3 ms·
In looking at risk, I would be most concerned with what kind of malfunction could lead to what outcome. LiFePO batteries can be punctured without catching fire,
by sponaugle 5y ago
In looking at risk, I would be most concerned with what kind of malfunction could lead to what outcome. LiFePO batteries can be punctured without catching fire, and if a fire is caused by something else, they are not fundamentally very combustible. This chemistry is very different from Lithium-ion. In terms of add this to your house, there is low risk of them starting a fire, and low risk of them contributing to a fire in a significant way.
Gasoline in a car has a low risk of starting a fire, but a higher risk in the event of being exposed to a fire. Storing gasoline in a jerry can probably has higher risk of the first, and certainly the second.
Keep in mind both of these risks are much much lower than so many other things in your house that you do every day. Extension cords, faulty wiring, arcs, heaters, kitchen fires, etc.
I am using Enphase Encharge batteries, which are a LiFePO4 chemistry. They are in my garage, which is heated, so outdoor temperatures don'r make a difference. If they were outdoors, cold temperatures would be a problem below 0F, so if that is your situation I would only do an inside mount. I only have 20-30 cycles so far, but the cycle count is generally well regarded with this chemistry. Still, I don't expect these to last more than 15-20 years.
- throwawaysea 5y agoThanks for the details. How do you scale this up to power the whole house? On the low end I would imagine you need 30 kWh worth, along with the appropriate equipment (5 kW inverter, cabling, enclosures) to tie it all together into a single system, manage charging, connect it to your home’s circuit safely, and so on. Do you buy off the shelf solutions for all that or pay for some kind of ongoing service or DIY?
- sponaugle 5y agoThe scale is based on two things - storage capacity, and power capacity. Storage is the kwh of storage, which will determine how long you can run off-grid. The power capacity is the peak output power of the system when off-grid, and is usually limited by the inverters. I am using the Enphase Encharge system, in which each battery unit also includes grid-creation capable micro-inverters. They are integrated into the same boxes, and can provide both grid offset, or grid generation. There is also a 'smart switch' that does the interconnects to the grid, and provides the autotransformer capability ( needed to have 120V split phase ). There are some more details in my house/shop build thread on garage journal: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/jeffs-mountain-side-shop-portland.409988/ https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/jeffs-mountain-s...
- throwawaysea 5y agoThanks for sharing - that seems like an ambitious (and expensive?) project. Are you planning to do an all-up retrospective on it (not just the backup power but the entire site and building)?