How do you secure cameras, racks and panels in an earthquake zone?

What does the earthquake regulation say about low-voltage devices?

The Turkish Building Earthquake Regulation requires that mechanical and electrical equipment attached to the building, and their connections to the structure, be designed for earthquake effects. Chapter 6 in the annex of the regulation, titled “non-structural building elements,” covers facade panels, partition walls, architectural elements and mechanical and electrical equipment. Equipment that is only temporarily in the building and not attached to it, as well as furniture, is excluded from this calculation.

The general rules of the same chapter require these elements and equipment to be fixed to the structure and the fasteners (such as welds, bolts, anchors and rivets) to have the capacity to carry earthquake loads. Extra capacity from friction is not counted in the connection calculation. In other words, a cabinet is not assumed to stay in place just because its weight presses it to the floor.

In the equipment table of the regulation, communication equipment, computers, devices and control systems, control panels made of thin sheet metal and instrument cabinets, and suspended cable trays appear on separate lines. These are exactly the equipment found in a server room, a security room and an attic.

Expert note: The earthquake calculation of the connections is the structural engineer's job during design. For a large server room, heavy battery banks or equipment to be placed on a roof, have the calculation done at the design stage and ask for the installation to follow that design.

How is an upright rack cabinet fastened?

An upright cabinet is fastened to the concrete from its base with anchors and, if needed, also tied to the wall or ceiling at the top. On cabinets that come on wheels, lowering the feet reduces sliding but does not attach the cabinet to the floor. The surface the cabinet sits on matters: a thin screed, ceramic tile or a raised floor is not load-bearing. The anchor needs to reach the concrete underneath, or a separate support frame for the cabinet must be built under the raised floor.

Weight distribution inside the cabinet also determines the risk of toppling. Rack-type UPS and battery modules are the heaviest parts and go at the very bottom of the cabinet. Servers, recorders and switchunits are attached to the rails and fixed with screws at all four corners. A device that is just placed on a shelf slides forward during shaking and ends up loading the door or the patch cables.

• Anchor the cabinet to the concrete at all four corners; choose the plug type to suit the floor.
• Bolt cabinets that stand side by side to each other.
• On tall, narrow cabinets, make the top connection to the wall or ceiling.
• Place heavy UPS units and batteries at the bottom and light devices at the top.
• Do not leave loose devices, monitors or spare disks on top of the rack.
• Keep the cabinet door locked; an open door swings in a shake.

How are wall-mounted cabinets and panels hung?

A wall-mounted cabinet, alarm panel, fire panel and recorder shelf should be hung on a load-bearing or solid wall where possible. A plasterboard partition and an aerated concrete wall do not hold the same plug. For a load on plasterboard, you need to fix to the profile behind it or put a reinforcement plate in the wall; in aerated concrete, use a plug made for that material.

A cabinet's weight rises noticeably once it is filled. Do the installation for the total weight with the UPS and devices that will go inside, not for the weight of the empty cabinet. The same rule applies to wall-mounted TVs and monitoring screens: the bracket is fixed to the wall with the number of screws the manufacturer specifies, and a screen is not hung on a thin partition wall with a single plug.

What to look at for camera poles and facade installation?

A free-standing camera pole is fixed to a concrete foundation with anchor bolts and needs a foundation calculated for the height of the pole. A thin pipe buried in soil and surrounded with concrete bends over time in shaking and wind. Even if the camera and bracket at the top look light, a pole that falls can hurt a vehicle or a pedestrian on the road.

Cameras and speakers on a building facade are fixed to the load-bearing wall behind, not to the cladding or the thermal insulation. Long plugs that pass through the insulation layer, or fasteners made for insulation, are used. For solar panels, antenna masts and outdoor-unit type equipment placed on a roof, the structure and connection calculation is a separate subject.

Why is slack left in cables?

During an earthquake, different parts of a building can move differently from each other. The regulation also requires this relative movement to be taken into account for equipment connected to two points that can move differently. Low-voltage side, the equivalent is cables: cables that cross the joint between two blocks, go from one building to another, or run from a cabinet to a duct on the wall are not left taut.

Behind the cabinet, a small service loop is left in the patch and power cables. At crossings between buildings, the cable or fiber is run inside a flexible duct with some extra length. The hangers of suspended cable trays are fixed firmly to the ceiling, and the tray is supported so that it cannot swing sideways. Fiber patch cables are sensitive to breaking, so they must not be pinched at the door edge or on the cabinet rail.

How do you check the system after shaking?

The region lived through the 2023 earthquakes, and aftershocks can continue for a long time. A short check after every shake you feel reveals hidden damage before it turns into a fault. If you suspect structural damage in the building, first wait for the authorities' assessment; do not enter a damaged building to check devices.

In the check, look at whether the cabinet is upright and in place, whether there are cracks or looseness in the anchors and wall connections, and whether the shelves and devices have shifted. Then check that recording on the recorder continues without interruption, that the camera angles have not changed, and that the alarm and fire panels show no fault warnings. If you see swelling, leaks or broken connections on the battery banks, switch the system off and notify a technical team.

What should be done in a new project and in an existing building?

In a new project, the location of the server room, the floor connection of the cabinets and the place of heavy equipment are decided at the design stage. In an existing building, you first make an inventory: which cabinet is fixed, which is loose, which panel is on a partition wall, which camera is screwed to the cladding. This list makes it easier to put the points to be fixed in order of importance.

Based in Şanlıurfa, Desa Bilişim installs cabinets, panels and cameras in schools, public buildings and businesses in Southeast Anatolia according to this checklist, and also checks the fastening of existing systems on site.

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