During a recent site visit Guardian’s, Chris Barrett, came across this Busbar Tap off, that has had the installed fuses replaced. However, this is where the problem occurs. In the process of replacement, a normal piece of cable was installed as opposed to the required fuse/protective device. In essence, the outgoing cable had no circuit protection, and under a fault condition could easily overheat to the point of starting a fire within the building.
The installed XLPE/SWA cable has a current carrying capacity 53 amps, and should be protected by a 50A fuse, affording the correct circuit protection for that cable, However, in comparison to the cable link that had been fitted which could hold 100’s of amps allowing the cable to overheat under fault conditions and creating unnecessary risks to those in the close vicinity.
The design of each circuit should take cognisance of Reg 433.1 – Coordination between conductor and overload protective device and additionally reference to Regulation 134.1.1 – ‘Good workmanship by one or more skilled or instructed persons, and proper materials shall be used in the erection of the electrical installation’ – which obviously hasn’t been shown here!
Thanks to the work our electrical inspectors, potential life-threatening hazards like this can be spotted in enough time to prevent fatal injuries from occurring.
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#Electricalsafety #ElectricalInspection #cable #regulations
