Our hardware engineers designed our industry leading security units to remain operational and safe in the harshest Canadian weather conditions. To ensure this, our units have undergone the rigorous SPE-1000 Special Inspection of Electrical Equipment to comply with Canadian safety standards, and protect those on site from hazard.
What is the SPE-1000 Special Inspection?
For products that are custom in nature, or manufactured in batches between 1 and 500 are eligible for the SPE-1000 Special Inspection to gain acceptance by the Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) in Canada. (2)
Requirements and Testing
The enclosures that protect our units must also follow certain requirements that are outlined in the SPE-1000 Special Inspection. These requirements makes certain that the electrical components within the unit can withstand a certain level of abuse, as well as ensure protection against environmental elements such as rain and snow. (4)
For an effective electrical evaluation, a dielectric test and a 1000 VAC test are performed on the unit to rate the quality of the electrical insulation. Proper electrical insulation ensures that a user will not receive an electrical shock when operating the unit(5). A leakage current test can also be performed as another means of evaluating the electrical insulation.
A strain relief test is performed on any products that have external cords attached, such as power cords. The test consists of applying various amounts of pressure to the cord to evaluate if the cord stays securely attached to the unit. The strain relief test methods include pull force, push back, rotational torque, and force application methods. (6)
Other testing requirements that are included in the SPE-1000 model code are flame, temperature, abnormality, stability, and impact testing as well as input rating and bonding impedance testing.
Additionally, a rain test must be completed if units are manufactured to be utilized in an outdoor environment. When the product has completed testing and passes all of these evaluations, it is acknowledged as compliant with a SPE-1000 model code sticker that is affixed to the product. (7)
Overall, the safety and durability of our innovative security units cannot be understated. To provide the safest possible product for our clients’ asset protection, our engineering team has designed our units to be compliant with the requirements set forth by the Authorities Having Jurisdiction in Canada.
References:
- “What is Model Code SPE-1000?”- The ESAFE Blog, February 18th, 2020
- “Special Inspections to CSA SPE-1000”- Lab Test Certifications
- “SPE-1000 | What is it? Why would I need SPE-1000? What are the bases of SPE-1000?”- Lab Test Certifications
- “14 Things to Know About SPE-1000: Model Code for the Field Evaluation of Electrical Equipment”- CSA Group
- “What is a Megger Test and How is it Preformed?”- Carelabs
- “Understanding The Strain Relief Tests” Certifi Group
- “North American Field Evaluation Services”- CSA Group