Electrical Safety and Protection Technologies
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Electrical Safety and Protection Technologies
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IPS CODES & COMPLIANCE
What does the National Electrical Code (NEC) say about Isolated Power? NFPA 70 - Article 517-20(a) says..."All receptacles and fixed equipment within the area of the wet location shall have ground-fault circuit-interrupter protection if interruption of power under fault conditions can be tolerated, or be served by an isolated power system if such interruption cannot be tolerated...".
What does NFPA 99 - Standard for Health Care Facilities" say about Isolated Power? For obvious reasons, NFPA 99 is the most exhaustive source of information and guidelines for the application and performance monitoring of Isolated Power Systems. Here are some highlights: Section 3 says the same as NEC: that Isolated Power is required in wet location patient care areas where an interruption of power cannot be tolerated under ground fault conditions. Isolated Power systems must be performance tested when new. Where Isolated Power systems are still in use, they must be periodically tested. Isolated Power systems must be performance tested by the "applied fault method" every (6) months if equipped with analog LIMs and every (12) months if equipped with digital self-calibrating LIMs. All Isolated Power testing must be documented.
What does JCAHO - Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations say? JCAHO Environment of Care - EC.2.14 says that all critical operating components of the Utility System must be inventoried, tested and documented. While these "EC" requirements are stringent in their own right, it has been reported that JCAHO tends often to refer (and defer) to the more specific guidelines found in NFPA 99 - particularly in the areas of Electrical Systems Testing and Maintenance. |
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