Arena Enclosures for emergency lighting

Phil Black - PII Editor 09/04/2014

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Many new sporting venues and arenas are now being designed with retractable roofs to allow matches and events to continue even in poorer weather. While this can improve the quality of the show, and the enjoyment of the spectators, it can increase the risk in the case of fire or other emergencies due to the build up of smoke. Emergency lighting systems must be relied upon to continue working for long enough to allow for a safe and complete evacuation from the grounds. This is why it”s essential that enclosures are specified which offer suitable protection to the wiring inside.

The “Friends Arena” is the Swedish National Football team”s new stadium, though it will also be used by Swedish league team, AIK, and for other purposes including music concerts and Speedway racing. It has a retractable roof and can seat up to 50,000 spectators, with a capacity of 65,000 for music events, which makes it the largest stadium and indoor venue in all of the Nordic countries. The €300 million stadium took three years to build and was officially opened at the end of 2012.

In the event of an emergency it is essential that everyone within the stand has enough time to evacuate. This means that, should the worst happen, the wiring for emergency systems such as lights, alarms and smoke extractors needs to be protected using fire resistant enclosures. The stadium”s builders approached Spelsberg els for an enclosure solution for the emergency system which would protect the wiring from fire for up to 90 minutes.

Chris Lloyd, Managing Director of Spelsberg UK, comments: “Meeting EU fire regulations is one of the toughest challenges for designing a new building. Critical safety systems, such as building fire alarms and emergency lighting, must operate for at least 30 minutes when exposed to external fire. Other systems such as water pressurising plants for the supply of extinguishing water, ventilators and lifts have to remain functioning for a minimum of 90 minutes. We were approached to supply our WKE enclosures as they meet the protection requirements for emergency systems.”

Spelsberg is Europe’s biggest manufacturer of non-metallic electrical enclosures, with a range of over 4,000 standard product designs, most of which are suitable for its in-house CNC customisation services. It was able to recommend the WKE 2 IP65 enclosures, which are available in two configurations: 1 x 5-pole or 1 x 3-pole terminal blocks. WKE units come with pre-drilled entry points and fire resistant IP68 dome topped cable glands, the enclosures allow for simple installation and offer both E30 and E90 fire resistance in accordance with DIN 4102/12.

The WKE range is manufactured from orange (RAL 2004) halogen free duroplastic, which offers lower smoke emissions and an ingress protection IP54 or IP65 to EN60670. The units are available in five different sizes that range from 100 x 100 x 50mm to 278 x 208 x 107mm and come complete with IP54 cable entry accessories. Each junction box is rated at 450 V and features integral, high temperature ceramic terminals, suitable for conductors from 0.5mm2 up to 6mm2.

Chris Lloyd continues: “For such a high profile application, and one with such a large crowd capacity, safety really does have to be the priority. The WKE junction boxes offer the level of protection that was required for the emergency lighting system. We design all our enclosures to allow for easy installation and offer a wide variety of dimensions and cable entry options to ensure that no compromise is necessary between an system’s original design and its specification.”