Protect yourself and prepare for power outages in coming bushfire season

As the current summer season approaches in Australia, we are receiving more warnings of a possibly severe bushfire season. With memories of the disasters of 2019 – 2020 many people still remember being without power for days and weeks due to power lines being brought down and the dangers of reconnecting the power grid.

This threat of bushfire is becoming an increasing and more serious and long-lasting reality every year, both in Australia and overseas.

Power supply companies are turning off power earlier, particularly in areas with above ground powerlines, when there is a threat of bushfires, to prevent their infrastructure causing more fires.

Particularly in rural areas, loss of power also affects access to water, as electric water pumps no longer work. This can be devasting to livestock as well as humans and often means there is no longer access to water to fight fires.

With the interconnectedness of our current power supply this also means that a problem in one area can affect power supply in multiple other areas that may have not been affected by the original bushfire.

Continue reading “Protect yourself and prepare for power outages in coming bushfire season”

SoNick battery replaces lead acid batteries in off-grid installation – case study.

People install battery systems for many reasons and likewise people choose battery technologies for various reasons.

For many years people have used lead acid batteries as a known battery technology, particularly in off grid installations. A battery of choice has often been used Telecom batteries which are replaced regularly from telecom installations that need guaranteed UPS (uninterrupted power supply) capabilities. As these batteries are often sold at a vastly reduced cost it is economical for off-grid households to add a large number of batteries to an off-grid system to allow for reduced capacity of the batteries.

Unfortunately, for lead acid battery systems the battery system operates at the capacity of the weakest battery so you are unable to use new lead acid batteries in older systems and would need to replace the whole bank of batteries when more capacity is needed.

Lead acid batteries are well known for having a “falling off the cliff reputation” and degrading very suddenly and quickly, often with no warning. This happens particularly often in cold or hot weather. Coincidentally this is often when batteries are needed the most for heating and cooling. At the same time, most people who live off grid have learnt to manage their electricity usage to only use what is available and to use a generator when batteries are unavailable.

Continue reading “SoNick battery replaces lead acid batteries in off-grid installation – case study.”

Stability of SoNick battery – case study.

An installer recently contacted us to talk about the performance of a SoNick battery he had bought 8 years ago.

Originally it was purchased as part of a portable trailer system. The battery was utilised in this capacity for a number of years. It was used to supply power in power outages and at events, as well as being used as a showcase of the SoNick battery and what could be achieved in a portable power system.

*** Note: not all batteries are suitable for use in portable power systems due to the risk of damaging their cells due to trailer movements and due to the risk of fire in case of accident or cell damage.

Due to the intermittent use of this trailer, the battery was often left to go cold between uses then heated up again when needed.

Continue reading “Stability of SoNick battery – case study.”

SoNick the non-flammable battery

If you’re serious about battery safety, one battery stands head and shoulders above all other battery technologies.

It’s the Sodium Nickel (SoNick) salt battery, manufactured by FZSoNick and distributed in Australia by GridEdge.

With increasing demands for battery safety standards, SoNick is a unique product that helps our partners stand out.

The SoNick battery technology was the first and still is one of very few that have UL9540A certification for safety, stating it will not go into thermal runaway, both on a cell and complete module basis. This means no risk of fire or explosion, even in the presence of external fire.

UL9540A certified

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SoNick batteries perform outstandingly even in one of the hottest regions of the Earth

#SMC batteries perform outstandingly even in one of the hottest regions of the Earth!
As part of a joint activity with the end user, 32 modules of SMC batteries (272kWh) installed outdoor in Saudi Arabia have been constantly monitored during the summer period.
Background:
👉July 2020-December 2021: batteries remained at stock for 17 months before the installation (no refresh charge necessary).
👉December 2021: installed in an outdoor shelter without Air Conditioning and ventilation.
👉January 2022–today: monthly capacity tests were performed to check for any energy variation.
FZSoNick Group are glad to share the excellent results achieved so far.

If you would like to know more about getting safe, non-flammable, reliable, recyclable, SoNick (molten salt) battery storage for your own home, business or micro-grid application in Australia visit us at https://gridedgenews.com/advantages-of-sonick-battery…/

Battery safety and fire risk

When installing energy storage batteries more people are becoming aware or the risks associated with batteries that have a possibility of going into thermal runaway.

Over the last few years there have been a number of reports of fires and explosions being caused by lithium ion batteries.

‘Zombie batteries’ causing hundreds of waste fires, experts warn

Continue reading “Battery safety and fire risk”

Salt batteries – the only chemistry UL9540A certified for safety

More and more people are recognising that one of the major issues with energy storage batteries are the dangers with fires and explosions particularly associated with thermal runaway (self-sustaining fires). This has become particularly relevant as people are considering installing the many lithium ion battery technologies in their houses or businesses and are becoming aware of the possibility of the dangers associated with this.

Standards Australia has been working on new installation standards “AS-NZ 5139_2019” which will try and address this issue but there is still a lot of discussion around whether the new installation restrictions are too strict or are really looking at individual battery characteristics correctly and fairly.

International Standard “UL9540A” has been developed to independently examine Fire Risk with Battery Cells and Evaluate Thermal Runaway Fire Propagation in Battery Energy Storage Systems.

Salt batteries – the only chemistry UL9540A certified for fire safety
Continue reading “Salt batteries – the only chemistry UL9540A certified for safety”

Medical Centre – Commercial Case Study using SoNick batteries

The medical centre was to be refurbished and part of the upgrade was to install a PV system with battery storage. The difficulty was allocating the space for battery storage that was safe for patients as well as staff. As is usual in a medical centre space is a premium and is used for medical related purposes as a priority.

A space was identified under the stairwell as the only realistic place to house the batteries and inverters. This limited the type of battery storage due to both space and safety requirements. Continue reading “Medical Centre – Commercial Case Study using SoNick batteries”

NASA robot catches fire

On June 14, 2016, four researchers at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory were preparing to ship a waist-high, ape-like robot named RoboSimian off-site. The robot had been built to rescue people from dangerous situations that were to difficult for human rescuers. The scientists swapped one lithium-ion battery for a fresh one, then left for lunch to let the new power supply charge.

 

 

Unfortunately, the new lithium ion battery  malfunctioned and went into thermal runaway. Luckily the researchers were no longer in close proximity to the robot so no-one was hurt, although NASA have said there have been a number of these close calls.

A number of attempts were made to put out the fire but eventually the robot was wheeled outside and allowed to burn itself out.
Continue reading “NASA robot catches fire”

Redflow welcomes safety-first fire rules for batteries

 

Just like GridEdge’s sodium nickel chloride battery technology Redflow’s flow battery is well suited to Australia’s varying weather conditions and doesn’t have the fire risks that lithium ion batteries do.

Along with GridEdge and many other non-lithium battery companies Australian battery company Redflow Limited (ASX:RFX) has welcomed proposed new regulations that prioritise fire safety for the deployment of lithium-based batteries inside homes. Continue reading “Redflow welcomes safety-first fire rules for batteries”