Where is a home battery installed?

If you've decided to install a battery, a UPowr Certified Installer will do a site inspection before installation day. While they're there, they'll talk to you about the best location for your battery. Some of the factors that they'll be taking into consideration include: 

• Inside or outside: It's possible to install batteries inside or outside of your home. Garages and sheds are a common choice but not an option for everybody. A new standard released in 2019 requires lithium-ion batteries to be located in non-habitable rooms, which could be a laundry, bathroom, hallway or storage space.
  
  
• Temperature: Batteries should be located in well-ventilated areas away from heat and direct sunlight. They are able to operate in a wide range of temperatures, but extremes are best avoided to maximise battery life.
  
  
• Access: Batteries need to be easily accessible so routine inspections and maintenance can be carried out.
  
  
• Protection: Impacts, rodents, and wild weather can damage batteries, so it's important that they're protected. While they can withstand humidity and rain, it is best to keep them away from water sources such as downpipes, sinks, sprinkler systems, or locations subject to flooding. If the battery is going to be installed in your garage, a bollard may be required to protect the battery from cars.
  
  
• Mounting: Popular home batteries can weigh 200kg or more, so they need to be mounted on strong structures. The battery installation guidelines require batteries mounted to a wall backing onto a habitable space to be separated by a non-combustible material, which is commonly bricks, tiles or cement sheeting.
  
  
• Sound: Batteries themselves don't make noise, but the cooling fans and the electronic solar inverters can. Tesla batteries, for example, create around 50db of noise, which is equivalent to a quiet conversation or bird call.
  
  
• Installation standards: The AS/NZS 5139:2019 battery standard, for example, requires that batteries are not located in ceiling spaces, wall cavities, under stairways or walkways, or in evacuation routes.