FEATURE ENCLOSURES Enclosures take the heat
number of minutes of functional integrity. The intrinsic fire resistance of the electrical components allows the people inside to leave the building and rescue forces to operate. In addition to DIN 4102-12,
Fire protection enclosures from Spelsberg have been
installed at a mall in Germany, helping to ensure the shopping centre is well prepared in the event of an emergency
D
espite fire prevention plans helping to minimise the likelihood of fires
occurring in public buildings such as airports, hospitals and shops, the risk cannot be completely eliminated. The percentage of fires in UK shopping centres accounts for 1.7% of the country’s retail fires, which are estimated to be 10.5% of all large loss fires in the UK, according to the Fire Protection Association and the RISCAuthority Large Loss Fire database. With electrical systems such as lighting,
ventilation, smoke extraction and suppression being vital for saving lives, it is important that the electrical equipment that supports emergency systems must be adequately protected in the event of fire. Such systems must be protected from the force of the fire and remain operational long enough for thousands of people to be safely evacuated and for the fire to be extinguished.
PROTECTING PEOPLE Built in 2008 and located in Essen, Germany, the Limbecker Platz mall contains more than 140 retail shops and 25 restaurants across its 70,000m2
of
floor area, and has a daily foot traffic of over 50,000 people. To ensure that electrical installations for emergency systems function safely during a fire, mall managers have to choose between two standard methods of providing fire protection to electrical circuits. The first one consists of encasing the conduits in concrete, mostly within walls; while the second involves cabling and enclosures that can withstand fire for a prolonged amount of time.
26 APRIL 2019 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS
With the first method, however, it is necessary to design the encasement before the building is erected, therefore any modernisation, inspection or maintenance would require the demolition of the original concrete encasement. In addition, there is no standard identifying how long different concretes may protect an electrical circuit from failure; and the design does not allow for access or visual inspection of conduits and cables should a problem present itself in day-to-day operation. So, having reviewed their options, the mall managers chose to specify fire resistant cabling and enclosures. The equipment, however, needed to comply with the German standard DIN 4102-12 ‘Fire behaviour of building materials and elements – Fire resistance of electric cable systems required to maintain circuit integrity – Requirements and testing’. This regulation is considered one of
the strictest in Europe and requires all the components of an entire cable system to withstand temperatures of up to 1,000°C and remain operational for at least 30, 60 or 90 minutes. The minimum duration for functional integrity of electrical systems is expressed as an ‘E’ followed by the
The Limbecker Platz mall contains more than 140 retail shops and 25 restaurants across its 70,000m2
the installations must adhere to the European EN 60670 standard ‘Boxes and enclosures for electrical accessories for household and similar fixed electrical installations. General requirements’, which provides a number of environmental requirements. For example, the electrical enclosure should feature protection against moisture, dust, corrosion and mechanical stress. Ingress protection classification, in turn, is regulated by the DIN EN 60529 (VDE 0470). To meet the relevant regulations, the electrical installers turned to Spelsberg.
of
floor area, and has a daily foot traffic of over 50,000 people
Spelsberg’s enclosures are made of Duroplast, an extremely robust, halogen-free, fibre-reinforced, thermosetting plastic. When heated, the material becomes irreversibly rigid instead of melting
A ROBUST SOLUTION Spelsberg’s WKE fire protection enclosures are manufactured in accordance with DIN 4102-12, guaranteeing electrical functional integrity for 30, 60 up to 90 minutes in the event of a fire. They are also certified according to EN 60670 and EN 60529, providing different degrees of ingress protection against dust and water ingress, from IP54 up to IP67. The boxes, which can be customised, are made of Duroplast, an extremely robust, halogen-free, fibre-reinforced, thermosetting plastic. When heated, the material becomes irreversibly rigid – instead of melting – and offers low smoke emissions. In addition, the junction boxes prevent the penetration of foreign objects and offer further durability in conditions of extreme heat by means of pre-fitted ceramic terminals as standard. Spelsberg’s products are all tested and certified according to the VDE and the Material Testing Institute (MPA). The effectiveness of Spelsberg’s solution at the mall has been confirmed recently when its managers, together with the police and the fire brigades, conducted a fire drill. According to the fire department, the shopping centre is well prepared in the event of an emergency. Chris Lloyd, managing director at
Spelsberg, commented: “We are committed to deliver high-quality fire protection enclosures that support businesses like Limbecker Platz and align with their fire protection policies. The safety measures within the mall are advanced, and we are happy to play a part in protecting its visitors and personnel with our quality solutions.”
Spelsberg
www.spelsberg.co.uk
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