EV Safety Standards Summit Report
An 85-page report on the second annual Electric Vehicle Safety Standards Summit (held in September in Detroit) is now available for download.
Co-hosted by NFPA and SAE, the event, according to the executive summary, “provided an important venue for the gathering of key individuals, organizations and agencies to develop a common knowledge to ensure that fire and electrical safety standards that impact electric vehicles will not serve as a barrier to their deployment. As a result, the information gathered throughout the Summit has revealed the following key areas where further focused attention is warranted:
- charging infrastructure;
- understanding battery hazards;
- vehicle features that address concerns of emergency responders;
- permitting and inspection;
- training and education; and
- aftermarket vehicles and components.”
NFPA & Alternative Energy
In a report on FireChief.com, Kathleen Almand of the Fire Protection Research Foundation spoke about what NFPA is doing to address alternative-energy technologies and the National Electrical Code. Almand said, “There’s a big change in technology and the NFPA is proactively reviewing their codes and standards to make sure they are keeping up with safety issues associated with [new technologies] and make sure existing codes don’t become a barrier to safety.”
Light Bulbs In The News
With the Congressional discussion about the Jan. 1 implementation of the “incandescent light bulb ban”—which prohibits further sales of inefficient 100W bulbs—and the defunding of enforcement of that law, many articles on light bulbs appeared in local and national sources. Including:
- ALA’s take on change: From Star-Tribune (Minneapolis) article “Lights go down on the 100-watt bulb”The light bulb is moving from a 60-cent commodity that you throw into your grocery cart to an investment just like a refrigerator or major appliance,” said Terry McGowan, director of engineering for the American Lighting Association, an industry trade group. “It costs more money and you expect it to do more, and if you move, you might even take it with you.”
- CFLs that smoke or catch fire: From a blog on Injuryboard.com—“CFLs are advertised as real energy savers, they use about one fifth of the power of regular lightbulbs and last anywhere from six to ten times as long. But, according to various news sources, since the U.S. CPSC launched its consumer safety database earlier this year, there have been 34 reports of smoke or a burning odor associated with the CFLs and four reports of fire.”
- Edison’s great-grandson: David Edison Sloane, Thomas Alva Edison’s great-grandson, had some ideas on the ban, as relayed by ConsumerReports.org. Sloane said, “I think there will be entrepreneurs who will move the incandescent back into the market that is energy efficient, if there’s a market for it. The reports of its death are greatly exaggerated.”
- In a longer piece that Sloane wrote was posted to CNN.com. That piece claimed that Edison would’ve loved new light bulb law. NECA chimed in with a recent post on Edison, the light bulb law, and an article on the phase-out of incandescents from Electrical Contractor magazine. By way of contrast, the New York Post had an early-December op-ed piece titled, “Thomas Edison weeps”.