Battery Fire Water Demand Planner

Size temporary water supply for lithium-ion battery incidents. Enter the battery’s stored energy, the gallons per MWh recommended by your fire engineer, and the attack duration to reveal the pump rate you must source beyond the water already staged on-site.

Nameplate usable energy of the rack, container, or ESS zone.
Fire engineer guideline for gallons needed per megawatt-hour of lithium-ion energy.
Continuous application window fire crews plan to flow water.
Defaults to 0. Enter dedicated tank or hydrant capacity already staged.

Pre-planning aid only—coordinate with fire protection engineers, AHJs, and insurers before finalizing ESS suppression design.

Examples

  • 3.2 MWh system, 4,500 gal/MWh, 4-hour flow, 2,500 gallons on-site ⇒ 49.58 gpm additional pump capacity
  • 1.5 MWh system, 3,500 gal/MWh, 3-hour flow, no stored water ⇒ 29.17 gpm additional pump capacity

FAQ

Can I convert the result into tanker truck counts?

Multiply the gpm output by the suppression duration to recover total gallons, then divide by your tanker capacity to see how many deliveries are required beyond the on-site supply.

What if I use water-mist or clean-agent systems?

Adjust the gallons-per-MWh input to match the agent volume your suppression design requires. The calculator treats the value generically so it can handle alternative media.

Does this include sprinkler demand?

No. Add this flow on top of building sprinkler or hydrant calculations to ensure pumps and mains can support concurrent demands during an ESS fire.

Additional Information

  • Total gallon demand equals energy × gallons-per-MWh guidance before subtracting on-site reserves.
  • Duration converts the remaining gallons into an average flow requirement in gallons per minute.
  • Use local fire code, NFPA 855 guidance, or insurer recommendations to pick the gallons-per-MWh factor.

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