Batteries, inverters and storage vessels are heavy, and unrestrained heavy things move in a quake. Any installation in a seismic area should be bolted to a proper base with restraints suited to the site, and pipework should have flexibility where it crosses between fixed points. Ask the pilot team and your council how the installation is anchored, the same way you would ask about a hot water cylinder strap or a gas bottle chain.
The system is designed with redundant leak sensors that trigger automatic shutdown and venting if they detect hydrogen where it should not be. If the grid drops, the battery and inverter switch over instantly in UPS mode. Do not go outside to look at the equipment during shaking or aftershocks. Drop, cover and hold, then check people before you check anything mechanical.
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Once it is safe, walk around the enclosure and look for obvious damage: a shifted base, bent pipework, a cracked enclosure or a fault on the display. If anything looks wrong, leave it shut down and call for an inspection. If it is all clear, the house can run on stored hydrogen while the network is rebuilt.
Prioritise the modem or radio for official updates, then the fridge, then water. Many post-quake outages come with damaged water mains and boil water notices, so a rainwater tank pump may be your only clean supply for a while. Keep heavy loads like the dryer and oven off until you know how long the repair will take.
If you can see damage, smell anything odd, or the display shows a fault, leave it off and get it inspected. The system is designed to shut itself down if leak sensors trip, so a shutdown on its own is a sign it did its job, not that it failed.
The buffer is low pressure, 30 bar or less, and sits inside an enclosure with leak detection. Physical damage from a severe quake is still possible, which is why restraint and an inspection after any strong shaking matter. Treat it like any other fuel store in the house.
It complements one. You still need stored drinking water, food, a torch, a battery radio and a plan for meeting up. Backup power makes the days after more bearable but does nothing for the first minutes, when your kit and your plan carry you.
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