To prevent the spread of fire in the event of a short circuit fire, the flame retardant rating of the wires in rural lighting electrical ready boards in Africa must meet the IEC 60332 standard. It is recommended to choose at least a C level or higher flame retardant rating based on the actual situation.

Core Standards and Level Analysis

According to the IEC 60332-1 standard, for flame retardant testing of single cables, it is required that the self extinguishing time after removing the fire source should not exceed 60 seconds, and the carbonization length should be within 50 centimeters.

According to IEC 60332-3: Flame retardant testing for bundled cables, it is more in line with the actual scenario inside the electrical Ready Board Box and can effectively contain the spread of fire.

Flame retardant rating: Based on this standard, it is divided into four levels: A, B, C, and D. The flame retardant performance is ranked from high to low as A>B>C>D.

According to the South African SANS standard: In South Africa, the SANS 10142-1 standard must be followed, which has requirements similar to IEC 60332.

How to choose and implement key points

For lighting electrical ready boards in rural Africa, it is a basic requirement to choose flame-retardant wires of grade C or above in high-temperature and dusty environments.

In addition, to comprehensively improve the safety level, it is recommended to use low smoke halogen-free (LSZH) cables. It can significantly reduce the release of toxic smoke and corrosive gases, and meets the standard requirements of countries such as Ghana and Nigeria.

Summary and Recommendations

In summary, a safe option is to use copper core wires that comply with IEC 60332-3 Class C and above standards and have low smoke halogen-free (LSZH) characteristics. This ensures that in the event of a short circuit or fire, the wires can effectively suppress the spread of flames and minimize toxic smoke, saving valuable time for emergency evacuation and rescue.