Insulation installers, and downlight dangers
The Electrical Safety Office, fire safety and other electrical safety regulators across Australia have ongoing concerns about building fires caused by heat from recessed lighting setting fire to building material and other materials.
Recessed downlights which operate at very high temperature are of particular interest.
If thermal insulation is installed too closely around these lights, or they are installed too close to combustible material, it could cause a fire. Combustible material can include things like leaf litter which blows into roof spaces.
Transformers which supply the lighting can also suffer excessive temperature rise if covered by thermal insulation.
The Wiring Rules AS/NZS 3000:2007 have responded to this problem with specific new provisions on the precautions that must be taken for recessed luminaires including downlights.
The Wiring Rules require that, unless a recessed luminaire is specially designed and certified by the manufacturer with specific installation instructions for use in close proximity to combustible materials, it must be installed with the default clearances and precautions detailed in the Wiring Rules.
Some things to consider
- Where loose fill insulation is used, fire-resistant barriers must be used to ensure safe clearances are maintained between the insulation and the light.
- Where there is a risk of combustible material such as leaf litter, debris or vermin gathering around a recessed light, barriers or guards must be used to prevent the risk of fire.
- Following any work in the roof space, ensure that safe clearances are maintained between the recessed lights, transformers and thermal insulation and combustible material.
- Unless the design of a recessed light provides otherwise or unless it is installed in a suitable fire resistant enclosure, when these lights are installed there must be a safe clearance between the recessed light and thermal insulation and combustible material such as building structural members.
- Always engage a licensed electrical contractor for any electrical work.
Contact your licensed electrical contractor or the Electrical Safety Office on 1300 650 662 for further information.
Obligation of insulation installers under the electrical safety legislation
The Electrical Safety Office is responsible for administering the Electrical Safety Act 2002 (the Act) and the Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 (the Regulation) which form part of the electrical safety regime in Queensland.
Insulation supplier/installers in Queensland have obligations under the Act to ensure that their business or undertaking is conducted in a way that is electrically safe (section 30 (2) of the Act).
Section 30 of the Electrical Safety Act 2002 ‘Obligation of employer or self-employed person’
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This section applies to an employer or self-employed person.
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A person to whom this section applies has an obligation to ensure that the person’s business or undertaking is conducted in a way that is electrically safe.
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Without limiting subsection (2), the obligation includes—
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ensuring that all electrical equipment used in the conduct of the person’s business or undertaking is electrically safe; and
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if the person’s business or undertaking includes the performance of electrical work, ensuring the electrical safety of all persons and property likely to be affected by the electrical work; and
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if the person’s business or undertaking includes the performance of work, whether or not electrical work, involving contact with, or being near to, exposed parts, ensuring persons performing the work are electrically safe.
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Penalties for failure to discharge obligations under the Act range from 500 penalty units or six months imprisonment to 2000 penalty units or three years imprisonment when breaches cause multiple death.
A penalty unit has a dollar value determined by the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General. At the date of publication, the value of a penalty unit was $100. Under the Penalties and Sentences Act 1992, if a corporation is found guilty of an offence, the Court may impose a maximum fine of an amount equal to 5 times the maximum fine for an individual.
Wiring Rules and downlights
The Wiring Rules AS/NZS 3000:2007 require that electrical contractors take special precautions where thermal insulation is of a type that is not fixed in position, e.g. loose fill. A barrier or guard constructed of fire resistant material is to be provided and secured in position to maintain the necessary clearance.
The fire resistant barrier or guard may be a commercially available device (including ones manufactured specifically for the light fitting used), or a barrier made of material that will prevent the down-light or transformer from transferring a dangerous level of heat to surrounding insulation, and which will itself withstand the heat of the down light or transformer.
Once a fire resistant barrier is selected, it should be installed around the light fitting (and transformer where relevant) in such a way that there is limited movement, allowing the required distance between the insulation and the light fitting to be maintained.
Default minimum clearances for recessed luminaires (Wiring Rules AS/NZS 3000:2007)
Dimension |
Incandescent lamp |
Halogen lamp |
|---|---|---|
Clearance - luminaire to building element above |
50mm |
200mm |
Side clearance - luminaire to structural member |
100mm |
200mm |
Clearance – luminaire to thermal insulation |
50mm |
200mm |
Clearance – luminaire to supply transformer |
50mm |
|
The 2007 edition of the Wiring Rules detailing the requirements for the installation of recessed luminaires can be accessed at the SAI Global web site (non-Queensland Government site):
For further information
contact:
Electrical
Safety Office
1300 650 662
Last updated 29 September 2009
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