IEEE 1584 · Engineering
Arc Flash Study
Carelabs delivers arc flash hazard analysis for industrial and commercial facilities across the Philippines, using ETAP modelling and the IEEE 1584 calculation method to identify incident energy levels and PPE categories at every working point in your electrical system.
Free ConsultationThe calculation, and what it produces
An arc flash study answers one question at every panel a worker may open: how much thermal energy would reach them if an arc started while they stood there. Everything else follows from that number.
What We Deliver
Incident energy per working position
Energy is calculated in cal/cm² to IEEE 1584-2018 using the electrode configuration, enclosure dimensions, gap and working distance recorded on site. Each materially changes the result, which is why table values are not a substitute.
WHY IT MATTERS
Nothing visible tells you the energy
A healthy switchboard gives no indication of what an arc at its terminals would release. Two boards fed from the same transformer can present very different exposures depending entirely on how the upstream protection is set.
- Assessment to IEEE 1584-2018 with the model's validity range stated and any extrapolation identified rather than absorbed silently.
- Fault current from a short circuit study to IEC 60909, using the fault level obtained from your distribution utility for the point of supply.
- Minimum source conditions assessed alongside maximum, since a lower fault current can fall below an instantaneous threshold and extend the arc considerably.
- Clearing times read from the devices as actually set, because settings schedules and installed relays diverge across the life of a plant.
- Installation findings referenced to the Philippine Electrical Code, so remediation is expressed in terms your electrical contractor already works to.
DELIVERABLES
What you receive
A signed engineering report aligned to the Philippine Electrical Code and IEEE 1584, issued by the engineer who carried out the site work.
- 1Incident energy and arc flash boundary by equipment and working position, with the working distance stated
- 2Device-level fault current and clearing time behind each result, so the calculation can be followed
- 3PPE specification per location, referenced to calculated energy rather than a generic category
- 4Mitigation options for every position above the practical PPE limit, with the clearing-time change each depends on
- 5The calibrated ETAP model issued with the report
How the study runs
Scope the energised work
We establish which panels are genuinely opened live, since that determines what must be assessed. Exclusions are recorded rather than assumed.
Site survey
Enclosure geometry, electrode configuration, gap and working distance are captured with nameplate data, because the result is sensitive to each.
Establish fault current
Fault level at the point of supply is obtained from the distribution utility and a short circuit study gives bolted fault current at every bus.
Protection review
Settings are read from the devices and clearing time is taken from the real characteristic at the calculated arcing current.
Calculate and rank
Energy and boundaries are determined per position and findings are ranked by consequence, so remediation goes where it matters first.
Report and hand over
The report and model are issued with a walkthrough, so your engineering team can explain every figure rather than merely hold it.