external battery enclosure

[openspaceman]

Has anyone housed a battery other than a Tesla outside?

We have a problem of where and how to house 3 off Pylontech 3000 at my Daughter's semi detached house, there is barely enough room inside by the consumer unit for the solis hybrid inverter but no room for the battery.

Looking at various outdoor cabinets and meter boxes I cannot see anything that can surface mount onto the wall to contain three batteries face up side by side so as not to intrude into the side passageway. It would need to be about 1.5m long 0.2m deep and 0.5m high and sit above an external sloping soil pipe.

This avoids having any part of the PV system needing to enter the loft and keeps the battery close to the inverter on the opposite side of the wall.

[Swwils]

Temperature would be the biggest concern!

[openspaceman]

Yes I had thought ventilation louvres would be sufficient else a thermostat and fan in the enclosure.

Given the 2020 uk gov report deprecating having battery venting into a living space I am surprised this has not come up before.

The installer says they have done an external enclosure before but it was supplied by the customer and they have no record of it.

[AE-NMidlands]

You see lots of aircon units supported on brackets on office and factory walls, so could it be more cuboidal and sit on a good strong shelf well above head height? It could be strong enough to lean a ladder against it for installing and for future access...

[Stinsy]

The battery needs to be very close to the inverter. So moving both to the attic would be the first choice. I’ve seen plenty of installs where the batteries/inverter are housed in an outdoor lean-to enclosure. However the charge rate of the batteries drops when they get too cold so outdoors would really only be if there was no other choice.

[Oldgreybeard]

Our batteries and inverter are fitted in a small outbuilding, in a very shady location that barely gets any sunlight. Despite that the inverter was getting very hot, so I added an extractor fan wired up to a plug in thermostat. That helps a bit but I still regularly see the inverter hit over 50°C. As above, I think any sort of small enclosure would need more than just some vents, it would almost certainly need a cooling fan as well to flow enough air through it.

[openspaceman]

OGB the inverter will be fine next to the consumer unit in the under stairs utility cupboard. There is no space for the batteries too, which is why I'm hoping they can go on the other side of the wall and outside.

It's on the south coast so doesn't get very cold but at what point will the battery lose performance?

[Mr Gus]

How does a duplicate services meter enclosure figure for space as a solution starter for 10?
Ie, forget the meter backboard, how much depth do you have available to cut out bricks, insulate, seal lock in ventilated kit in the precise area giving you the problem?

Logic says you need better security for it than a meter cupboard key but the area itself may present the solution?

[openspaceman]

The battery needs to be very close to the inverter. So moving both to the attic would be the first choice. I’ve seen plenty of installs where the batteries/inverter are housed in an outdoor lean-to enclosure. However the charge rate of the batteries drops when they get too cold so outdoors would really only be if there was no other choice.

Yes I understand the battery needs to be close, I thought this was because of I2R losses at the lower voltage.

When it is cold the PV will not be producing much.

[openspaceman]

How does a duplicate services meter enclosure figure for space as a solution starter for 10?
Ie, forget the meter backboard, how much depth do you have available to cut out bricks, insulate, seal lock in ventilated kit in the precise area giving you the problem?

Logic says you need better security for it than a meter cupboard key but the area itself may present the solution?

There is no exterior meter box cover presently but yes it should be possible to cut in one leaf of bricks and cavity with a lintel over to gain 6" of depth and heat loss from the house would keep temperature up. Security is an issue either way.