Great long-term experiment! May I have your permission to use the photo of your test in my classes for AHJs and Fire officials?
Some background: The NEC just specifies "of sufficient durability to withstand the environment involved" in 110.21(B), and in an informational note recommends ANSI Z535.4 for colors, format, etc. (OSHA-ish). The IFC 2018 in 1204.5 doesn't specify durability for the environment, but 1201.2 states all systems must comply with NFPA 70, so that includes NEC 110.21(B). However in earlier IFC code cycles 605.11.1.1 did mention weather resistance, again "of sufficient durability to withstand the environment involved" and an informational note recommending UL969 compliance, which covers everything from materials to inks/dyes to adhesives to the surface they are applied to, but also notes that the labels themselves *do not* have to be UL listed. The original CALFIRE labeling guidelines implied that UL969 compliance was required, *and some AHJs around the US added this to their own requirements.* So I'd say look for UL969 compliance for selecting a label manufacturer, and as Brian Mehalic points out there is no requirement for number of years a label needs to last; it's just generally accepted that it must at least last in its environment until the next recommended O&M cycle. However local AHJs may have their own requirements for UL 969 compliance, be sure to check locally. My best one ever...convincing an HOA that they could not require PV system labels to be brown on tan, and that no such labels in fact even existed, and if they did would violate both the NEC and IFC. Or the HOA that went through and painted over the labeling on 6 new PV systems from one PV company the day before final inspection, and billed the residents for the paint job because the "red signs were ugly." The local Fire Marshall had some words with the HOA about that one.... Dan Fink Executive Director, Buckville Energy Consulting NABCEP PV Associate NABCEP Certified PV System Inspector IREC Certified Instructor™ for: ~ PV Installation Professional ~ Small Wind Installer NABCEP Registered Continuing Education Providers d <dan.f...@greendustrialtraining.com>anbo...@gmail.com 970-672-4342 On Sat, Jun 27, 2020 at 11:59 AM Corey Shalanski <coreso...@gmail.com> wrote: > About ten years ago we set up a test wall of sorts at our company > headquarters in New Orleans. The purpose was to monitor the > durability/degradation of various materials - including warning labels. We > tried to attach a variety of label types: plastic trophy plaques, vinyl > stickers, labelmaker tape. We also used various adhesives: sticker OEM > adhesive, double-sided tape, "Gorilla Glue", PVC cement. It should be noted > that the wall faced southeast and was uncovered, so that it received daily > full sun and was exposed to all other environmental conditions (rain, etc). > > The results today do not look good (attached photo). None of these > products would appear to meet the "sufficient durability" requirements of > NEC 110.21(B). > > I am curious if anyone is aware of any similar (but more formalized) > product testing? and can share results? > > Has anyone found a warning label product that performs particularly well > over time? > > -- > Corey Shalanski > _______________________________________________ > List sponsored by Redwood Alliance > > List Address: RE-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org > > Change listserver email address & settings: > http://lists.re-wrenches.org/options.cgi/re-wrenches-re-wrenches.org > > List-Archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org/maillist.html > > List rules & etiquette: > www.re-wrenches.org/etiquette.htm > > Check out or update participant bios: > www.members.re-wrenches.org > >
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