Household Energy Storage System Standards

This guide is designed specifically for homeowners with single-family or two-family homes interested in installing energy storage systems.

Energy storage systems can pose a potential fire risk and therefore shouldn't be installed in certain areas of the home. NFPA 855 only permits residential ESS to be installed in the following areas:

An energy storage system is something that can store energy so that it can be used later as electrical energy. The most popular type of ESS is a battery system and the most common battery system is lithium-ion battery.

ESS are often installed in homes to supplement solar panels, but they can also be used to offset the price of electricity by charging when electricity is cheap and discharging when it is more expensive. Size limitations The residential chapter of NFPA 855 addresses the installation of residential ESS units between 1kwh and 20 kwh.

Systems in these locations are also limited to 40 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of storage capacity. In all other locations noted above, the size limit is 80 kWh. On the exterior walls of the home, it's important to note that systems cannot go within 3 feet of doors or windows leading directly into the home.

In all other locations noted above, the size limit is 80 kWh. On the exterior walls of the home, it's important to note that systems cannot go within 3 feet of doors or windows leading directly into the home. And as we will soon discuss, code compliance for ESS in an attached garage can be much more complicated than systems in a detached garage.