9 - Flammability tests for electrical appliances

Abstract

While upholstered furniture, bedding, and mattress fires represent some of the most pressing causes of domestic fires and fire deaths, electrical fires answer for some 20% of all fires in homes and are a major cause of domestic fire losses. Electrical equipment is no longer the sole province of the electrical engineer, whose concern has been limited to preventing such equipment from being an ignition source. The normal course of events in a room fire are: ignition source, first item ignited, second item ignited or interior finish ignited, further ignition of other items and/or interior finish, complete room involvement or flashover. It is therefore critical in controlling fire growth to break the chain at the first item ignited. The external ignition source has now been recognized as a key part in this chain. This chapter provides an understanding of the need for standard testing in order to verify that regulations provide a suitable framework for design of products with appropriate performance. The major source of standardization within electrical and electronic technologies is the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Within the European Union, the European Committee for Electro- technical Standardization (CENELEC) is the leading standardization organization of electrical and electronic technologies. In the case of TV sets and IT equipment, the IEC has traditionally dealt with these products separately within committees IEC TC74. While CENELEC is the leading European standardization organization in the field, the IEC is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. These serve as a basis for national standardization.