Got sent this photo yesterday. An apartment building in Cape Town had a fire which was caused by batteries.

I wanted to know what forum members were doing to safeguard against/extinguish fires in their battery cabinets.

Is there a cost effective gas suppression system out there for residential use?

11 minutes ago, Noobie said:

Got sent this photo yesterday. An apartment building in Cape Town had a fire which was caused by batteries.

I wanted to know what forum members were doing to safeguard against/extinguish fires in their battery cabinets.

Is there a cost effective gas suppression system out there for residential use?

Looks like lead acid batteries. 

They are infamous for giving off hydrogen gas which is extremely flammable. It is also very light and will congregate against the ceiling where people install normal electric fittings. 

It is really a lack of doing proper risk assessments that lead to incidents like this. 

Hopefully there was no injury or other damages. 

The topic of controlling battery charging is ongoing in the forum. 

Edited December 17, 20195 yr by Johandup

56 minutes ago, Noobie said:

I wanted to know what forum members were doing to safeguard against/extinguish fires in their battery cabinets.

In my opinion there seems to be a lack of regulation by local authorities to enforce fire safety when it comes to solar installation and fire risk. At this stage it is up to the installer to do a proper risk assessment and to advise customers of the hazards involved. 

Lots of people are installing these energy bombs in places where it’s not thought through. I personally kept mine as far away from my living area as possible even if longer and thicker cabling cost more. 

These days it seem that people are getting more irresponsible regarding safety. Hence all the laws that make you feel like the country is ran like a pre-school. Every owner should research safety issues and implement them themselves instead of relying on other people.

The installer should at least mention the pro’s and con’s and at least inform the owner of the potential problems that may occur.

I have a fire extinguisher which I bought a couple years ago, doubt it if it will still work, guess it is time for new one/s.

On 2019/12/17 at 3:07 PM, Wilfred said:

These days it seem that people are getting more irresponsible regarding safety. Hence all the laws that make you feel like the country is ran like a pre-school. Every owner should research safety issues and implement them themselves instead of relying on other people.

The installer should at least mention the pro’s and con’s and at least inform the owner of the potential problems that may occur.

I have a fire extinguisher which I bought a couple years ago, doubt it if it will still work, guess it is time for new one/s.

Just get them serviced.