Since the publication of the 2018 International Fire Code, codes and standards for energy storage in stationary applications have increasingly focused on the safety of the electrochemical battery and the flammability exhibited by some technologies. The National Fire Protection Association, The International Codes Committee and other agencies have published codes and standards that have sought to consolidate the various "battery" codes into a unified standard. The results are exhibited in the 2018, IFC, 2021 NFPA 1 Fire Code, 2021 IFC, and NFPA 855.

The vast majority of jurisdictions in North America are still utilizing fire codes that were published in, or prior to, the 2018 revisions, and therefore the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) is not required to enforce the additional stipulations of NFPA 855 and the later fire codes. When they update to the later fire codes, these revisions may severely limit which technologies are accepted. In addition, as AHJs review and re-inspect facilities, anything that is viewed as "unsafe" (as viewed from the perspective of the new codes) can be required to be brought up to current code standards.

In this presentation, we will discuss some of the implications of these updated fire codes, and how they interoperate with NFPA 855, UL 9540, UL 9540A and some of the other standards and codes in use.

Takeaway

Better understanding of fire and safety codes related to energy storage.

Understand how NFPA 855 relates to UL 9540 and UL 9540A.

Insight into future impacts of these new codes on Data Center facilites and operations.