Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Fire Commission adopts bulletin allowing UL-tested rules for home battery spacing
Summary
The San Francisco Fire Commission unanimously adopted Fire Department Administrative Bulletin AB 5.12, permitting applicants to use recognized UL testing to justify reduced separation distances for residential battery energy storage systems in lieu of a blanket 3-foot rule; industry speakers urged more time and formal rulemaking.
The San Francisco Fire Commission on a unanimous vote adopted Fire Department Administrative Bulletin AB 5.12, changing how the department will interpret separation distances for residential energy storage systems (ESS).
The bulletin, presented by the fire marshal, permits applicants to submit UL 9540 test reports and corresponding manufacturer installation instructions to justify spacing that is less than the code's default three-foot separation. The fire marshal said the bulletin will accept the UL-tested spacing when provided and otherwise default to the existing three-foot separation in the code. "You can either use three feet or testing," the fire marshal said, and when both test results and installation instructions are present the…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
