|
Electricity can be the cause of accidents and fires within Churches and Places of Worship. Some serious accidents involving electricity can be fatal and fires can be started by faulty electrical equipment or wiring.
The UK mains voltage is 230 Volts, alternating current (ac). A person receiving a shock from mains voltage can receive significant injuries, including burns, and can be killed. It is the current that does the harm, not the voltage, and a surprisingly small current flow (measured in fractions of one Amp) through the chest can stop the heart or lungs working properly.
Heat can be produced by overloaded sockets or wiring, through damaged electrical cabling or equipment or a loose connection. Some appliances give off heat, such as radiators and stage lighting, and these appliances can be a further cause of electricity-related fires if they are not used correctly.
Portable appliances
The term "portable appliance" can be used for many pieces of equipment that are fitted with a mains plus. This is often a 13 Amp mains plug, but some appliances are fitted with 16 Amp, 32 Amp or other industrial "CEEform" connectors. These connectors are colour coded yellow, blue and red depending on the voltage of the supply - the different colours are not interchangeable. The old-styled 5 Amp and 15 Amp round pin plugs are often used for stage lighting, but should be considered obsolete for all other mains applications.
In general, there are a two classifications of portable appliance used on the normal mains supply, Class I and Class II. Class I appliances usually have metal casing and must be connected to an earthed supply. Class II (also known as double insulated) have two layers of insulation to prevent a fault causing an electric shock. Class II appliances are marked with the "Double Square" symbol and do not need earthing.
Portable appliances should be tested and inspected routinely by a competent person. It is often assumed that Portable Appliance Testing should be completed annually, but the frequency of the test will depends on the type of equipment and where it is used. Each appliance is usually numbered and labelled to show it has passed the test. Additionally, records of the testing and any maintenance or repairs must be kept.
The majority of faults on electrical equipment are visual, such as a damaged flexible cord or incorrectly wired mains plug or a mains plug that does not have plastic "sleeving" on the Live and Neutral pins. In addition to a visual inspection, the Portable Appliance Test includes a test that ensures the electrical integrity of the appliance. This test is performed using equipment designed specifically for testing portable appliances.
Extension leads are often used to enable an appliance to be used some distance from a mains outlet but these should be avoided if possible. These extensions and cables must also undergo a Portable Appliance Test. Additional lengths of cable should not be added onto the flexible cord of appliances and, because of the risk of overloading sockets, do not use multi-socket adapters. A useful phrase to remember to prevent overloading is "One socket - One Plug - One appliance".
With all electrical equipment, follow the manufacturer's guidance and instructions and use the equipment only for its intended purpose. Don't trail cables where they could be a trip hazard, near water or near equipment that gets hot and make sure that ventilation holes are kept free of obstruction.
Fixed installation
The fixed installation includes all fixed electrical wiring within the building. It includes light switches, sockets, light fittings and the distribution boards or fuse boxes (which are usually situated near to the supply meter) along with all of the cabling.
It is common practice to keep parts of the electrical installation out of the reach of members of the public. This includes the fuse boxes and distribution boards, light switches and power sockets. This is especially important where industrial or non-standard power connectors are used and it also prevents the unauthorised use of equipment that has not been PAT tested.
The most important part of any electrical installation is the 'earth' connection, which is used to ensure that metal items cannot become 'live'. It is common to have a number of items connected to the electrical earth, including pipes, large metal structural elements of the building and heating system parts alongside the other parts of the electrical installation.
The electrical installation includes a number of safety devices, including fuses and circuit breakers. Residual Current Devices (sometimes called "RCD" for short) are a type of circuit breaker that reduces the chance of someone receiving a significant shock by detecting certain kinds of fault. This is essential for power used out of doors and in high-risk environments, such as near water.
It is recommended that RCDs are installed into the main distribution board, so it always provides protection to the power circuits. When this is not possible, individually protected sockets or adaptors can be provided or the plugs to appliances can be upgraded. Be aware that it is not advisable for a single RCD to protect the whole mains installation as a fault on a power circuit would also interrupt the supply to the lighting circuits.
Electrical wiring works should only be completed by a competent person, who will certify the works as complying with an industry standard (usually British Standard 7671, previously known as the IEE Wiring Regulations). The certificate is issued to show that the installation has passed a number of safety tests and is in a generally safe condition. Ideally, the certificate should be issued from a contractor registered with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting.
Electrical installations should be inspected periodically for safety by a competent person. For some premises, this might need to be as much as every year, but for many premises, where the installation is in a good state of repair and the risk is lower, a five yearly inspection is common. The electrician performing the inspection and test will produce an inspection certificate and this needs to be kept for future reference.
Work on live electrical systems and equipment should be avoided, and special techniques should be in place to carry out the work safely. In the majority of situations, work needs to be completed with the electrical power isolated from the equipment or circuit being worked on and care must be taken to make sure power is not turned back on when someone is still at work on the circuit.
It is common practice in many Churches and Places of Worship to isolate the mains supply to part or all of the building when the premises are not in use. At the very least, equipment such as heaters, organ blowers and kitchen equipment must be turned off as the building is being closed. However, the supply to fire alarm systems, security systems and emergency lighting must not be turned off in this way.
Some simple checks can be routinely made on the electrical installation to ensure safety. This includes a visual inspection of socket outlets for damage or scorch marks and the operation of the test button on all RCDs. Any defects should be repaired as soon as possible.
Low voltage
A number of the risks associated with mains power can be removed if lower voltages are used. Most power tools used by contractors and maintenance personnel use 110 Volt (centre tapped earth) power for safety, and these are supplied from a special transformer.
12- or 24- Volt power supplies are often used for equipment such as festive and decorative lighting or equipment that is being used out of doors or near water. These voltage supplies are known as "Extra-Low Voltage".
Similarly, battery equipment, especially tools, are usually considered to be much safer than mains powered equipment. Note that certain batteries, including car batteries, are not recommended as these can produce quantities of flammable gas or significant current flow in the even of a short circuit and should not be used.
Additional Information
Further guidance on electrical safety regulations is avaiable in an HSE publication, "Memorandum of guidance on the electricity at work regulations 1989". Guidance Note GS50, "Electrical safety at places of entertainment" also provides some useful additional information about the use of sound and lighting systems etc...
A competent electrician should be contacted about fixed installation wiring (and appliances if there is any doubt). It is common practice to use British Standard BS7671 (also known as the IEE wiring regulations) as a guide for installations.
|
