Why are battery cabinets so dangerous?

Battery cabinets tend to direct the energy out of the cabinet door. Because of this, large-scale battery enclosures can expose personnel to more incident energy than a typical enclosure during an arc flash incident, both by containing the fault and by making it more difficult for workers to self-rescue within a typical two-second window.

What are the risks of working with batteries?

Working around batteries can expose an employee to both electrical shock and arc flash hazards. A person’s body might react to contact with dc voltage differently than from contact with ac voltage. Batteries can also expose employees to the hazards associated with the chemical electrolyte used in batteries.

Are cabinetized batteries safe?

There is a high risk of shock and arc flash for cabinetized batteries, especially for UPS installations. In many cases, personnel can easily reach across 100 volts or more in these cabinets.

What are the safety requirements related to batteries & Battery rooms?

Employers must consider exposure to these hazards when developing safe work practices and selecting personal protective equipment (PPE). That is where Article 320, Safety Requirements Related to Batteries and Battery Rooms comes in.

Are batteries dangerous?

One of the possible dangers of working with batteries is chemical exposure. A paper presented at the recent 2013 NFPA Conference & Expo in Chicago introduced an example of how a risk assessment might be constructed for a battery system. The same thought process could be applied to other types of systems.

Are DC batteries arc-flash hazard?

The high level of DC power that feeds into inverters from the combined output of the banks of DC batteries is an arc-flash hazard. When the outputs of multiple daisy-chained batteries are brought together in a combiner box, they can also produce enough DC voltage to initiate an arc.