Safety and standardization are common topics for the energy storage industry as storage technologies obtain wider adoption. CODA Energy has always been at the forefront of safety and standardization, having been the first energy storage company to obtain UL Listing for all of our hardware and software. In July at Intersolar 2015 in San Francisco, the solar and storage industry’s brightest minds and biggest thinkers came together to discuss photovoltaics, PV production technologies, energy storage systems and solar thermal technologies. CODA presented at an interactive session, hosted by NaatBatt International, entitled “Inside-the-Meter Storage Systems Safety.”
Peter Nortman, CODA founder and CTO, spoke about his experience with safety considerations for energy storage systems including the need for standardization, education and training for installers. In addition, Pete led a discussion about safety standards and what is currently available for energy storage including UL Listing and ISO for assuring quality control, safety, reliability and performance and CODA’s role in helping develop standards for battery systems. “CODA Energy takes a comprehensive approach to delivering scalable, safe and effective products,” said Nortman. “From battery cell selection and system integration to certified installation and operation, we’ve invested heavily in quality control, real-time remote system management and third-party certifications to ensure that the products we deliver to our customers meet the highest standards for safe and efficiency.”
The workshop addressed topics including:
• The role of manufacturers in ensuring energy storage systems are properly installed, including third-party certified installer programs.
• The importance of educating customers, cities, utilities and fire departments on the safety of energy storage systems.
• The variety and complexity of battery chemistries and technologies – differentiating chemistries.
• The importance of safety standards such as by Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
CODA recognizes that energy storage manufacturers play a significant role in educating stakeholders on the proper installation and management of energy storage systems. Currently the company follows UL and ISO standards to ensure quality and safety in their products and runs a certified energy storage installer training program to ensure installation partners, such as Black & Veatch, can properly deploy energy storage products to ensure safety and performance. Once stakeholders understand the importance of proper safety measures in the context of energy storage, it is clear that safety is critical to the faster and more widespread adoption in the marketplace. CODA Energy will also be speaking on safety at the NY-BEST Energy Storage Technology Conference on November 12th, 2015 at 2:00 PM in Rochester, NY.