Is a BAN on Home Batteries in Lofts Coming? 

I am a firefighter. When faced with the decision on where to install my set up the loft was the logical solution. No outside space was appropriate and utility room directly under stairs so in the event of a fire that'd compromise primary means of escape. Batteries and Inverter are on a block wall on the opposite side to my neighbours house. Also they're LFP batteries. Like everything it's a risk v benefit situation. There's also a hard wired linked smoke alarm system in the attic which is well ventilated. I'd be more worried about my kitchen and laundry appliances to be honest

Look at this way , we didn't ban the use of gas appliances within the home, we developed ways to manage the risk to an acceptable level. Gas explosions still happen now and then , almost always because regulations and maintenance were ignored, but we continue to accept the small residual risk for the benefit of using gas as a domestic fuel.

Personally I believe it to be a sound decision. Lofts are also the worst place for inverters, way too hot in summer. As an industrial electrician for 40 years I can tell you nothing kills inverters faster than heat. Battery enclosures are available for outside fitting and hopefully these will be improved following this decision. High power batteries have no place in an un occupied very dry mainly flammable location that could well have an ambient temp of 40 deg plus in summer. Sure as hell wouldn’t have them in my loft, luckily I have the space and have build a totally non flammable small outbuilding for them

Gary, your last point on battery chemistry is the elephant in the room. LFP batteries are inherently stable. I am a London based installer and this is likely to render many homes unable to use the technology. I called the major battery manufacturer's tech support lines today. Not a single UK event in which the cells ignited came to light. One manufacturer told me that they had a battery fire due to water ingress causing a short on the PCB. The LFP cells did not ignite. I suspect that this advice is somewhat knee-jerk in nature and is more about the fire service reacting to fires in the transport sector and not understanding the chemistry?

I did an Instagram live session about this a few days ago to raise awareness among installers, unfortunately most installers are completely oblivious to this new guidance. Thanks for your video.

mine were in the loft, but i have now move the whole system into my shed. for me i did this to keep my house and family safer, you just never know - anything can happen.

Thank your for your balanced presentation. Presumably this calls for a specification of batteries as 'loft-safe' i.e. guaranteed to not start a fire. If batteries can be used (inside a fireproof box) in safety critical applications such as on a Dreamliner, then surely they can be used in a home in a fire-proof box. The specifications look to me to be overcautious. They remind me of the noise specifications for heat pumps which don't apply to boilers.e. there is a burden on new technologies to perfect whereas old technologies are insanely more dangerous: For example we allow people to set light to bare gas outlets in their kitchen. Why is there no talk of banning that?

Very informative, thanks Gary! This certainly makes me target getting a battery installed when we get one.

The home insurance issue is interesting. I have had home batteries since 2020 and my insurers are not aware of them, or my solar panels or my ASHP or my EV. When applying for home insurance, certain questions are asked regarding items which affect risk - what door / window locks do you have, are you in a flood area etc. I was never asked about my home energy modifications. My opinion is that if the company does not ask about a specific item then they do not consider it risk influencing so are not concerned. They don’t ask if I have an open fire, gas boiler or pottery kiln either. I wonder if this will change going forward? Thoughts?

Don't run any electronics in your (uninsulated) loft, I went through a few network switches as they were being baked to 60*C in the summer

Thank you for your very timely advice Gary!

Thank you for posting this just a few points for what it is worth. 1. This is not a British Standard yet - at this stage it is a Proposed Amendment to the Standard (PAS) - however it will be likely be incorporated into a standard. 2. Although it is setting out to drive towards installation external to the dwelling it does recognise this is not always practicable. 3. Where they have to be installed in a dwelling it is recommending risk reduction measures. 4. Worth mentioning it is not just loft or under stairs installations - it captures integral garages too!

Would really like to see more of the evidence underpinning the new guidance. How many instances of home-battery related fires have there been, and what analysis has been done of the causes in coming up with these new recommendations? Presumably with the number of home installations out there now, if the level of risk was significant we would be seeing a non-neglible number of fires. If not I have questions as to whether the proposed approach is actually proportionate...

There is no way i'd have thousands of pounds of batteries outside to be stolen.

I was told by an electrician that if a fire is going to start, I want it to be in a place I might see or smell it first. He always advises against anything in a upper floor or loft

Thank you for this video. About to get a system installed in a bungalow, with batteries in the loft. But, the loft has ventilation, so I'm slightly reassured by your picking through the wording. The long-term concern would be the impact on house saleability if it becomes a standard - many households might have this set up.

It doesn't matter how high you jump for them. It will never be high enough. At the COP in Glasgow they ran out of parking for their private jets. Why solve a problem thats making billions. Many thanks for straight to the point video.

I’m thinking about installing a home battery and a heat pump. This update has definitely opened my eyes to the placement of the battery. As our house is a mid terraced town house the safest option would be to install the battery outside. Possible house it in some sort of cabinet. I guess they’ll be a lot of companies offering external cabinets for these home batteries now.

I've just noticed 6.5.7 - If I am reading it right they are limiting home storage to 80kWh if in a garage/outbuild or 40kWh if in a house? I know 40 or 80 kWh is a lot of storage but seems an odd limit to have when cars can have 100kWh or more and be parked in the same garage?

It's not just a question of ensuring escape routes are clear but of trying to minimise the chances of your home and all your possessions being destroyed as well. The prudent course would be to place storage batteries outside in a shed or outbuilding away from your house. I also suspect future buyers of your home would prefer, rightly or wrongly, for the storage batteries to not be in the house which would make your house more saleable if the storage batteries were not in the house.

Thank you for the information. I am planning on installing PV/solar in the next 3 years and I have been thinking about the roof space location and now it seems fairly certain that I will have to build a weatherproof enclosure on an external wall, which is probably a better idea just for installation and maintenance anyway.

I had my solar system installed in 2018. Installer pushed really hard to place the inverter in the loft. They said it would have issues being outside whilst I think they just wanted to save money on cable. I had to get quite belligerent to get it placed outside. I had checked with Solaredge that its location under a canopy would be fine. I think in Australia they have to go outside too. My main reasons were not wanting a hot box of electronics in a hot loft on a sunny day esp as my array is oversized and if the fire service ever need to put out a fire in my house they’ll probably want the inverter turned off first. Difficult if it’s in the loft.

Section 6.5.5 - the prohibition on locating a battery outdoors within 1 metre of a door, window or ventilation port is pretty restrictive as well. It pretty well precludes all of the back wall of my house.

I was thinking about installing in my loft in a purpose built “cupboard” with outside ventillation. The chap I spoke to at the Everything Electric Show from GivEnergy said his was outdoors and performed fine, though it was advisable to have a cabinet. He hinted that they may have an outdoor cabinet on the way sometime. Anyhoow, for me batery probably comes after Heat Pump!

Thank you Gary, I have 2 x 2.6kWh in the loft, when I can afford to upgrade I would consider having them elsewhere though. 1. The weight, they are on a reinforced platform with the HW tank and ASHP plant so don't want to add to that. 2. During the cold snap in winter 2022/2023 they both went into deep sleep and one wouldn't wake, had to get a technician out (3 week wait). Not such a worry now as with Cosy tariff they're keeping active and retaining some heat. But it's in the back of my mind. So I would seriously consider siting them outside next time.

I use old ovens to store and charge my ebike batteries in with a fire alarm and fire blanket on top . In my career in the building industry , toaster and fryer fires were anecdotally the most common by far .

I think sodium iron batteries will be a game changer especially Gen 2 onwards in safety and cost weights might be a down side as there slightly heavier.

Mine is in my loft. I don’t have a garage, or utility room. Under the stairs would be much more confined space than the loft. I hope it doesn’t stop me adding some more.

Thought it quite common sense I’ve got mine in the garage in a metal temp controlled server rack so fully enclosed and humidity sensing extractor or via light switch when the light is turned on with nest smoke alarm. Tried to do as much as I could

I never thought the loft was a good idea, so happy to see guidence like this. I expect insurers will use both the batteries and the installation location as an excuse to wack up premiums. Even if using LFP. It not the actual risk they care about, just the opertunity. Even if there are zero incidents for ten years

Hi Gary I'm just about to have a solar system and battery installed. the battery was going into the loft but on seeing your video I will now instruct the fitters to install it in my outside cupboard thanks for the info. Also do you have any advise for people with fully electric houses with storage heaters?

We are GivEnergy approved installer. The don’t want battery above a 5.2 in the attic so we don’t. When we do we always fit loft boards so if they do fall the boards are there. We use fire proof boards if a gable wall is not available. Also we always install smoke alarm. This study as said does not take into consideration lfp batteries it is based lithium iron. I know not all installers do these things so it good that some guidance is available but it needs to be up to date

I think there's a few issues to consider here. Firstly, even if a PAS is converted to a British Standard, that doesn't make it law, it's still guidance. However, your house insurance, for e.g., may stipulate that an installation be to the appropriate BS and may be invalid if it isn't. Secondly, smoke detectors in lofts are generally not a great idea as they also tend to be fairly dusty spaces, and this can lead to excessive false alarms. Swapping to heat detector heads then considerably reduces the sensitivity and effectiveness of your system. Thirdly, any fire in your loft space tends to spread pretty quickly laterally, especially with the heat release rate characteristics of lithium batteries and is difficult to firefight in the initial stages (becoming much easier once your roof has collapsed in and the ALP has access). However, once the ALP has access, it's likely that no other part of your house will catch fire as the large volume of water required to fight lithium battery fires will be making its way down to the ground floor making everything nice and damp. Finally, I'd agree under the stairs is not a great idea either so, from a fire point of view, in my personal opinion, it would be similar to the NFCC guidance for mobility scooters: outside, inside in an FR protected room, or if no other option then in a room remote from the escape route. Not the prettiest of things to stick on the wall of your living room mind.

As well as smoke alarms in loft space should be possible to have rapid temperature rise warning - which would come earlier than actual smoke. Also all batteries should be cloud connected or pass all data to web via inverter. I can see in my Solis app what's going on with the inverter and get error messages if there is a problem, but beyond charge and discharge rates have no idea if the battery is happy unless I physically go and check the LED's on the case...

Ideally you would put batteries in a separate climate controlled ( coz that also optimizes charging and discharging performance year round) and fire proof cabinet but a large proportion of UK homes don't have many options where to put that outside of the fabric of the building.

Oh dear... Your channel has suddenly appeared amongst the YT recommendations. I've had both solar hot water and solar electricity systems installed for some 14 years. I installed them originally in anticipation of ecological problems with electricity generation - I dislike wind farms - and gas supplies from Russia. The systems are good but, following the liquidation of the original installers, it's hard to find a company who can both service and advise upon system improvements. This is very worrisome as I've had two strokes and now struggle to comprehend the how's and wherefores of any technology. Now this battery business. I don't even know if I have batteries but the systems are installed in an unventilated roof space at the top of stairs accessing and abutting a properly converted and insulated attic bedroom. Reading even simple documents is stressful and very confusing post-stroke. How might these recommendations affect property values and desirability in the event I move? I liked your video, it was clear enough, but who is able to give me sensible advice?

Funnily enough, I'm literally just in from my garage where I am half way through the process of moving my inverter/charger and battery out from under my stairs to my detached garage. This decision was nothing to do with the latest BSI guidance but instead was mostly because of the increased noise generated by my inverter as generation is increasing with the seasons. I only got my export tariff in August last year and at that time I was only getting 4.1p/kWh so I didn't bother exporting much. But Octopus are now giving me 15p/kWh so I export as much as possible and the inverter is making much more noise as a result. I work from home full time and my office is on the other side of the wall from the inverter... :( Having said that, and even though my batteries are Pylontech LFP modules and are inherently safe, I was never entirely comfortable with having them under my staircase, especially since the inside of the staircase is not boarded out with fire resistant plasterboard but instead is just bare oak. It also has no ventilation and gets up to 35-40C at times. In addition, although our master bedroom is downstairs, our guest rooms are upstairs and our guests are often our elderly parents who could probably not escape via upstairs windows, or our currently 3 year old grandson who definitely could not escape without assistance. So, having refurbished our garage last year and made it weather proof and insulated, it should be suitable for housing our batteries and associated equipment. This wasn't an option when we installed our batteries originally because the garage was uninsulated and had dripping condensation from the roof. Also, although our under stairs cupboard should now be safer, there is still the DNO cut out, smart meter and consumer units so I fully intend to fire proof the cupboard as best I can once the other equipment is removed.

I purposefully decided to put my batteries inside my detached garage below the inverter ... even though it meant digging up the pathway between garage and house, for ducting and cabling. When on charge the temperature of them is nominally only 3 or 4 degrees above whatever the ambient outside is and the casings are not even warm to the touch ... same goes for the inverter. I have heard of loft installations where the inverter wouldn't run properly and efficiently because of lack of sufficient heat exchange to its environment. A neighbour of mine has such a system and is plagued by error messages and resets during a warm summer. Not ideal clearly in a loft. And that's notwithstanding most good systems have built-in battery management systems to alleviate over- temperature and possible battery over-run/ fire risk.

Brilliant vid, Gary. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Certainly a consideration when I can eventually afford to add a home battery (paid for by my Tesla shares)

Good advise but what about the attached garages? Also what about the cars with batteries in garages surely they are a fire risk too?

Great video ❤❤❤❤❤❤

A year ago I was going to have an inverter & battery installed in my loft. Then I did a bit of research & instead I decided to make some space in my very rammed attached garage for all the solar & battery gear &, like you, I changed the very leaky up & over door for a tighter fitting space saving roller shutter door. The solar installers were so happy they didn't have to get a 100+kg battery into my loft. Fast forward a year & I've just shoe horned in another 9.5kWh battery alongside the original one. I might now have to look at some sort of ventilation in the garage? It never gets too warm in the summer (bedroom above) or too cold in the winter so I'm not sure what benefit adding vent would have.

Hi Garry and John, I also am a retired industrial Electrician and totally agree with John's comments. I advised my sister a couple of years ago to go nowhere near the idea of a batteries in the attic and thankfully she didn't do that. Also as the firefighter stated in a fire situation these batteries may crash through the ceiling endangering life of occupants and firefighters.

Currently thinking about the 13.5kWh Givenergy AIO and looking at the measurements it seems the frame wouldn't get through the loft hatch which would end the debate for me. Someone from Givenergy suggested it go above the heat pump but that would make it fairly visible, so I'm thinking through the options. With a separate garage (with just a 16A supply) it's adding to the challenges.

So how does this immediately relate to your home insurance in case of fire from the battery installation? In case of say Highway Code this becomes law if no other law applies. Does the recommendation now mean that a fire resulting from an undesirable location as suggested by this document may be uninsured if the home owner has made no provision to comply with new safety recommendations?

We're planning to install in a space under our house where currently the boiler and meters are. I wonder if this would count as a void. It's the perfect space as it should stay cool but not too cold throughout the year.

Yes will affect my thought. Would not put in the loft. Need to be sited out side. Same with boilers hate them in the loft, hard to maintain, put in.

Timely and necessary. I heard o 2 fires caused by overheating loft batteries.

These rules make absolute sense, in my opinion they should never be installed in lofts and definitely not under stairs. It’s long been the case that consumer units, fuse boxes, must not be installed under a staircase. Our two powerwalls are outside the house, where should a failure take place they would not impede our escape from the house. These changes to the regulations are long overdue and I would advise anyone to have an older installation moved to a safe place in line with the new regulations as this might impact your home insurance. There’s no reason why with a little extra work a battery can’t be place in the garden away from the house if need be, armoured cable can quite easily be run in a trench.

We had a battery and solar inverters etc installed in our loft last May, is there anything we can do to get our installer to move it?

Can we stop the fire risk nonsense? House batteries are almost all LiFePO4 which is not very flammable, is difficult to set on fire and does not result in thermal runaway. There might be reasons for not having a battery in your loft but fire risk isn't one of them. There is more fire risk from your fridge or tumble dryer.

Thanks Gary I have learned so much from you. Regarding fresh air ventilation, is that for cooling the battery or what? Surely if there is a fire the abundant supply of oxygen will make the fire worse!

Hmm, was planning to put them in our basement, but no immediate access from outside.

The issue is mainly weight of battery plus the way battery are install on the loft, mostly on some unsecured board... Loft if a terreble space for any electronics...

You have convinced me to not to bother with all the hassle I’ll stick with oil and calor gas here out in the sticks.😊

If you really think about it, this was eventually going to come about in some shape or form due to prior lack of guidance. ( Ironically, those pre-war terrace houses used to have an “out-house” at the bottom of the garden. Now they can become can be a battery house 🤣

There is no way I would be happy if my neighbour had batteries in their loft. Or anywhere else until they are PROVED safe.

Yes, I wouldn't want to have these anywhere near the house let alone inside it.

Very interesting. Batteries introduce to your home an additional fire risk. That is obvious. Although i think batteries are a great home benefit and reduce energy grid bills without a doubt my garage is attached to the house so unless i can house batteries in a weatherproof outbuilding that i can afford to loose installing batteries inside or in an attached building is a no no for me. There was a fire in our street so i witnessed a house just go on fire. It was similarl to mine. I do not want to have a repeat of that horror and disruption. It was not a battery fire just a kitchen fire getting out of control.

I guess the PW3 will become very popular as a fully integrated single box (Batt+Inv) solution where it’s higher cost will be offset by lower installation costs and the fact that most of the PW’s are installed externally.

Having lived in the UK previously I can see why you'd want to take the fire risk seriously. Modern British houses tend to be made of wooden framed partitions covered with plasterboard and floors are also often wooden beams with wooden flooring. With that construction it is easy to see how fire can spread quickly. Honestly I'd prefer a fire risk in my roof space than under the stairs given that the stairs are likely to be wooden and a key part of any fire exit route. My current home, not in the UK, is constructed with concrete floors between concrete side walls. Internal walls are not concrete but are lightweight blocks which are not flammable. If I know that a fire is possible, then having that fire isolated to the top floor where nobody sleeps, seems far more sensible than a potential fire on the ground or first floor. We do have a garage connected to the house and this was prepared with a level of fire resistance. I am tempted to either place any battery in that location, or within a fire resistant enclosure on the top floor. Outdoors is also an option but I am curious about the effect of cold there in winter and heat in summer.

Makes sense to me, you need to be able to escape from you house if it runs away. Also the fire brigade need to be able to be sure it wont fall on them if they enter the house. There should be a provision to mount it in such a way in the loft such that it will not fall through the house in a fire.

How does this affect your house insurance and, if you have one, conditions of contract with the mortgage lender

Great, balanced video and put together in a very short time. Whatever people’s views are, “Pandora’s box” has been opened. I was thinking of installing a couple of batteries in an integral garage. This isn’t mentioned specifically in the guidance but it’s certainly got me thinking to the point that I might hold off on the purchase for a year or so and just get the solar panels fitted. Not ideal, but my concern here is insurance costs and what might be said in a house survey if I were ever to sell the house. A lot of thought has been put into this document and several well known organisations have put their name to it. The fact that Tesla are included is very significant. I feel sorry for those that, through no fault of their own , have been put into a difficult position and feel that this may impact on the take-up of battery storage until the situation becomes clearer. Although this is a UK document, it’s clear that other countries have similar concerns so the writing is on the wall.

While I don’t think it’s a good place to put them no one seems to worry about central heating boilers in the loft and I know a couple of people that have done that

I insisted our battery and inverter went outside, and I lined the soffitt above with fire board.

What is the rationale for requiring external ventilation? Fair enough in a kitchen so you can open the door to vent smoke when you burn the toast, but if my battery caught fire I don't think I would be worrying about smoke damage, and I certainly wouldn't be reaching over it to open a window.

This should be a matter for the insurance companies. It is their business to take financial risks based on statistics. They might even want to charge a premium for houses filled with lithium batteries !

Guidance today can easily be Regulations next week.

Is the risk of fire more to do with poor installation than where the battery is located? Guidelines and regulations are all well and good, but there are a lot of cowboys out there capitalising on the solar boom. Would a mandatory inspection of each solar install by a regulatory body (e.g. MCS/FlexiOrb) be a better solution?

Outside might be the safest but if it stays at the outside temperature you will lose capacity in winter and there might be security implications with several thousands worth of battery sitting outside waiting to be stolen.

If there was a fire from another cause that was totally unrelated to the storage batteries and that fire then spread to the storage batteries, would the batteries catch fire and would that make the fire far more intense and dangerous?

I have my batteries in the loft but am now concerned about the insurance implications. But then the only place I could store them is outside so how do you then make them secure? I’ve shelled out nearly £2000 for them and if they weren’t secured then I doubt the insurance would pay out if they were stolen. It won’t be long before the local “na’er do wells” start realising the value of these things. So how much will it cost to run the wires and also somehow get a secure locker. All these things start making the cost of solar outweigh the benefits.😢 I’m going to contact my installer for their take on it and I’ll let you know.

As another channel has pointed out insurance companies will be taking this onboard, so that may dictate the direction of travel more than anything else . As with EV tec it’s the cost of insurance that will eventually kill that particular market . I know it’s not the same tec , but when it comes to risk assessment it’s all counted the same . As a retired electrical contractor , I could see this developing coming a mile off . And the very thought of putting such equipment in loft spaces , seemed a totally barmy idea especially considering most people don’t bother going in the loft space from one year to the next , so would not even notice if something was becoming a problem . Glad in many ways to be out of the industry , and not being faced with such dilemmas on a daily basis .

At work, I was responsible for writing risk assessments for energy systems. The first rule in any risk assessment is to ask yourself, do you need the particular piece of equipment or action and if not, do not do that action or fit that piece of equipment. My advice in any home, where it is expected to be a safe place to be, where you and your family resides and sleeps, is don't fit a battery at all. The battery fires from these types of battery are well known to be extremely difficult to extinguish and could burn your home down and loose you and or your family your life. So why take the risk ? Ask yourself, is saving a few quid, worth the risk of fatalities ?

The problem with guidance like this is that it is prescriptive as well as being taken as virtually a statutory requirement. As I see it the issue is the potential fire from a battery installation that then asks some questions viz. 1) What is the likelihood of a fire and how is it generated - this needs to be tackled. 2) If the fire precautions are sufficient for the potential fire risk, why is it necessary to prescribe an acceptable location. I can see that it ought to be perfectly possible to contain a battery fire long after the building has been evacuated. The battery enclosure would ideally be fire proof to say, 120mins FR, a hard wired fire alarm system needs to be installed in the house and a specific heat detector fitted within the enclosure and passive ventilation should be required. As fire alarms should ensure that the occupants vacate the property within the five minute period, the remaining 115mins will allow the FB to attend and put out the fire. It may seem sensible for batteries to be placed outside but there is a strong risk that unprotected batteries could ignite and cause flash over fires to adjacent buildings given the proportion of vulnerable buildings that may not have protection. Also, the batteries externally present an issue with weather proofing and damage. Battery technology is moving at pace with some potential systems being much less of a risk. I suspect that like other guidance this one was possibly out of date by the time it was published.

Home insurers will be on to this quick af.

I live in a 2 bed semi-detached house, and recently had solar, batteries, and an ASHP installed. Our house is so small that the only location for our batteries (14.4kwh of batteries) was in the lounge. Luckily they don't take up much space.

Hardly surprising, I'm planning my solar battery system and everything is being installed in an unoccupied detached out building to reduce risk of loss.

This is interesting as outdoors batteries will be subjected to extreme cold, let’s say minus 10 degrees C. This will impact efficiency and performance when energy is needed most, in turn impacting the payback.

Does the guidance make any mention of differing battery types? The risk of fire is primarily associated with Lithium Ion batteries and other types such as LiFePO4 and Sodium based batteries are much safer.

I have an existing installation in the loft. If I decide to add a battery I will do so in the attic because if I locate the new battery in, say , my garage I will effectively be doubling the locations where risk is apparently elevated. I would add a linked smoke alarm in the loft also. The latest battery chemistry is significantly more stable than the batteries around a few years ago. If and when these new recommendations become mandatory or economically unrealistic to retain the batteries in the loft, I will take steps to adher to the new rules at that point.

Those people have no idea. Outdoors makes batteries useless in winter. The fire risk is BS for LiFe batteries. Roof is better ventilated than under the stairs. The risk of falling through the ceiling can easily be mitigated against ( e.g. over internal walls and steel reinforcement) and a fire proof base also. Also realistically if you are still in the building when the roof space is so compromised that the battery could fall through you have other things to worry about...

I contacted the local Fire Brigade about whether I needed to inform them of a PV Battery system at my property. Didn't hear a thing back. 🤔

I'm a retired firefighter, yet again, like all things that British do, it's back to front, bring out the technology. Ram it down every ones throat, then realise that things haven't been assessed fully in the initial stages and try and get the round peg in the square hole! Much like the Grenville towers disaster where contractors and materials compromised the situation, and the blame was even attempted to blame fire Athorities. In 1976 it was mandatory for GMC fire Brigade to mobilise a minimum of three appliances to a person's reported fire and a TTL to high rise buildings that is the only aspect that I could query on that event, but self contained units ie flats are designed with 60mins or 1 hour fire resistance but building works compromised these standards, risk assement is based on facts and designation, yet again its the application of rules and regulations that define the implementation!

Understandable, but as an electrician who attended many house fires my biggest concern was all the electrical equipment installed in many houses under the stairs along with the gas meter . In the event of a fire your one route to escape could be part of the fire itself with all the stuff that normally gets shoved in there.

Just a slight correction to your video - although electricians treat BS 7671 as law, it is actually a non-statutory document.

The external wall solution is similar to that used by Boeing after one of the batteries on their aircraft caught fire (lucky they were close to airport when it happened). If a battery cannot be installed safely, them it should not be installed. Owner may need a different energy strategy (feed solar back into grid). It may not be as energy efficient, but at least if there is a fire, you, firefighters & neighbours have less risk of dying. I wonder whether this guidance will be expanded to cover EV batteries in internal garages. Especially when they are being charged.

A year ago, my installer wanted to put the batteries and inverter in my bungalow loft. I insisted they went in the garage. Much easier access and more stable temperature.

Brilliant! I'm now at the point where I think I was a proper mug to install a solar system. If we'd had a half decent government for the last 13 years, with a planned strategy for providing power to the masses at a reasonable price (like the French do), then having to 'do your own thing' to protect yourself wouldn't be necessary. Instead we have this ideologically driven, free-market free for all which massively benefits a few lucky investors & lumps any losses on the consumer.

surly if the batteries in use are not prone to spontaneous combustion then there instal location shouldn't matter ie. LFP and in future sodium batteries

I see things that UK installers are allowed to do and often do "because it's convenient". I was asked if I wanted my Combi gas boiler installed in the attic. "No.", "Why not?", "It's gas appliance that can kill me. I want it where I can get access to it." Lithium batteries of any substantial size... I make an effort not to keep them outside or in the garage. Even my RC LiPo collection goes in the garage. It only takes ONE to go nova to ruin as a minimum your room and unless you are extremely lucky, more of the house. My DIY solar battery is in the garage and the commercial house battery, when it's installed will be either in the garage or on an outside wall. It's not just the direct fire hazard. It's the break down gases for many Lithium batteries contains flammable organic gases and oxygen. A common failure mode is for the cells to vent, but not ignite. However they are filling the available space with ever increasing density of flammable cocktail. Firefighters are not being trained to identify this state and LEAVE rapidly.

In built fire extinguisher?

From a potential fire hazard yes, also do you have to inform your insurance company of solar panels and batteries???

Risk of thermal runaway is way lower for LiFe batteries than Li-ion . Every battery manufacturer in the market knows that batteries are currently being fitted in roof spaces all over the world and don't specify that's not to be done. Would they really risk the law suits that would result from that going wrong? .

I live in a terraced house and my home batteries are under the stairs along with my hybrid inverter. I installed fire rated plasterboard in there and was very cheap to do. Just common sense really. I wouldn't be able to have any outdoor ventilation but there is a vent to the hallway and that is the room with the biggest air exchange. As for banning loft installations all together as you say it might be the only olace available to you. Maybe they could limit the amount you can have in loft spaces to maybe 5.5kWh then people could cover most of their peak time.

A lot of comments about batteries vs EV, but insurers' guidance (RC59 plus individual insurance company recommendations) already recommend only charging EV's outdoors. Technology changes, so what we need to do with that technology to manage risks is going to change).

I install solar PV/batteries, I don’t believe they should be in lofts, however when I do fit them up there with customers insistences I bolt mine to the wall, not the floor, and only fit LFP and a reduced size aka 2 x 5kW instead of a big 10kW, as o can spread the weight easier. I don’t think they’ll burst into flames, but if the roof is damaged the joists get weakened I’m happy with the weight being on the wall and not the floor.

I'm not a firefighter. I also don't need Solar Panels on my roof, or take any risk/benefit decision about it. I will be installing Solar Water Heating (tubes), and I currently own shares in a Solar Farm Cooperative, and a Wind Generator Farm Cooperative, and having a Wood Burner installed in my home, using locally sourced wind fall trees from a local farmer sustainably, so I am not against renewables. In addition, my Gas Central Heating is to be upgraded soon to use a mix of Methane/Hydrogen (80%/20%), and will move to 100% Hydrogen from the National Grid, and yes I have Mains Electricity like everyone else does. I don't see the need to have my home covered with Solar Panels and 'questionable' battery storage systems, either inside or outside my home, since there are economies of scale within Cooperative Projects, and these aren't subject to energy taxation, or any perceived risks to escape routes to my home. I do own one Solar Panel, that trickle charges my 16 year old Caravan's Leisure Battery when its in storage, and I'm considering having a flexible Solar Panel fitted to it's roof for convenience sake, and use of 12vDC systems when off-grid. My point is, I'm not trying to validate myself with a job title, but I am suggesting alternatives to making any such risk/benefit decisions.

Hi Gary strange how this subject has come up as I was pondering this very situation not long ago where I was concerned about this very subject. This was prompted by an article from the "electric viking" where I believe in Australia putting batteries in lofts is not allowed. I have since upgraded my battery storage to 11Kw and is now stored in my hallway, not ideal but not much option, previously 6.4 Kw, 2x 3.2 stored in my loft. I think as new and more safe battery chemistry becomes available this may not be a problem, however the weight aspect may be.