{"id":63344,"date":"2022-10-24T11:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T00:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=63344"},"modified":"2024-10-01T12:56:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T03:26:56","slug":"battery-installation-locations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/battery-installation-locations\/","title":{"rendered":"Thinking About A Home Battery? Better Think About Where."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Choosing<\/p>\n

The Australian Standard for home battery installations is quite strict about where solar batteries can and can’t go.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The best place to install a home battery<\/a> or two is usually in a cool garage1<\/a><\/sup>, behind bollards where necessary.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla

Installation: Goliath Solar & Electrical<\/p><\/div>\n

But where else<\/em> can batteries go?<\/p>\n

To be honest, that is a question that plagues<\/em> a lot of installers. Around the side of the house might seem ideal, near the switchboard, but often it’s not – particularly if that puts your battery in the hot afternoon sun.<\/p>\n

\"Tesla

In the blazing afternoon sun, right next to the hot breeze coming from the air conditioning unit, is such a hellish place it probably voids the warranty.<\/p><\/div>\n

Back in the days when lithium-ion home batteries were brand new, and the Tesla Powerwall<\/a> still had some curves like a plump toddler, the electrical industry waited with trepidation for Australian Standard AS51392<\/a><\/sup>, which would mandate where home batteries could be installed.<\/p>\n

Rumour had it that the standard would force all new batteries inside a proverbial brick shithouse. But thankfully, the idea of a freestanding fireproof kiosk wasn\u2019t mandated. It would have made things very expensive and electrical connections very difficult.<\/p>\n

The new rules have been out for a while now, and the industry has had time to interpret them, so I\u2019ll outline the main points to consider so your home battery location complies.<\/p>\n

I’m Talking About Lithium-Ion Batteries<\/h2>\n

The standards were originally created to ensure lead-acid batteries did not accumulate explosive hydrogen gas in a building. Lead-acid energy storage is still in use, primarily to power off-grid homes. But their only advantage – a lower upfront cost – is gone now. Vale lead-acid. The scrap man will miss you.<\/p>\n

\"Lead-acid\"

This is what a ton of lead looks like as nominal 2-volt cells in series.<\/p><\/div>\n

These days, it\u2019s (almost) all about lithium chemistry batteries. They\u2019re smaller, lighter and have far better electrical performance. It seems the only downside is we are still working out how to recycle them as well as we do lead-acid, and lithium-ion is just a bit more spectacular in the unlikely event of thermal runaway.<\/p>\n

Forbidden Home Battery Locations<\/h2>\n

There are lots of places your battery cannot go. To cite the rules almost verbatim, restricted locations include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. within 600mm of any exit<\/li>\n
  2. within 600mm of any vertical side of a window, or any building ventilation, opening into a habitable room<\/li>\n
  3. within 600mm of any appliance<\/li>\n
  4. within 900mm below any opening into a habitable room, vent or appliance<\/li>\n
  5. in ceiling spaces<\/li>\n
  6. in wall cavities<\/li>\n
  7. on roofs (except where specifically deemed suitable)<\/li>\n
  8. under stairways (with or without naughty children)<\/li>\n
  9. under access walkways<\/li>\n
  10. in an evacuation route or escape route.<\/li>\n
  11. blocking access to a switchboard (see AS 3000)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"Air

    You can’t access the switchboard when the ‘fridge mechanics put an air-conditioner unit in front of it. Just how do we get to the inverter or even open these meter boxes?<\/p><\/div>\n

    Garage Doors: A Silly Rule<\/h2>\n

    Below is a classic example of standards gone a little batty. The rule states that a battery shall not<\/strong> be installed within 600mm of any exit to a building envelope, including<\/b> garage doors.<\/b><\/p>\n

    So while you can\u2019t put a battery next to a personal access door that\u2019s 0.75 metres wide, the same rule applies to a double garage door\u2026 at 5.4 metres wide. I think we can all make our minds up about that one.<\/p>\n

    \"Solar

    Somebody at the CEC has a sense of humour – they specifically enlarged the most ridiculous part (while also putting the \u201calfresco\u201d inside the building).\u00a0 Interestingly, the requirement to have protection that stops you crashing your car into the battery seems to have escaped this drawing. The industry go-to is a yellow bollard bolted to the garage floor.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Fire-Rated Barriers & Habitable Rooms<\/h2>\n

    Because some people don\u2019t even know when their arse is on fire<\/a>, \u00a0the standards dictate your battery\u00a0must be on\u00a0a fire-rated surface – but only if there is a habitable room behind the wall.<\/p>\n

    Cement sheet weatherboards, plastic joining strips, vents, and expansion joints in brick walls often mean your wall isn’t deemed a fire-rated barrier. 300mm of space away from the wall can solve these problems entirely.<\/p>\n

    Note:<\/strong> A common misinterpretation of AS5139 is all batteries must be installed on a fire-rated barrier, regardless of the proximity of habitable rooms. This is not correct.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Associated Equipment Can Be in The Battery Exclusion Zone<\/h2>\n

    As you can see, the exclusion zone is pretty big.<\/p>\n

    \"Battery

    Image Credit: CEC – as if you don’t already know, thanks to the GIANT WATERMARKS<\/p><\/div>\n

    This is a large area to exclude any other appliances from. Luckily, ‘associated equipment’ such as a solar inverter<\/a> can be inside this zone.<\/p>\n

    \"Tesla

    Installation: Lightning Solar & Electrical Melbourne<\/p><\/div>\n

    Battery Form Factors<\/h2>\n

    Some batteries are just a big single lump, like a SolarEdge Home Battery<\/a>. Others are a bloody huge lump, like the 236 kg Z-Cell flow battery. I can tell you first-hand that when one of those behemoths is expected to go on a 1.2 m high shelf inside a cupboard on the tiled verandah of a heritage house, ‘difficult’ is putting it politely.<\/p>\n

    Modular Batteries<\/h3>\n

    Other batteries come in neat little blocks that nest together (Sungrow<\/a> and BYD<\/a> should be applauded here):<\/p>\n

    \"sungrow

    Sungrow make good modular batteries.<\/p><\/div>\n

    Rack Mount Batteries<\/h3>\n

    Others come in slabs that fit into a standard computer server rack (Pylontech<\/a> and Australian-made PowerPlus<\/a> for example):<\/p>\n

    \"pylontech

    Pylontech batteries can be rack-mounted.<\/p><\/div>\n

    These are pretty easy to handle and allow you to grow capacity incrementally with your use or budget. But if you wait over a year to expand, you risk the battery model becoming obsolete, so be careful.<\/p>\n

    All-In-One Batteries<\/h3>\n

    All-in-one batteries have the battery inverter or hybrid inverter<\/a> in the same box as the battery. They hook up like any hard-wired appliance, so there can be some simplification in the wiring.<\/p>\n

    \"Senec

    All-in-one batteries can simplify wiring. Senec installed by JCW Electrical<\/p><\/div>\n

    Connections<\/h2>\n

    Where your battery goes will affect the length of cable runs for power and communications. Long and difficult cable runs can significantly add to the difficulty and cost of the battery installation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Power<\/h3>\n

    If your battery is DC-coupled, it must be pretty well adjacent to the inverter controlling it.<\/p>\n

    \"SolarEdge

    This DC-coupled battery is right next to its hybrid inverter. Installation: SEM Group<\/p><\/div>\n

    If your battery is AC-coupled<\/a>, you have more flexibility with location. The inverter can be some distance away. This is good news if you have microinverters<\/a>, which are obviously, on the roof.<\/p>\n

    Communications<\/h3>\n

    Many batteries or their accompanying inverter need a solid internet connection for commissioning, monitoring, warranty and\/or network approval or control.<\/p>\n

    A wired internet connection is best because it is immune to Wi-Fi password changes and weak wireless signals.<\/p>\n

    All of these battery systems also need a consumption meter to monitor comings and goings from the grid. This communication link usually needs to get to your switchboard. Some consumption monitors offer a wireless link, but again, wired is more robust and preferred by every installer I’ve ever met.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    \"corroded

    This LG was left out in the weather and is a disgusting mess considering how much it cost.<\/p><\/div>\n

    The Ideal Location<\/h2>\n

    When choosing where your battery will go, it must:<\/p>\n