Forum for European Electrical Domestic Safety
"In Europe, 25% to 30% of fires have an electrical source"
(FEEDS report, September 2019)
About FEEDS
The FEEDS Forum is a working group that brings together organisations wishing to work together to improve electrical safety in dwellings.
The Forum pursues three main and complementary objectives:
- Contribute to improving data on domestic fires with electrical source in each European country and at European level
- Identify and promote solutions in Europe to reduce the number of electrical accidents and fires from electrical source in dwellings
- Facilitate the availability of these solutions to all the stakeholders concerned by electrical safety in dwellings in each European country
Members
The European consumer voice in standardisation
European Committee of Electrical Installation Equipment Manufacturers
Europacable
European Association of Electrical Contractors
European Copper Institute
European Fire Safety Alliance
Federation of the European Union Fire Officer Associations
International Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users
Insurance Europe Prevention Forum
Confédération Nationale du Logement
The UK’s Electrical Safety Experts
Groupe de réflexion sur la sécurité électrique dans le logement
Dutch Burns Foundation
Reports
WHITE PAPER
Residential electrical safety
How to insure progress
September 2019
In the past 120 years, electricity has become the overarching energy source in our everyday life. Its applications have improved our comfort and safety, multiplying the means of entertaining and communicating.
However, domestic electricity can be dangerous. Specifically, the safety of older electrical installations is a concern in the countries of the European Union, given the low renovation rate of dwellings and their electrical installations. At the same time, the uses of domestic electricity continues to diversify and develop, progressively posing increasingly important challenges in terms of quality and safety of electrical energy used in households.
The safety deficiencies of obsolete electrical installations generally result from the aging of their components, the lack of maintenance and inappropriate usage. The dangers they represent are also clearly identified. The risks of electrification and electrocution are well known, but fires of electrical origin and their consequences are the most worrying.
EUROPEAN DATA
Key figures by country
Sourced and extrapolated data
September 2019
Data presented (e.g. those of France and the UK) were gathered after extensive research by a network of collaborating expert stakeholders and can be considered to be highly reliable. They clearly show that electrical safety issues constitute a substantial problem regarding fire safety.
Starting from the reliable figures, conservative extrapolations were constructed for other countries in the Northwestern EU. We continued this exercise with the slightly less consolidated data to make even more prudent extrapolations for the other European regions. Even though the resulting figures are not confirmed by assessments in the field, they do provide an idea of the probable size of the problem in those countries. The FEEDS Forum would be eager to collaborate with stakeholders to collect more actual and consolidated numbers for those countries.
Social Media
Follow the dedicated hashtag about electrical safety: #SafetyEU
on Twitter
Events
The first European Fire Safety Week took place in Brussels from 18 to 21 November 2019.
As part of the event, the Electrical Safety & Energy Transition session was organised on November 20.
Electricity is poised to play a predominant role in our buildings, and clean, decentralized technologies will multiply electrical uses and transform electrical installations in our homes. What are the successful measures for minimising electrical hazards and fires in dwellings and what conditions enable a safe energy transition for buildings? This event will gather representatives of the electrical value chain, from manufacturers, to distributors and installers, electrical safety experts, building technologies experts, consumer and tenant interest representatives, fire brigades, insurance companies, and policymakers covering energy and building legislation.
Programme and related available presentations are downloadable here after:
Buildings of the Future
- Paula Rey Garcia, Team Leader, Buildings and Finance, Energy Efficiency: Buildings and Products Unit (C.4), DG ENER, European Commission
- Benoît Dôme, Deputy Delegate, International Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users, Fisuel
Are Buildings Ready for the Transition? Electrical Safety Data and Trends
- Olivier Tissot, Project Manager, European Copper Institute
- Benoît Dôme, Deputy Delegate, International Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users, Fisuel
- Oscar Querol, Secretary General, European Committee of Electrical Installation Equipment Manufacturers, CECAPI
Key Measures to Minimise Electrical Safety Risks
- Marc Maslowski, Member of the Board, International Federation for the Safety of Electricity Users, Fisuel
- Paul Collins, Technical Services Manager, Certsure LLP
- Luke Osborne, Energy & Emerging Technologies Solutions Advisor, UK Electrical Contractors Association, ECA
- Francesca Talamo, CSI officer, Italian Electrical Engineering and Electronic Industry, ANIE
- Fredrik Byström Sjödin, Technical Expert, Electrical Safety and Installations, Swedish Plumbing and Electrical Installation Association, Installatörsföretagen
- Charles Low, Policy Advisor, Insurance Europe
Measures to Guarantee Safety of Electrical Products
- Pierre Selva, Director, Conformity Assessment & Market Surveillance Schneider Electric, Founding Member MSSI initiative, CECAPI
- Christophe Richon, Construction Products Regulation WG Chairman, Europacable
- Michał Zakrzewski, Smart Living and Competitiveness Policy Director, Home Appliance Europe,APPLiA
Safety and New Technologies Solar PV, Batteries, Electric Vehicles
- Piet van Bavel, Director After-Sales Support, Autarco
- Ore Oluwatudimu, Senior Solutions Engineer, ChargePoint
- Philippe Vollet, Director, Standardization Schneider Electric, CECAPI
- Mario Dionisio, Direct Current expert, New Energy Technologies, Innovation and Clean Coal Unit (C.2), DG ENER, European Commission