In the January 2014 editions of both TJC Perspectives and TJC EC News, TJC Director of Engineering George Mills listed numerous clarifications and expectations for emergency power systems. Below are the design-related issues that he covered.
Mr. Mills discussed the NFPA 110-2010 requirements for Emergency Power Supply System (EPSS) equipment and stated that the 2010 edition wording below provides guidance as to placement and protection of the EPSS. He also asked if healthcare organizations will have completed a risk assessment prior to designing and installing a new EPSS.
“The rooms, shelters, or separate buildings housing Level 1 or Level 2 EPSS equipment shall be designed and located [emphasis added] to minimize the damage from flooding, including that caused by the following: (1) Flooding resulting from fire fighting (2) Sewer water backup (3) Similar disasters or occurrences.” (NFPA 110-2010, Section 7.2.3)
“Minimizing the possibility of damage resulting from interruptions of the emergency source shall be a design consideration [emphasis added] for EPSS equipment.” (NFPA 110-2010, Section 7.2.4)
Mr. Mills also discussed using battery-powered lights in both generator locations and transfer switch locations. He referenced only NFPA 110 in this portion of his discussion, but I am including the NFPA 99 reference below because an understanding of both standards is necessary. NFPA 99 (not NFPA 110) requires battery-powered emergency lighting at transfer switch locations.
From NFPA 110-2010 and NFPA 110-2013 (note that the EPS is the Emergency Power Supply (generator) and does not include transfer switches):
7.3 Lighting.
7.3.1 The Level 1 or Level 2 EPS equipment location(s) shall be provided with battery-powered emergency lighting. This requirement shall not apply to units located outdoors in enclosures that do not include walk-in access.
From NFPA 99-2002 (note the underlined phrase below regarding transfer switch locations was added in the 2002 edition of NFPA 99. The wording remains the same in NFPA 99-2012):
4.4.2.2.2.2 Life Safety Branch.
(5) Generator set location: Task illumination, battery charger for emergency battery-powered lighting unit(s), and selected receptacles at the generator set location and essential electrical system transfer switch locations.
NFPA Disclaimer: Although the author is Chairman of the NFPA Technical Committee on Emergency Power Supplies, which is responsible for NFPA 110 and 111, the views and opinions expressed in this message are purely those of the author and shall not be considered the official position of NFPA or any of its Technical Committees and shall not be considered to be, nor be relied upon as, a Formal Interpretation. Readers are encouraged to refer to the entire text of all referenced documents. NFPA members can obtain NFPA staff interpretations at www.nfpa.org.
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