The widespread use of electricity, with a variety of electrical appliances in large numbers, significantly increases the probability of electrical fires in office buildings. This article briefly discusses the application of intelligent safety distribution devices in such settings.
Keywords:Office Building; Electrical Fire; Intelligent Safety Distribution Device
Introduction
Office buildings are public places where people gather, and to meet the needs of efficient work in modern society, today's offices often contain various electrical appliances such as computers, printers, shredders, water dispensers, and many power outlets, which increases the risk of electrical short circuits and wiring faults leading to fires. Additionally, due to the accumulation of flammable materials like paper and documents, a fire can spread rapidly, easily escalating into an accident. Furthermore, most office areas are unattended at night, relying solely on building security personnel for manual patrols. If the main power is not turned off before leaving due to forgetfulness or unforeseen circumstances, electrical failures in heating, computers, and other appliances may not be discovered in time, potentially allowing the fire to spread.
Case Study and Analysis of Electrical Fire in Office Building
Skyscrapers are now a common sight in cities, but in the event of a high-rise fire, they present challenges such as difficult evacuation, search and rescue operations, and significant losses.
1. Office Building Electrical Fire Incident Case
Around 2:50 PM on August 28, 2010, a fire broke out in the model room on the first floor of the sales office of Shenyang Wanda Plaza due to poor contact in the electrical wiring inside the sand table model. The incident resulted in 12 fatalities and 23 injuries.
On March 17, 2015, at approximately 12:40 PM, a two-story office building of Yunnan Huatian Logistics Co., Ltd. experienced a sudden fire. One employee jumped from the second floor, resulting in粉碎性骨折of both legs, while escaping. Unfortunately, the other three employees trapped inside perished. The cause of the fire was abandoned flammable materials—a sand table model—in the lobby on the first floor of the building.
On March 3, 2019, at approximately 6:58 AM, a fire broke out in an office building located at No. 155 Shizhou Avenue, Enshi City. Fortunately, the fire department responded promptly, containing the blaze to just 3 square meters and no injuries were reported. Post-incident investigations and on-site surveillance footage revealed that the fire originated from the power strip connected to a computer in the office, caused by the staff's failure to disconnect the power supply that day, leading to a faulty electrical circuit in the power strip igniting nearby flammable materials.
On the afternoon of March 14, 2023, an office fire occurred in the Wuxi County Government Building in Chongqing. Video from the scene showed thick smoke billowing from the burning room. Following the fire, Wuxi County promptly organized the orderly evacuation of office personnel within the building and initiated rescue efforts. By 3:30 PM, the office building had resumed normal operations. The fire department preliminarily determined that the fire originated in the 1403 office, which contained furniture such as sofas, computers, and printers. The ignition point was under the desk in the southwest corner of the room, caused by an electrical line fault that ignited surrounding combustible materials.
2. Analysis of the Electrical Fire Cause in the Office Building
1) High Energy Consumption
Office buildings, predominantly office spaces, house a variety of companies, each equipped with various types of electrical equipment. With the electricity consumption in the common areas, the entire building has a significant power demand and substantial wiring pressure.
2) Complex electrical equipment
Diverse companies within the office building utilize different electrical equipment, and the quality of these appliances cannot be fully guaranteed. As a result, accurate management is impossible, and building supervisors are unable to control the electrical appliances used by each company, making it unclear in terms of electricity control.
3) Regulatory challenges are significant
The wide and complex scope of office buildings, coupled with numerous regulatory entities, significantly elevates the difficulty of oversight. Even with specialized personnel conducting fire inspections, the sheer volume of work and lack of uniformity make the task incredibly challenging. Overall, ensuring comprehensive fire safety and electrical oversight is difficult to achieve with absolute certainty.
4) Varying levels of safety awareness
With a high population in the office building, there is a lack of uniform awareness of electrical safety. Many individuals exhibit unsafe electrical habits, such as leaving chargers plugged in for extended periods without removing them or failing to turn off the power after work. These practices pose significant electrical hazards and may lead to fires due to prolonged operation of the circuits.
Common traditional electrical safety measures in everyday life involve promptly cutting off the power supply when an electrical arc and spark occur due to a circuit short. However, by then, the arc and spark have already formed. If flammable items like paper or carpet are nearby, a fire is almost inevitable.
Ankore's intelligent safety distribution device breaks through the technical bottleneck of the traditional electrical protection field, which could only achieve "post-disaster" treatment. It preemptively converts distribution power to safe electricity, suppressing the generation of arc sparks at the source and significantly reducing the risk of fires. The system also monitors key data such as voltage, current, power, temperature, residual (leakage) current, and ground insulation resistance in real-time. It intelligently identifies circuit abnormal risks and promptly transmits alarm information to the cloud management system, alerting users to conduct timely and correct fault diagnosis. This system not only meets the emergency response needs of managers during emergencies but also provides management records such as historical fault types, alarm data, and maintenance records. It supports the daily optimization of safe electrical usage management for user units, thereby effectively improving the detection and handling rates of electrical safety hazards and preventing electrical fires.
3 Ankorree AISD Series Smart Safety Distribution Equipment
3.1 Introduction
The AISD series intelligent safety power distribution units are a specialized intelligent electrical safety product developed by Ankeai Electric Co., Ltd. for the low-voltage distribution side. This product is primarily designed to address common hazards such as electrical shock accidents caused by human contact with the low-voltage distribution side, aging of the lines, and leakage-induced electrical fires. The product is mainly used in various low-voltage power supply scenarios, including schools, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, hotels, shopping malls, corporate units, and household appliances.
3.2 Key Features
The integrated whole-machine design, with dedicated user wiring and operation windows, simplifies user operation.
Enhancing Power Supply Continuity: In the event of a single-phase ground fault on the load side of the grid, the power grid can continue to supply electricity, triggering an alarm in the device, but will not cut off the power, ensuring uninterrupted operation of the electrical equipment.
Enhanced power supply safety. In the event of a single-phase grounding fault on the output side load line of the device, no spark is generated at the grounding point, preventing electrical fire accidents.
Ensure personal safety. The device limits the leakage current on the load side of the power grid, providing protection to the human body in case of accidental contact with a single power line, preventing electric shock accidents.
Monitoring and Alarm Function. The device emits an audible and visual alarm signal when the backend detects overcurrent, over/under voltage, insulation failure, or internal overheating faults.
The device can measure and display real-time electrical parameters such as current, voltage, power, electrical energy, device temperature, and insulation resistance value between the output line and ground, all shown on the touch screen in real-time.
Event Log. The device can store 20 event logs for user inquiry.
The device is equipped with a single RS485 communication port, utilizing the standard Modbus-RTU protocol. Optional wireless communication is also available, allowing data to be sent to the cloud platform via wired networking or wireless transmission. Users can remotely monitor and control the device using a browser, mobile app, or WeChat official account.
Features emergency mains power switching, surge protection, and emergency shut-off button.
3.3 Technical Specifications
Note: Please consult relevant engineers for specific capacity selection.
3.4 Typical Application Diagram
The AISD series intelligent safety distribution units can be connected to electrical fire monitoring hosts via wired communication, as well as connected to the safety power supply management cloud platform or other cloud platforms via wireless communication. This facilitates the maintenance and management of elderly care facilities equipped with intelligent safety distribution units for administrators.
3.5 Cautionary Notes
3.5.1 When selecting an intelligent safety distribution device, the rated capacity of the device should match the rated capacity of the equipment to be powered. For instance, if the rated capacity of the intelligent safety distribution device is 3kVA, the rated capacity of the powered equipment should not exceed 3kVA. It is strictly prohibited to use it in distribution lines with mismatched rated capacities.
3.5.2 The intelligent safety distribution box is designed for wall-mounted installation, which can be hung on the wall without a cabinet or placed on the ground. Ensure the installation area is free from dripping water, corrosive gases, and sedimentation, and pay attention to environmental temperature and ventilation.
During wiring, follow the wiring diagram. To prevent excessive contact resistance at the joint points, which may cause local overheating, and to avoid malfunction due to poor contact, ensure that the corresponding terminal connections of the device are securely and tightly fastened.
3.5.4 Absolutely prohibited for non-professionals to擅自 open the product shell
4 Conclusion
Ankorei, as a terminal service provider for the research, development, and manufacturing of safety electrical equipment as well as integrated intelligent solutions nationwide, has fully integrated advanced electrical safety technology with intelligent means such as the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing. This approach enables early detection and resolution of electrical safety hazards, thus preventing electrical fires from the source and safeguarding the construction of a peaceful China.
References
Guo Xia. Fire Protection Electrical Design Methods and Applications for High-Rise Complex Buildings [D]. Changsha: Hunan University, 2016.
[2] Bai Lixian. Discussion on the Safety of Low-Voltage Distribution Systems in High-Rise Building Electrical Design[J]. Jiangxi Building Materials, 2017.
[3] Enterprise Microgrid Design and Application Handbook. 2020.6
