Dec 15, 2024 21:00:00

Research results are reported on 'Are home batteries prone to fires?'

More and more households are

installing home storage batteries to save on electricity bills and ensure stable power supply. However, because home storage batteries are equipped with large lithium-ion batteries, many people are concerned that there is a risk of fire. A research team from Aachen University in Germany has published the results of their analysis of the fire risk of home storage batteries.

Quantitative Fire Risk Assessment of Battery Home Storage Systems in Comparison to General House Fires in Germany and Other Battery Related Fires by Florian Hölting, Aniket Kapse, Fabian Breer, Jan Figgener, Mark Junker, Dirk Uwe Sauer :: SSRN
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4995517

Below is a graph showing the 'number of fires caused by home batteries in each region of Germany' (left) and 'total amount of electricity stored in home batteries in each region of Germany' (right) compiled by the research team. It can be seen that the more total electricity stored, that is, the more widespread the home batteries are, the more fires occur.

The distribution of the months when fires occurred is as follows:

The time distribution is as follows. Many fires occur during the hours when the sun is out.

Below is a graph summarizing the risk of fires caused by 'general house fires,' 'fires caused by internal combustion engines (ICE),' 'fires caused by electric vehicles (EV),' 'fires caused by home storage batteries (HSS),' 'fires caused by solar power generation (PV),' 'fires caused by clothes dryers (tumble dryers),' and 'fires caused by air conditioners (cooling units).' It was found that the risk of fires caused by home storage batteries is 0.0049%, which is 1/50 of a typical house fire. It is also known that the risk of fires caused by home storage batteries is lower than the risk of fires caused by internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles.

Based on their analysis, the research team concluded that 'modern household appliances generally have a low risk of fire, and this also applies to home batteries.' The paper has not yet been peer-reviewed.

By the way, the editorial department of GIGAZINE has also introduced Tesla's home storage battery 'Powerwall' to secure power during power outages. The installation process of Powerwall and solar panels is summarized in the following article, so please check it out if you are interested.

I installed the home battery 'Powerwall' sold by Tesla. Report - GIGAZINE

They also disclose the cost of installing the Powerwall.

How much did it cost to install Tesla's Powerwall? 13 pages of real quotes and more published without any corrections - GIGAZINE