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Electrical Safety Testing as per NEC OF INDIA 2023

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Electrical Safety Audit

Testing Inspection and Certification of Low Voltage Electricity (TIC)

  • Initial Verification
  • Periodic Verification
  • Partial Verification
  • Customised Verifications

Ensuring safety on electrical hazards mainly from electrocution and fire due to short circuit is the responsibility of everyone who occupies/work in the facility, be it manufacturing, IT sector, offices, shops, laboratory, hospital, hotel, residential buildings.

It is the responsibility of an Electrical Engineer who involves in Design, Building Construction, Facility Maintenance to ensure the facility follows the safety requirements of regulations and standards. Both regulations and standards are updated frequently to enhance safety in the current environment and method of using electricity.

Verification plays a major role in ensuring safety; SOLVE a reliable digital platform to carryout initial, periodic, partial and customised verifications based on the current IS/IEC standards.

Our Intelligent Digital platform for TIC is unique and first of its kind WORLDWIDE

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Electrical Safety & Legal requirements in India

Central Electricity Authority “Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply Regulations, 2023” is based on The Electricity Act 200, to ensure the safety of people and property from hazards due to electricity. The regulations mainly concentrate on the requirements to be followed by the electricity supply company. However, the regulation 14 and 32 explains.

Regulation 14

General safety requirements, pertaining to construction, installation, protection, operation and maintenance of electric supply lines and apparatus.

  • All electric supply lines and apparatus shall be of sufficient rating for power, insulation and estimated fault current and of sufficient mechanical strength, for the duty cycle which they may be required to perform under the environmental conditions of installation, and shall be constructed, installed, protected, worked and maintained in such a manner as to ensure safety of human beings, animals and property.
  • Save as otherwise provided in these regulations, the relevant standards including the National Electrical Code and National Building Code shall be followed to carry out the purpose of these regulations and where relevant Indian standards are not available, International standards shall be followed and in the event of any inconsistency, the provisions of these regulations shall prevail.
  • The material and apparatus used shall conform to the relevant specifications of the Bureau of Indian Standards or International Electrotechnical Commission where such specifications have already been laid down.

From this regulation 12 (1 to 3) it is clear that the National Building Code and National Electrical Code shall be followed for ensuring safety in a consumer premise. In addition, the products used shall confirm IS/IEC standards.

International Standards (IEC) & Code of Practice by Bureau of Indian standards

The IEC 60364 in conjunction with national statutory requirements are followed globally to ensure protection of persons and property from electrical hazards. In India the IS732 and National Electrical Code of India specifies the requirements for a safe and reliable electrical installation. Both these Code of practices follow the IEC 60364 recommendations.

Every electrical installation shall be designed, products are selected, erected based on the recommendations of codes and standard

Every electrical installation is verified to ensure safety compliance as per the applicable code of practices and standards.

Electrical Installation requires
  • Protection against electrocution (basic protection and fault protection)
  • Protection against thermal effects such as fire from the usage of electricity.
  • Protection against Over Current and Earth fault
  • Protection against Over Voltages including overvoltages due to an electric fault, EMI, current loops etc.

The practice of TIC based on IEC standards and national regulations do not exist in many developing nations, mainly due to the nonawareness of safety requirements.

CAPE brings knowledge to every safety engineer, equip them to understand the need of each inspection and testing subjects, train them to follow the recommended methods and formats in the standards, and ensure compliance with standard and SAFETY FOR EVERYONE.

Inspection
  • Method of protection against electric shock.
  • Presence of fire barriers and other precautions against the propagation of fire and protection against thermal effects.
  • Selection of conductors for current-carrying capacity.
  • Single pole switching devices are connected to the line conductors.
  • Choice, setting, selectivity, and coordination of protective and monitoring devices.
  • Selection, location, and installation of suitable overvoltage protective measures.
  • Selection, location, and installation of suitable isolating and switching devices.
  • Selection of equipment and protective measures appropriate to external influences and mechanical stresses.
  • Identification of neutral and protective conductors.
  • Presence of diagrams, warning notices or similar information.
  • Identification of circuits, overcurrent protective devices, switches, terminals, etc.
  • Adequacy of termination and connection of cables and conductors.
  • Selection and installation of earthing arrangements, protective conductors, and their connections.
  • Accessibility of equipment for the convenience of operation, identification, and maintenance.
  • Measures against electromagnetic disturbances.
  • Exposed-conductive parts are connected to the earthing arrangement.
  • Selection and erection of the wiring systems.
  • Specific requirements for special locations.
Testing
  • Resistance measurement of conductors and comparison.
  • Insulation resistance.
  • Insulation resistance ELV or electrical separation.
  • Floor and wall resistance/impedance.
  • Polarity test.
  • Effectiveness of automatic disconnection of supply.
  • Effectiveness of additional protection.
  • Phase sequence.
  • Functional tests.
  • Voltage drop.
  • PAT (Portable Appliance Test)
Inspection, Testing and Expertise

Each point in the Inspection consists of different techniques adopted to ensure safety. Expertise is necessary to understand the need of each inspection and testing subject, its applicability and its influence if safety. SOLVE helps to follow the recommended steps of the standards automatically as a result, mistakes or missing subjects are avoided.

Some Examples are

  • Method of protection against electric shock.
  • Protection against electric shock is achieved by basic protection and fault protection.
  • Basic protective measures are insulation of live parts, barriers, enclosures, obstacles, and place out of reach.
  • Fault protection is achieved by protective equipotential bonding and automatic disconnection of supply, Extra low voltage (SELV/PELV), electrical separation, double insulation, and supplementary protective equipotential bonding...
  • Presence of fire barriers and other precautions against the propagation of fire and protection against thermal effects.
  • The presence of fire barriers includes the presence of fire barriers at appropriate locations, fire rating (120 minutes as per NBC 2016), test certificates of the product, usage as recommended in the test certificate and by manufacturer, markings, and labels.
  • Precautions against the propagation of fire include inspection of usage of fire-resistant materials in respective locations, routing of conductors and appropriate protective measures in escape routes, and selection of materials and devices in escape routes.
  • Protection against thermal effect includes inspection of measures to ensure the heat is handled safely, e.g mounting, and appropriate thermal insulation.

Selection of conductors for current-carrying capacity.

  • Type of conductors used
  • Installation methods
  • Derating factors applied properly
  • Voltage drops are within the limits
How do we work
  • Safety Organisations who are specialised in Fire Safety / OSHA can employ SOLVE engineers as their Partner to achieve their electrical safety requirement.
  • End Clients who can employ SOLVE engineers as their Partner to carry out the verification of their LV system along with their Facility Maintenance team on site to ensure the safety.
  • Consultants / Designers of electrical installation can employ SOLVE engineers to verify their drawings to ensure the safety and conformity to code of practices and standards.
  • Project Managers / Architects can employ SOLVE engineers to guide the cost effectiveness of their projects with out compromising safety and compliance to standards.