3 ms·

Is this kind of thing covered by building / electrical codes? It sounds like a domain where that would be sensible, given the potential risk to building occupa

Is this kind of thing covered by building / electrical codes? It sounds like a domain where that would be sensible, given the potential risk to building occupants. EDIT: For clarity, I'm referring to a power wall, not the Second Life UPS.

Deprecate9151 3y ago
It's going to widely vary by local jurisdiction. In the US though, generally building codes would end at the recepticle. If this was hard-wired it would probably be an issue for the inspector, but otherwise it would be out of scope.
CaliforniaKarl 3y ago
I expect UL would have something addressing this.
- jacquesm 3y ago
  Homebrew stuff is not required to be certified by UL, in fact, surprise nothing is required to be certified by UL. But UL certification will have the effect of retailers marketing your products and reselling them for you.
  - JohnFen 3y ago
    But if you have fire insurance on your house, the odds are very good that your coverage will be void if you have non-certified things installed or plugged in. Many homeowners have discovered this the hard way, and their coverage was denied even if the fire wasn't caused by that equipment. Just having it installed is enough.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      Interesting! But fortunately it doesn't apply to me, and it would seem to me that if the fire wasn't caused by that equipment that would be a fairly easy thing to challenge. Because to deny coverage after the fact on a 'gotcha' like that would seem to be illegal.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        It's legal because the restriction is explicitly part of the contract -- the insured party is promising that it won't use such equipment. Nobody is trying to deceive anyone here, the insurance company is saying it won't cover properties that are taking this easily avoidable risk.
ploxiln 3y ago
My apartment building in NYC just banned all "lithium powered vehicles" (bicycles, scooters, etc). Building insurance is getting more expensive, and some insurers are pulling out of the NYC market altogether, because too many buildings are catching on fire due to Li-Ion battery packs ... it's always a bunch of cheap beat-up delivery bike batteries charging in a pile in some apartment, "unauthorized repair shop" or similar. I'm kinda annoyed that this has been simplified to "no electric bikes/scooters/skateboards/anything anywhere on the property". Not all battery packs are the same ...
- jacquesm 3y ago
  It's a coarse filter but they don't really have much choice, otherwise it would become such a nightmare of rules and subrules besides the inability to inspect quickly for violations. I keep my Lithium Ion based packs in a detached garage just to be on the safe side and I'd never bring them into the house, not even for storage. Besides the laptops and the phones :(

Deprecate9151 3y ago

It's going to widely vary by local jurisdiction. In the US though, generally building codes would end at the recepticle. If this was hard-wired it would probably be an issue for the inspector, but otherwise it would be out of scope.

CaliforniaKarl 3y ago

I expect UL would have something addressing this.

jacquesm 3y ago
Homebrew stuff is not required to be certified by UL, in fact, surprise nothing is required to be certified by UL. But UL certification will have the effect of retailers marketing your products and reselling them for you.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  But if you have fire insurance on your house, the odds are very good that your coverage will be void if you have non-certified things installed or plugged in. Many homeowners have discovered this the hard way, and their coverage was denied even if the fire wasn't caused by that equipment. Just having it installed is enough.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    Interesting! But fortunately it doesn't apply to me, and it would seem to me that if the fire wasn't caused by that equipment that would be a fairly easy thing to challenge. Because to deny coverage after the fact on a 'gotcha' like that would seem to be illegal.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      It's legal because the restriction is explicitly part of the contract -- the insured party is promising that it won't use such equipment. Nobody is trying to deceive anyone here, the insurance company is saying it won't cover properties that are taking this easily avoidable risk.

ploxiln 3y ago

My apartment building in NYC just banned all "lithium powered vehicles" (bicycles, scooters, etc). Building insurance is getting more expensive, and some insurers are pulling out of the NYC market altogether, because too many buildings are catching on fire due to Li-Ion battery packs ... it's always a bunch of cheap beat-up delivery bike batteries charging in a pile in some apartment, "unauthorized repair shop" or similar. I'm kinda annoyed that this has been simplified to "no electric bikes/scooters/skateboards/anything anywhere on the property". Not all battery packs are the same ...

jacquesm 3y ago
It's a coarse filter but they don't really have much choice, otherwise it would become such a nightmare of rules and subrules besides the inability to inspect quickly for violations. I keep my Lithium Ion based packs in a detached garage just to be on the safe side and I'd never bring them into the house, not even for storage. Besides the laptops and the phones :(