Maybe they are more stringent due to the amount of dwellings primarily constructed from wood.  The guidelines would certainly be appropriate in student living quarters as would it be for older/vunerable people. It sounds like our Norwegian cousins have some sound engineering judgement.

So, the run back timer I suggested is not considered fit for purpose in Norway.

I wonder what the likely cause of fire from a hob is? It may be true that fires are more likely to start in a kitchen than any other room, but that's not the same as saying that most fires start on the hob - I suspect the tumble dryer and fridge/freezer have their quota of fires to answer for too. In the old days the classic way of starting a hob fire was an unattended chip pan - but the advent of oven chips and dedicated frying appliances seem to have made the traditional chip pan pretty much extinct. Saucepans full of water based contents are going to be difficult to ignite, so what's left? the frying pan or wok?  Usually not a lot of "fuel" in them - while they could produce a lot of smoke, I'm having difficulty imagining it causing a fire beyond the pan/hob sufficiently often to justify the costs of this kind of thing.

   - Andy.

I remember being in a student house once years ago where the hob was turned on to warm up the house as the electric had gone off due to non payment.  It was a cold day and the hob was on for hours while one of the housemates went to add credit on a card for the meter via the local public house. 

The full cut and paste, it looks like the UK is lagging behind again, whilst Norway is leading the field:

Norway has a building code standard from 1 July 2011 shut-off devices are required in new electric stove installations (Norwegian standard NEK 400:2010 Electrical low voltage installations. Part 400-8-823 residential buildings).

Kirsi Rajaniemi,  EU Fire Safety Network, Finland, in his letter to Commission on developing an EU Safety Standards, expressed his concern over the lack off a standard for such devises.

Great Britain  creating a new British Standard BS EN 50615, “Tests on devices for fire prevention and suppression for hobs (cooktop) fires”.  No more details available at the present time.

The EU has a Draft proposal for a new EU standard CLC/TC 61(SEC)1949 Draft prEN 50XXX “Tests on devices for fire detection and suppression for hobs (cooktops)”  Chaired by Fabio Gargantini. We are committee members and part designers of this new standard. It has been sent to each European country for comment.

The London Fire Brigade, Community Safety Research & Policy Team, have the following observations regarding this standard:

“We believe fires on or around cooktops present such a significant hazard that the occupier should be alerted, the power supply automatically isolated and that the occupier should leave the premises

www.tripactivator.com/REGULATIONS.html

The stove guard models I see on their site have two parts, the wired gubbins, and a local sensor which can stick to the hood or to the ceiling with an adhesive pad. They may comply with. EN 50615, but wouldn't comply with the Norwegian guidelines in that they are not permanently mounted and can be accidentally or in a simple way removed.

I remember being in a student house once years ago where the hob was turned on to warm up the house as the electric had gone off due to non payment.

A common trick with gas hobs (ovens too) - although a potentially dangerous one (have a think why all other gas appliances need a flue to the outside, but gas hobs/ovens don't....). An induction hob though would be much more challenging to employ in that way though - as they don't heat the air... (not to mention no use when the electric is off either).

   - Andy.

From what I have observered the fire detection is usually heat detectors. From my understanding these trigger at 54deg. By the time the detector has triggered I'd think the fire is well underway(I suspect that is another topic of disccusion). I like the direction that the Norwegians are going in. No doubt there is a balance between a detector that alerts and shuts off the moment water boils, and a full on BBQ on the hob but the detector hasn't triggered. 

No doubt there is a balance between a detector that alerts and shuts off the moment water boils, and a full on BBQ on the hob but the detector hasn't triggered. 

Indeed - I'd worry that a 3rd party  unit where sensor placement in relation to things like the cooker itself and then ventilation/ cooker hoods  and so on will affect the trip level could all be a bit uncontrolled may well suffer either failure mode.

Having worked in the middle east for a short time, 54 C seems quite a low threshold to me - its only inside a hot parked car in the summer sort of temperature even in the UK.  200C is a normal chip pan,  250C is only solder melting point and not enough to ignite tissue paper, let alone anything denser.

Incidentally in my kitchen at home I have a 'rate of rise' type, which does not look at the absolute level or rather it does but only as  a secondary trip point and very hot, but rather is intended to trip on rapid temperature fluctuations. Mind you even that can be fooled by lifting the lid on a pan, and has been located to the non-cooker  end of things...

Mike.

Probably nit picking, but I would prefer something better than an adhesive pad to secure the unit inside a cooker hood. Perhaps OK with a brand new cooker hood, but with the inevitable grease after a few weeks, I would worry in case it fell into my soup...

Also, on page 21 of the instructions, it says "Do not use in a professional kitchen". (Too much flambe perhaps?) Also, the warranty is only for private households and housing associations.  

Clive