Small devices, big impacts: Battery-powered safety in the age of energy transition

The energy transition is transforming how we live, work, and power our lives. As homes and cities shift away from fossil fuels and toward electricity-based systems, battery technologies are becoming omnipresent. But while much of the attention in this transformation focuses on large-scale infrastructure—solar farms, EVs, or grid storage—the real revolution is happening in our pockets, hallways, garages, and backpacks.

From e-bikes to power banks, electric scooters to smart doorbells, the significant increase   of consumer battery-operated devices is reshaping not just convenience and mobility, but also the landscape of fire safety and security. These devices are everywhere—and while they offer freedom and flexibility, they also carry risks that are still not fully captured and regulated.

This article explores how the rise of everyday battery-powered devices is impacting fire safety and security systems in homes, workplaces, and public environments. It examines the technologies involved, where vulnerabilities are emerging, and what guidance can help us about managing these risks.

The omnipresence of batteries

It’s difficult to overstate how deeply batteries have integrated into modern life. In a typical home today, you will  find dozens of lithium-ion powered devices—smartphones, tablets, laptops, vacuum cleaners, electric shavers, power tools, children’s toys, and fitness trackers. Add in mobility devices like e-bikes, scooters, hoverboards, and wheelchairs, and the number climbs even higher.

This rise isn’t coincidental—it’s foundational to the decentralised energy model emerging from the energy transition. Battery power enables portability, reduces reliance on fixed infrastructure, and supports new services from personal mobility to digital security. But with this shift comes a cost: a growing fire risk profile, often unnoticed until an incident occurs.

Many battery-powered devices are manufactured for mass-market appeal and global distribution, which can sometimes mean safety compromises—especially in low-quality  or counterfeit products. These shortcomings have made fire prevention more complex, compelling fire safety professionals and HSE managers to contend with a fragmented and evolving risk landscape where  existing fire safety strategies may no longer be sufficient.

Understanding the risk

The central issue is the type of battery chemistry in use. Lithium-ion and lithium-polymer cells, prized for their energy density and rechargeability, are now standard in most consumer devices. But they are also thermally volatile, meaning that under certain fault conditions, they can ignite or explode.
Fires involving lithium-ion batteries differ from traditional fires. They ignite suddenly, burn at extremely high temperatures, and can reignite hours later due to chemical instability. They also release toxic and flammable gases, complicating suppression efforts.

Common causes of battery failure include:

• Overcharging or faulty charging circuits
• Puncture or crushing (e.g., during transport or use)
• Exposure to high temperatures or moisture
• Manufacturing defects or poor-quality cells
• Incompatible chargers or modifications

While most devices are safe under normal use, the sheer volume of battery-operated items in circulation increases the statistical likelihood of failure. A single e-bike or hoverboard left charging in a hallway overnight has caused fatal apartment fires in several European cities. Similarly, a cheap phone charger in a child’s bedroom has triggered deadly blazes.

Euralarm’s work on fire safety in EV-related infrastructure indirectly touches on this issue, especially their guidance on lithium-ion battery fires and the importance of early detection, safe storage, and public awareness. These principles are equally relevant in consumer settings.

Sectors and environments

The risks posed by consumer battery-operated devices are not confined to private homes. They are increasingly affecting a wide range of built environments, each with its own safety challenges:

• Residential buildings
  In residential complexes, lithium-ion fires can spread rapidly and are often located in tight spaces—under stairs, in hallways, or near exits. Tenants may store e-scooters, bikes, or tools indoors due to theft concerns, creating fire loads that were never anticipated in original building designs.
• Offices and workplaces
  The modern office is full of personal electronic devices—laptops, power banks, headsets, even heated coffee mugs. Most of these are charged at desks, often via unregulated USB hubs or third-party power adapters. Facilities managers are now having to consider battery fire risks as part of workplace health and safety policies.
• Public transport and transit hubs
  Trains, buses, and stations increasingly encounter battery-related incidents, particularly with e-scooters or e-bikes. Some transit authorities have banned certain devices after high-profile fires.
• Education and childcare
  Toys and learning tools are increasingly battery-operated. Fires have been reported from battery-powered ride-on vehicles, walkie-talkies, and wireless microphones. Childcare providers face a unique challenge: ensuring that products brought from home are safe and properly charged.
• Healthcare and assisted living
  Medical aids like electric wheelchairs, mobile oxygen concentrators, or hearing aids all depend on rechargeable batteries. Here, battery failure could not only cause fire but also interrupt life-sustaining functions.

Secondary risks

In addition to being sources of ignition, consumer battery-operated devices also affect the performance and reliability of safety and security systems. For example:

• A battery fire may occur near escape routes, cutting off safe egress.
• Charging stations installed ad hoc in public buildings (e.g., lobby outlets) create unauthorised fire loads.
• Fires may compromise adjacent fire safety equipment—such as destroying detectors, cameras, or wiring.
• In some cases, security systems themselves rely on consumer-grade battery components, increasing their vulnerability.

Euralarm, in its broader fire safety advocacy, promotes the integration of early detection and suppression systems tailored to lithium-ion fire behaviour. Risk-adapted safety technology must be implemented wherever battery systems are present, with protection concepts matching the specific hazard potential of each application.

Mitigation through awareness, design, and policy

Addressing the growing risks associated with consumer battery-operated devices does not mean turning away from battery technology, but it does demand smarter and more proactive management. One of the most effective strategies begins with public awareness. In some cities, education campaigns have already helped shift behaviour by encouraging users to avoid overnight charging, unplug devices once fully charged, and rely only on certified chargers. Property managers and health and safety officers can reinforce this through signage and tenant guidance.

Storage is another critical consideration, particularly in buildings where e-bikes and scooters are common. In such cases, creating designated charging areas that are fire-safe—equipped with proper ventilation, fire-rated construction, and automatic suppression systems—can significantly reduce risk. These areas should always be separated from escape routes and integrated into the building’s broader fire detection network.

Ensuring that the devices themselves meet safety standards is also essential. A large share of battery-related incidents trace back to low-quality or counterfeit products that lack adequate safety features. Stronger market surveillance is needed, and consumers should be encouraged to purchase only CE-marked and independently tested items. Euralarm has consistently supported the tightening of product safety enforcement under frameworks like the EU’s Radio Equipment Directive and General Product Safety Regulation.

Beyond prevention, detection and suppression technologies are evolving to meet the specific characteristics of lithium-ion battery fires.  Traditional smoke detectors may not react quickly enough to a failing battery, making early-stage aspirating smoke, gas sensors, thermal imaging and fire suppression systems valuable tools in high-risk environments.

Finally, a major gap remains in the absence of a central EU-wide incident database for battery-related fires. Without shared data, it is difficult to identify patterns or address systemic issues. Better coordination between fire services, insurers, and regulatory bodies is needed to collect, analyse, and act on this information—closing the feedback loop that helps manufacturers and safety professionals stay ahead of emerging threats.

Regulation: work in progress

Current fire codes and building regulations were never written with this volume of battery-operated consumer devices in mind. As a result, most national codes are silent on where or how people can store or charge devices like scooters or power tools.

This regulatory gap is something Euralarm has begun to raise in its work on fire safety and emerging technologies. They call for harmonised European guidance that addresses not only large-scale battery systems but also the accumulation of small batteries in high densities across the built environment.

Powering forward with precaution

As society moves deeper into the energy transition, consumer battery-operated devices will only become more common. Their convenience is undeniable. But their risks—particularly in terms of fire safety and impact on building security systems—are growing too large to ignore.

What’s needed now is a balanced approach: one that encourages innovation and access to clean technology while taking seriously the fire and safety challenges posed by modern battery chemistry and usage habits.
By integrating the kind of practical guidance provided by Euralarm, alongside smart product design, user education, and policy reform, we can ensure that the power revolution unfolding around us is not only efficient, but safe.

Because in a world where everything runs on batteries, fire safety starts at the socket.