“Dean Kamen, the noted engineer and inventor, said that “every once in a while, a new technology, an old problem, and a big idea turn into an innovation.” An innovation that has flourished in the past few years is energy storage systems, or ESS, which use new technologies such as lithium-ion batteries to create systems that store energy to be used as electricity at a later time. In response to those innovations in energy storage and the hazards that come along with them, NFPA has developed a new standard: NFPA 855, Standard for the Installation of Energy Storage Systems.
There are several types of energy storage systems, each with its own characteristics: pumped hydro ESS, battery ESS, flywheel ESS, compressed air ESS, and thermal ESS. The common denominator among these technologies is that they all store energy and include components that convert that energy into electricity. Electro-chemical or battery ESS make up a large majority of new installations around the world, according to the Department of Energy’s Global Energy Storage Database, which is why much of the recent ESS focus has been on this particular technology.”
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O’Connor, Brian. National Fire Protection Association May 2019.