SKYX Platforms Corp. (NASDAQ:SKYX) (d/b/a "Sky Technologies"), a smart platform technology company with 72 issued and pending patents in the U.S. and globally has announced that it has filed an application for a mandatory safety standardization with the National Electrical Code (NEC) for its ceiling outlet receptacle platform for homes and buildings.
A mandatory standardization of SKYX's ceiling outlet platform, should it occur, would enable a robust, safer plug-and-play ceiling installation of light fixtures and ceiling fans without a need to touch electrical hazardous wires and would significantly reduce fires, ladder falls, electrocutions, injuries and deaths due to hazardous electrical wire installations.
SKYX's code team is led by Mark Earley, former head of the National Electrical Code (NEC), and Eric Jacobson, former President and CEO of the American Lighting Association (ALA). As part of the mandatory application, SKYX's code team has submitted significant supporting data regarding hazardous incidents that occur due to electrical wire installations.
After years of rigorous standardization progress, SKYX's management and code team strongly believe that it has met the necessary safety conditions and has significant hazardous data support for a compelling case for its ceiling outlet receptacle to become a mandatory safety standardization for ceilings in homes and buildings.
In the past several years SKYX's product was already voted into 10 segments in the NEC and since 2022 it has succeeded in achieving major additional milestones for mandatory standardization, including voting approvals by U.S. standardization organizations ANSI / NEMA (American National Standardization Institute / National Electrical Manufacturing Association), as well as a vote approval by the NEC for the generic name WSCR (Weight Support Ceiling Receptacle) for its ceiling outlet receptacle.
The last significant NEC mandatory standardization approval for homes and buildings was for the GFCI (GFI) electrical wall safety outlet for bathrooms and kitchens to reduce and prevent electrocutions.
The Company's application included data regarding hazardous incidents from U.S. governmental agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau, NFPA, OSHA, NIOSH, CPSC, and CDC.
An NFPA Report No. USS117 published in February 2022, "Home Fires Caused by Electrical Distribution and Lighting Equipment" provides evidence that not enough emphasis is placed on incorrect installation of lighting. The report noted that fires involving electrical distribution and lighting equipment caused an estimated average of 430 deaths per year in 2015-2019. Specifically, wiring and related equipment accounted for 68 percent of these fires, 60 percent of the property damage and 42 percent of the civilian deaths and 53 percent of injuries.
Earley, former head of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and former Chief Electrical Engineer of NFPA, said: "I truly believe that we have made a compelling case for a mandatory requirement for plug-and-play installations using the safe and robust weight-supporting ceiling receptacle. We have gathered a significant amount of data on incidents involving lighting fixtures and ceiling fans using the existing wiring methods. This data includes a substantial number of hazardous incidents that include deaths and or injuries from fires related to wiring, falls from ladders, fixtures or fans that fell on individuals, including young children among other incidents. Many of these accidents could have been prevented using this safe and robust plug-and-play installation method. It is about time that the existing wiring installation method be replaced by a safe, robust method that reflects today's advanced but litigious world."
Jacobson, former President and CEO of the American Lighting Association (ALA), added: "I am highly confident that our application to the NEC has all the necessary safety data aspects and information to support our case for a mandatory safety standardization approval. As part of our application, we intend to share our product for all manufacturers to benefit. As a world leading country, it is about time that we make our consumers, electricians, handymen and business owners safer and more advanced by moving away from the old hazardous wiring installation method to a safer, and fast plug and play installation method."