The Forum for European Electrical Domestic Safety (FEEDS) is a group of stakeholders (firefighters, officers, consumer associations, insurance sector and professional organisations) working to improve electrical domestic safety in Europe. The Forum aims to contribute to a safe, just and ambitious Energy Transition mainly focused on electrification.
Introduction
Fire safety is an important aspect of building policies: fire kills around 5,000 citizens of the European Union (EU) every year. Most fires occur in homes and almost all are preventable. The energy transition introduces both risks and opportunities for fire safety, which must be considered as part of the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which has been recently approved by the Parliament and the Council of the EU. With minimal effort focused on the implementation of this directive, it is possible to protect thousands of people in Europe against fire.
Fire safety is primarily addressed by building codes, which fall under national jurisdiction, but there are several interlinkages with energy renovation policies. While it is not its primary objective, the new EPBD addresses fire safety and several of its instruments are highly relevant for fire safety.
FEEDS has demonstrated the predominance of domestic fires from electrical sources which represents 30%1 of fires in the EU and 50%2 of accidental fires. Thus, when it comes to fire safety,
electrical safety is implicitly included.
For years FEEDS has worked on electrical safety, not only by establishing a complete picture of the situation in the EU but also by promoting a certain number of key recommendations and advice. This work can constitute valuable assistance in the development of guidelines related to fire safety within the framework of the EPBD.
The status of electrical safety in EU dwellings and the impact for energy renovation
In the past 120 years, electricity has become the predominant energy source in our everyday life. Its applications have improved our comfort and safety, multiplying the means of entertaining and communicating. But, given the low renovation rate of dwellings and their electrical installations, the safety of older electrical installations is now a concern in the countries of the European Union. FEEDS estimates that, in the EU, 132 million electrical installations are obsolete,3 this represents half of the residential building stock.
In the near future, the use of domestic electricity will continue to diversify and will develop even faster due to the energy transition, posing increasingly important challenges in terms of safety and quality:
- Deficiencies of obsolete electrical installations generally result from the ageing of their components, the lack of maintenance and inappropriate use.
- Data from a number of European countries reveal that electrical fires account for up to 30% of all domestic fires2 and should logically increase with the intensification of the electrification.
- The total number of fires of electrical origin in the EU is estimated to be 273,000 per year. Their consequences are dramatic in terms of fatalities, injuries and the economic cost to society.
If these observations seem worrying, it must also be emphasized that making a home electrically safe is in no way comparable to the cost of a complete renovation of a home. Unfortunately, electrical installations are too often ignored as part of these overall renovations.
Electrical Installations are the backbone of low emission buildings
Electrical installations are essential to achieve the energy transition objective. They play a critical role in the energy performance of buildings, enabling the efficient consumption and production of renewable energy and facilitating system integration.
As electrification is expected to play a central role in buildings’ efficiency and their ability to interlink various aspects of our energy systems, reliable and adequately dimensioned electrical systems are a pre-requisite to integrate the energy performance devices already available today, such as solar PV, battery storage systems, heat pumps or electric vehicle charging points.
Due to this central role in the decarbonisation of buildings and the state of the European stock as assessed by FEEDS, electrical installations need particular attention.
The need for inspection regimes
The primary safety concern when adding new electrical loads or electricity production to a domestic environment is not necessarily the safety of the devices and equipment themselves but rather the condition of the existing electrical installation. If the installation is obsolete, it may pose significant safety risks. To succeed in the Energy Transition, Member States therefore face a major challenge in regard to domestic electrical safety, especially as, in practice, the number of hazardous installations is expected to continue to rise if nothing is done. To address that challenge, electrical inspections regimes are a proven measure4 to prevent fires from electrical sources and to characterise obsolescence: knowing the status of the electrical installation makes it possible to determine its level of safety and readiness to integrate major electrical loads and electricity production like heat pumps, EV charging points, photovoltaic panels or battery storage systems.
FEEDS has established a mapping of existing electrical inspection regimes across EU5 showing that the situation varies strongly among Member States and is not sufficient in view of the current context. It shows also that best practice is already in place and many opportunities of improvements exist and could be encouraged by the EPBD implementation.
There are primarily two types of inspection regimes: one for new or completely renovated installations, and another for existing installations.
Initial verification of electrical installations
In the majority of EU countries, an initial third-party verification of the electrical installation in new residential buildings is mandatory. Who coordinates and who executes those inspections depends upon the country and the type of building. Most of the inspections in the EU are executed by private inspection companies or third-party authorised electricians.
In some countries, third-party inspection of the installation is not mandatory, but the work on the installation needs to be executed by certified electrical contractors.
Verification that the inspection (or certified installation) has been executed is in the hands of distribution network operators or public authorities. In most EU countries, distribution network operators request an inspection report before connecting the new electricity meters to the grid.
Inspection of existing electrical installations
The European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization, CENELEC, recommends (HD 60364-6: Harmonization Document on Low voltage electrical installations – Part 6: Verification) a periodic inspection of the electrical installation every 10 years. When occupancy of a dwelling has changed, a verification of the electrical installation can also be strongly recommended. However, the majority of European countries lack regulations for verifying domestic electrical installations after the initial inspection, if such an inspection exists. Among countries that do require periodic inspections, the protocols vary greatly. The following strategies can be roughly distinguished:
- periodic inspections at fixed intervals
- inspections with each change of occupant
- inspection after major works (power increase, retrofit, new equipment installation, etc.)
About the Author
Olivier Tissot
Olivier Tissot is Manager Market Development at International Copper Association Europe and coordinator of the Forum for European Electrical Domestic Safety secretariat.
Holder of a scientific doctorate, Olivier Tissot has been working for more than 20 years for the International Copper Association. Director of the French Copper Development Association until 2015, he is now working at European level, managing topics covering environmental data, digitalisation and safety. He has led the electrical safety campaign in France for 15 years and has now brought his expertise to FEEDS since 2017.
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