The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), an organisation founded in the United States in 1896, an international benchmark in the development of codes and standards to ensure safety in electrical installations and fire protection, has recently introduced several new features and updates to the National Codes. Below, we highlight some of the main new features related to the design and maintenance of installations:
NFPA 70: National Electrical Code 2023
-Expanded requirements: the requirements for ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) and arc-fault detection devices (AFCIs) have been expanded.
-Regulation of new technologies: regulations for wireless power transfer for electric vehicles and photovoltaic systems on bodies of water, have been incorporated.
-Protection against cyber-attacks: new requirements have been established to protect grid-connected equipment from cyber-attacks.
NFPA 70B: Electrical Equipment Maintenance 2023
-Frequency of inspections: requirements for the frequency of mandatory electrical inspections have been updated.
-Predictive techniques: new predictive techniques for electrical equipment maintenance have been incorporated.
NFPA 25: Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Water-Based Fire Protection Systems 2023
-Inspection procedures: In order to improve their reliability, the inspection procedures for water-based fire protection systems have been updated.
NFPA 101: Life Safety Code 2024
-Fire extinguisher location: New requirements have been established for the location of fire extinguishers.
-Carbon monoxide detectors: More stringent requirements have been implemented for the installation of carbon monoxide detectors. These new requirements improve early detection and expand the spaces where their installation is mandatory.
-Inflatable amusement devices: Safety measures for inflatable amusement devices have been regulated.
Finally, the following are the changes we expect in upcoming updates:
-NFPA 13: regulations on sprinklers in sloped ceilings, vacuum systems and installation requirements in new spaces such as lift pits will be improved.
-NFPA 72: New technologies and cybersecurity regulations for alarm systems will be introduced.
These updates to the standards are aimed at improving safety, increasing the reliability of installations and adapting them to new technologies. These changes have a direct impact on the design and construction of installations, such as those developed by Amusement Logic.
By Juan Carlos Soria, Senior MEP Engineer in the Architecture Department of Amusement Logic
