Historic Churches 2023

8 BCD SPECIAL REPORT ON H ISTOR I C CHURCHE S 30th ANNUAL ED ITION Surge protection This type of protection should be used in conjunction with an LPS. It is installed to prevent the electronic equipment within the building being damaged by surges of energy. Even if the building does not sustain a direct strike, a localised discharge to earth can still result in damage to sensitive electronics equipment such as fire alarm panels, PA systems, computers, lighting controls and dimmers. This is due to the very high voltages and currents involved in lightning storms that can travel through the ground, along metal pipework and cables, into a building from a remote strike location. A building is not protected from this sort of damage and potential for fire without surge protection. A common misconception is that an LPS will prevent this from happening. In simple terms a surge protective device is a switch that senses and discharges the surge to earth. These devices can be installed in numerous places from the main incoming supply to the local socket outlet. Historic England’s guidance can be found online (see http://bc-url.com/hc23-gf3 ) and by referring to the booklet referenced above. Electrical wiring and equipment faults Unfortunately, a lot of churches still have wiring installations that contain very old cabling, accessories and switchgear, which are still in use. This along with a lack of system maintenance and inspection is a disaster waiting to happen. An electrical installation condition report (EICR) ought to be produced at least every five years and any faults actioned according to the categorised severity: C1 means that there is a danger present, a risk of injury and immediate remedial action is required C2 means this part of the installation is potentially dangerous and further investigation is required without delay C3 means that improvement is recommended. In addition, anything plugged into a 13 amp socket outlet should be safety tested at least once a year. This includes all electrical equipment used in a church, from a computer to a refrigerator. Portable appliance testing or PAT, as it’s known, checks to ensure there are no safety defects on the item in question. This can sometimes be done visually or by using specialised test equipment. As with fixed wiring testing this must be done in accordance with British Standard BS 7671 and by a suitably qualified member of either the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) or The National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC). Should the church have a conventional organ with a blower, it is essential that this piece of equipment is regularly serviced by a suitably qualified professional . As the name suggests, an organ blower is a fan which these days is usually electrically driven, although in the past they were hand-cranked. Most newer blowers have sealed bearings that require very little in the way of regular maintenance, but older units require annual oiling of the bearings to prevent overheating and occasional cleaning of the motor armature. Overloaded electrical equipment and circuitry As a lot of churches are insufficiently supplied with 13 amp sockets to deal with modern power requirements the use of multi-way adaptors often cause a circuit to become overloaded. In situations like this, the best and safest outcome is that the circuit breaker on the circuit affected will trip and shut off until the load is reduced or the fault rectified. Should the power installation need modernisation there is a chance that the circuits are not protected by circuit breakers but by fuses. These are less sensitive and if they are of the rewireable type regularly used in the 1950s and 60s, then they could be fitted with incorrectly rated fuse wire. Either way, a common overload situation will not be dealt with as quickly by the fuse so there is the potential for a fire. There is also the inconvenience issue as when a fuse blows it must be replaced before power is restored. With a circuit breaker, once the reason for the trip has been established it is easy and quick to reset the device. Temporary lighting, heating equipment and hot works As happened with the major fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, when work of any description is being carried out within a building it is often necessary to use temporary lighting and heating. Although far less likely to occur now with the predominance of LED lighting, in the past portable site lighting often employed lamps that would get very hot. As in the case of Windsor Castle, when lighting is left too close to flammable materials such as curtains it can cause a fire. Lightning above a rural church (Photo: Philippe Clément, Alamy)