New York City planners are concerned about the spate of fiery electric car crashes that have drawn down scrutiny. Los Angeles Times reported on May 18, 2018 NYC has not approved any big lithium batteries in buildings. However, it has sanctioned four installations in public spaces. The difficulty appears to be officials cannot agree on safety standards and codes.
Big Lithium Batteries in Buildings Could Overheat and Explode
Paul Rogers was assisting with these standards before he retired as lieutenant in the NYC fire department earlier this year. “You can have these things go on fire, and then hours or days later, they can reignite,” he warns.
“Firefighters – if they act inappropriately – could get killed,” he adds. Our sympathies as lead-acid battery manufactures are on the side of firefighters. We would not want to be anywhere near big lithium batteries in buildings when they overheat and explode. However, we do need to find resolution, because onsite battery storage is essential if we want green buildings that power themselves someday.
Building Battery Storage Had Been Looking Good Until Now
Progress with storage batteries has been clicking on nicely, although there have been concerns about a few house fires. Racks of lithium batteries have been appearing in offices and shopping malls in other cities, allowing tenants cheaper solutions during outages.
However, flammable lithium-ion technology appears to contain the germs of its own end. We need to rush ahead at all speed and get solid-state lithium batteries to market. Although firefighters can douse an aqueous lithium battery fire, it takes a load more water than other fires.
Delivering large quantities of water into blazing basements is an ongoing challenge. Especially, when big lithium batteries in buildings are emitting toxic fumes, and could explode catastrophically at any moment. As of now, the industry does not seem to have a canned solution, although we are confident somebody is working on it.
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Preview Image: Lithium Fire Burning in the Dark
