ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 37 Schneider Electric New gas and particle sensing technology detects cables overheating in LV equipment Deteriorating cable connections in electrical systems continue to be a major cause of fires in buildings, resulting in damage to equipment, business downtime, and safety risks to personnel. Electrical safety in low-voltage (LV) electrical equipment has made great progress in recent decades, largely thanks to the IEC 61439 standard that defines best practices for LV switchgear and control gear assemblies. The electrical industry has also better mastered the thermal behaviour of equipment, which has helped reduce the risks of mains overheating. Further, the electrical breaking capacity of protective devices has limited the short-circuit consequences, such as mechanical damage, due to excessive electrodynamic forces. Selection and protection of cables are also well mastered, thanks to the IEC 60364 standard - A white paper from Schneider Electric. for LV electrical installations, and related national wiring rules. In addition, many software tools on the market support electrical designers in properly selecting cables and related overcurrent protection. This latest whitepaper introduces a cost-effective technology – ideally suited for low voltage switchboards with large numbers of cables and connection points – that uses advanced gas and particle analysis to detect and alarm on cable overheating risks before equipment damage or fire can occur. To find out more and to download the white paper scan the QR code
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