WARNING: DOWNLIGHTS MUST BE FITTED CORRECTLY IN FIRE RATED CEILINGS

Transcription

1 WARNING: DOWNLIGHTS MUST BE FITTED CORRECTLY IN FIRE RATED CEILINGS Requirement I: The fire protection rating of the downlight must be the same as, or exceed that of the ceiling. Ceilings range from 30 to 90 minutes so selecting a downlight rated for 90 minutes or more will meet all requirements. Note: Wholesalers must ensure that the product they supply is Fit for purpose. BS476 Part 23 the standard for fire integrity requires openings to be sealed by an intumescent barrier when exposed to sufficient heat. Fire Rated Ceiling Section 11 of the approved document B, The building regulations 2000 states that a fire barrier will be fitted to the opening to seal any gap between the ceiling material and the fitment*. This is required to be: Ceramic resin fire mortar or intumescent mastic. Fire Rated Ceiling * This requirement is adopted under the IEE Wiring Regulations 16/17th Editions and BS7671:2001 (Section ). Failure to comply compromises the fire rating of the ceiling and can lead to civil and criminal liability where a ceiling fails to protect property and life. NOTE: Under the european supply of goods directives, wholesalers and wholesalers staff not ensuring that the correct prodcut is supplied or offering incorrect advice on installation may share this liability at both company and personal level. Section 11 of approved ducument B, The building regulations 2000 is headed: Protection of openings and fire stopping. NOW COMPLIANT TO 30,60 & 90 MINUTES FIRE PROTECTION FEATURING OUR ENERGY SAVING RANGE FIRE RATED RANGE Emcogroup have 3 ranges of 100 minute fire rated downlights. Our standard range are the readily available, popular, steel and die cast fittings. The Atlantic range consists of a fire rated canister to which a variety of accessories can be added to suit your design, available in low voltage, 230v GU10, which accept PL7/9/11/15 W lamps as well as standard GU10, lastly the 35w Britespot version for commercial applications. The Pacific range, 18 & 26w PL-T version also accepts a variety of accessories to suit your design. All fire rated products tested by Warrington Fire or Darchem (Esterline). Certificates kept on file. Lastly we have a range of firehoods available allowing a wider choice of light fittings to be used.

2 LEGISLATION AND CERTIFICATION Fire Safety Approved Document B is concerned with Fire Safety and Section 11 of this document relates to - Protection of Openings and Fire Stopping. Specifically Clause 11.2 states that - If a fire separating element is to be effective, then every joint, or imperfection of fit, or opening to allow services to pass through the element, should be adequately protected by sealing or fire-stopping so that the fire resistance of the element is not impaired. All of the Emcogroup Fire Rated products achieved 30,60 & 90 minutes. Surpassing BS 476 part 20 & 21. Acoustic Performance Testing Approved Document E is concerned with resistance to the passage of sound. The intergrity of a structures sound attenuation as determined in this document, must not be compromised by the fitting of downlights. In these tests the level of both airbourne and impact noise through a ceiling/floor is measured both before and after the fitting of the downlights. The requirement is that the transmission of sound must not increase by more that 1db (decibel). In all cases of the downlights tested, there was no increase in sound transmitted and in some cases reduced by up to one decibel. All of the Emcogroup fire rated products comply and some even surpass BS EN ISO and -2:1997. Electrical Safety Regulation 4(2) states that, on completion of the work, the building should be no worse in terms of the level of compliance with other applicable Parts of Schedule 1 to the Building Regulations. For example, one or more perforations of a ceiling lining beneath a floor made to accommodate recessed lighting or similar fittings - may have an adverse effect on that floor s performance to it s resistance to fire and sound penetraction. The Emcogroup fire rated downlight were to be tested to 30, 60 & 90 minutes but were found to be resisting fire for up to 100 minutes. Complies With Approved Document Part C Where shown downlights are suitable for use to meet the requirements of building regulation approved document C - moisture and airflow. The regulation requires that a sufficient air-tight seal is provided to avoid condensation forming in cold, unvented roof spaces. Total leakage should not exceed 0.06m 3 (Hr per metre 2 tested at 2 pa (pascales) Part L1 & L2 The Pacific range fitting meets the requirements of Part L of building regulations relating to the installation of low energy luminaries. Complies with Scottish building regulations, section 2 (fire), section 3 (air movement) and section 5 (noise).

3 LEGISLATION AND CERTIFICATION The Wiring Regulations Section 527 of wiring Regulations (BS 7671:2008) relates to - selection and erection to minimise the spread of fire Clause states - The risk of the spread of fire shall be minimised by the selection of appropriate materials and erection in accordance with section 527. Clause states - Where a wiring system passes through elements of building construction... the opening remaining after the passage of the wiring system shall be sealed according to the degree of fire resistance required of the element concerned. Clearly where a hole is cut into a fire resistant ceiling to mount a downlight, the electrical contractor must ensure that the fire integrity of the ceiling is maintained. This can be ensured by installing an Emcogroup fire rated downlight. BS 7671: 2008 The 17th Edition of the IEE wiring regulations (BS 7671: 2008) was published in January 2008 and came into effect from 1st July All commercial, domestic and industrial wiring installations must be designed, constructed, inspected, tested and certified to meet the requirements of BS 7671: 2008 BS : 1987 Fire tests on building materials and structures BS476 PART 20 & 21 A number of test standards are used to show the performance of product/constructions under fire situations. The BS 476 fire test on building materials and structures, the method for determination of the fire resistance of elements of contruction (Part 20) and loadbearing elements of construction (Part 21). The Emcogroup fire rated range has been tested and surpasses all of the requirements of BS Parts 20 & 21. PACIFIC Compact fluorescent Low voltage Mains voltage Britespot 18w PL-T Lamp 26w PL-T Lamp 12v GX5.3/MR16 20w dichroic/reflector lamp 12v GX5.3/MR16 35w dichroic/reflector lamp 12v GX5.3/MR16 50w dichroic/reflector lamp LED version 230v 7/9/11/13/15w GU10 compact fluorescent lamp 230v GU10 Par16 50w reflector lamp 230v GU10 Par16 35w reflector lamp LED version 35w Sylvania Britespot

4 ABOUT FIREBLOK The popularity of downlights in dwellings has had a much bigger effect than just transforming how modern lighting looks. Twenty years ago a typical room would have a plaster board ceiling with plaster skim and one or two ceiling roses to provide light. The plaster and board provided effective heat and fire integrity, often exceeding thirty minutes of fire containment, even though temperatures would exceed 1000ºC. Today, that same room may have twenty or more downlights each providing a 70 to 120mm diameter hole through which flame and high temperatures gain immediate access to the underside of the wooden or chipboard floor of the room above. This has drastically reduced the ability of ceiling surfaces to contain fire and allows fire to travel vertically more quickly. As most houses have bedrooms on the upper floor, the increased danger to occupants is obvious. Fire rated downlights have been introduced to maintain the fire integrity of ceiling surfaces but these products have also changed the liability that the installer is now exposed to. With these products the installer is taking on life-time liability for the fire integrity of the structure under the Building Regulations. The installer is completely responsible for the installation throughout its lifetime Products that have been tested within the specifications of BS476 by a UKAS Accredited Test House will bear the accreditation mark in figure 2. Products may claim to have been tested to this standard but only the accreditation mark on the product, or its packaging, provides assurance of compliance. As installers may be held to account for their work where a fire event occurs for many years to come, using accredited products proves that the installer has used reasonable care to ensure their installation complies with the regulations. APERTURES AND FIRE STOPPING The Building Regulations Section 11 of Approved Document B Building Regulation 2000 requires the installer to fit a fire stopping barrier to the aperture between the downlight and the ceiling surface in intumescent material, ceramic resin or fibreglass fire blanket. To save installers time, all of Emcogroup s fire rated downlights are supplied with a fire barrier either pre-fitted between the rim and the underside of the ceiling surface (figure 3) or as an item to be fitted on the canister side to seal against the inside edge of the aperture cut out (figure 4). Intumescent material expands when exposed to heat to fill gaps and irregularities without pressure so that there is no risk of any components dislodging during a fire event. Failure by an installer to fit fire stopping is a blatant breach of regulations and compromises the fire integrity of the ceiling structure. This could lead to civil and criminal proceedings where there is a premature fire integrity failure. BS476 YOUR PEACE OF MIND Figure 1 shows in red the room temperatures specified during a BS476 test, a test which simulates a fire event in a typical room. The green line shows the temperature at which aluminium is molten (600ºC). All of Emcogroup s products featuring an aluminium trim or front rely on the steel canister for fire resistance and integrity as the aluminium fronts fall away within 25 minutes of the test commencing. Figure 5 shows the steel lip arrangement which locates to the underside of the ceiling surface to provide resistance against the fixing springs once the aluminium front has detached in a fire event. Emcogroup s downlights use steel (1500ºC melting point) with either welded steel parts or steel thread and bolt in the construction of the fire resisting canister. Our research found that aluminium components and rivets failed rapidly in fire testing which can lead to the downlight dis-assembling within the ceiling void before achieving the required duration.

5 MINUTE FIRE PROTECTION Further testing has been carried out on our fire rated range and we are pleased to announce that all of the downlights have been independently tested for 30, 60 and 90 minute fire rated ceilings. What does this mean to you? The ceiling type constructed depends on the type of building under construction. The ceilings have to be constructed to provide protection to occupied floors above and also to adjacent buildings for a duration as specified in Building Regulations Part B. 600mm joist centres 600mm joist centres 450mm joist centres Single layer 12.5mm plasterboard Double layer 15mm plasterboard Double layer 15mm plasterboard 30 minutes A typical application is for a residential dwelling property of two stories. 60 minutes A typical application is for a commercial property with residential units above. House and residential units with floors between 5M - 10M above ground. 90 minutes A typical application is greater than 10M or residential units over 30M above ground level. PLEASE REFER TO BUILDING REGULATIONS: PART B FOR FULL DETAILS ON APPLICATION OF CEILING RATINGS. THE TECHNICAL THEORY BEHIND FIREBLOK - standard range The new Emcogroup fire rated downlighters are manufactured to and surpass the Positioning nut Pre-loaded rotating shutter requirements of the building regulations of building regulations Approved Document B and fire tested in accordance with BS 476 PT 20 & 21. Ventilation hole Spring Body With this new technology we can offer a recessed fire rated downlight which despenses with the requirements of the intumescent seal. In the event of the ambient temperature rising to 300ºC a thermal link releases a pre-loaded shutter to rotate within Open Support body Thermal link Closed 0.5 seconds closing the ventilation holes to prevent fire spreading. Normally the ventilation holes on the body and rotating shutter are opened. When temperature rises to 300º - 350ºC, the ventilation holes will be closed.