Press release 2011.06.23 [Preventing Accidents Involving Air Conditioners]
Preventing Accidents Involving Air Conditioners
National Institute of Technology and Evaluation
Product Safety Technology Center
June 23, 2011
NITE (National Institute of Technology and Evaluation; President: Itaru Yasui) gave a presentation for the media on preventing accidents involving induction cooking stoves as shown in the attached materials
1. Press release
- Release date:
- June 23, 2011
- Title:
- Preventing Accidents Involving Air Conditioners
- Publisher:
- Product Safety Technology Center
- Summary:
- Product accidents reported to the Product Safety Technology Center at NITE include 467 cases*1 involving air conditioners in the six years from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2010. Classifying these cases by damage, they include five cases with casualties, three cases with severe injuries, 26 cases with minor injuries, and 99 cases where a room or wider area caught fire*2.
Analysis of conditions at accidents involving air conditioners*3 has revealed that the following types of accident occur most frequently.- [1]
- Fire caused by poor electrical contact in the connecting cable*4 or extension lead, or faulty connection between the power cord and plug
- [2]
- Smoke or fire due to an air conditioner cleaner or the like being attached to the power connector, leading to tracking because of condensation
- [3]
- Smoke or fire due to deterioration in the insulation of an electrical part or electrical leakage after prolonged use of the product
Some of the accidents involving air conditioners were caused by faulty work by the builder as indicated in [1] above. Accidents involving air conditioners have increased since fiscal 2008, and they tend to increase especially in June and July. The power saving measures introduced after the Great Earthquake to deal with the power shortages are expected to increase the need for cleaning of air conditioners. Therefore, NITE has decided to promote consumer awareness on this issue to prevent accidents involving air conditioners.- *1
- Number of accidents excluding overlapping cases or non-applicable cases at May 31, 2011
- *2
- Fire in part of a building, such as a pillar or a floor
- *3
- Accidents occurring in the five years from fiscal 2005 to fiscal 2009, excluding cases caused by problems only involving design, manufacture or indication (Cause Category A) and cases under investigation (Cause Category H)
- *4
- Cable connecting the indoor unit and the outdoor unit
- Press briefing paper in Japanese
For more information;
National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE)
Product Safety Technology Center, Product Safety Investigation Division
Contact us
- Consumer Product Safety Public Relations Division Product Safety Technology Center National Institute of Technology and Evaluation
-
Phone number:+81-6-6612-2066
Fax number:+81-6-6612-1617
Address:1-22-16 Nankokita, Suminoe-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka 5590034, Japan MAP