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2024.05.14
FOS 2021-04: Pressurization of elevator shaft, firefighting elevator
Question: Must the air be heated when pressurizing an elevator shaft in winter so that the temperature in the shaft does not drop below the permitted temperature limit?
Answer: According to EN 81-20:2020 section 0.4.16, the temperature in a lift shaft must be kept between +5 and +40 °C.
According to EN81-72:2015, section 5.2.5, the fire-fighting elevator must be designed so that it functions flawlessly during an ongoing rescue operation for as long as the building can withstand, e.g. 2 hours.
Electrical/electronic equipment at landings, except for the emergency services access route, shall either be designed to operate faultlessly at an ambient temperature of between 0°C and 65°C or shall be taken out of service. A malfunction of devices (floor indicators and push buttons) shall not prevent the operation of the fire-fighting lift during firefighting operations.
All other electrical components of the fire-fighting lift shall be designed to function correctly at an ambient temperature between 0°C and +40°C.
No ambient temperature sensor shall stop or prevent the firefighting lift from starting.
Annex I.7 of EN 81-72 describes several different methods of smoke control. Regardless of the method used, coordination is required to ensure that there is no mutual interference that affects the use of the fire-fighting lift. In particular, the use of pressurization for smoke control presents some problems that require coordination.
– the air used to pressurize the shaft may have the same temperature as the surroundings, which means that appropriate temperature limits need to be established.
Representatives from the fire consulting industry, inspection bodies and the elevator industry have attempted to sort out the practical and regulatory issues surrounding the design of rescue elevators with pressurization as a method of fulfilling the fire lock requirement in BBR 5:734. However, this has proven incredibly difficult to resolve.
The Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning has had the problem presented to it and has returned with the following response:
Pressurization of elevator shafts on rescue elevators – Boverket's response "The solution described falls under analytical dimensioning and it is therefore up to the developer to demonstrate that the rules are met with sufficient certainty. Boverket is not in a position to comment on individual solutions and does not have any general interpretative authority. In the individual case, it is the building committee that is the supervisory authority and any disputes may be decided by court."”
The inspection bodies have interpreted the Swedish Board of Housing, Building and Planning's response as follows:
The analytical dimensioning is part of the basis for the technical consultation held in connection with the building permit. This is reviewed by the building committee and the emergency services (in cases where emergency lifts are involved).
If the developer can prove to the inspection body that their solutions have been accepted in the technical consultation in the building permit process, the inspection bodies can also accept the solutions.
Last revised 20220412, 1 revision.
