage, in the battery and inverter space, linked to the house alarms (power-27).
  6. Agree the response: if a battery smokes, vents or burns, get out, close doors and call the fire service. Hand extinguishers will not stop it (safety-12).
  7. Label the battery type and shutdown points clearly, and tell your local fire service the system exists.
  8. Ask the power designer about arc fault protection, rapid shutdown and surge protection (power-18, power-19).
  9. Book a yearly inspection for corrosion, damage or leaks.

Safety: Never work on battery or DC solar wiring yourself unless you are qualified. DC arcs and battery short circuits can cause severe burns and fires.

Do these first

Sources

  1. Residential Lithium Ion Battery Storage Fire Safety. Clean Energy Group, accessed 2026-11
  2. IEC 62619 (ed. 1 2017, replaced by ed. 2 2022): Safety requirements for secondary lithium cells and batteries for industrial applications, including stationary. International Electrotechnical Commission (listing via Genorma), accessed 2026-11
  3. Changes to the battery standard (AS/NZS 5139:2019 Amendment 1, December 2025). NSW Government, Building Commission NSW (Australia), accessed 2026-11
  4. Responding to Fires that Include Energy Storage Systems Using Lithium-ion Battery Technology are a New and Evolving Hazard. US Fire Administration (FEMA), accessed 2026-11
  5. Residential Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). Fire and Rescue NSW (Australia), accessed 2026-11

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