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this article is reproduced from [beijing evening news];

mr. zhou, who is nearly 80 years old, has difficulty walking and wants to use an electric wheelchair, but he is worried about whether it is safe to charge the electric wheelchair at home. for this reason, he asked the property management and the community to which he belongs, but received different answers, which made the old man even more confused.

79-year-old grandpa zhou lives in chaoyang district. because his legs and feet are not very agile, he has to sit down and rest after walking less than 50 meters. a relative happened to have an extra electric wheelchair and wanted to give it to grandpa zhou, but grandpa zhou hesitated.

"i am a loyal reader of the evening paper. i know from the news that electric bicycles cannot be charged in buildings. is it safe to charge electric wheelchairs in buildings? i haven't found any relevant regulations." mr. zhou said that he first asked the property management of the community, and the property management said that in order to avoid accidents, electric wheelchairs cannot be charged in buildings. but mr. zhou saw many elderly people using electric wheelchairs on the street. are all these electric wheelchairs not allowed to enter buildings? if so, some elderly people may not even be able to leave their homes.

different communities have different requirements

can electric wheelchairs be charged upstairs? beijing evening news reporters consulted different communities and found that the opinions and requirements were different.

a community in gaobeidian, chaoyang district said that there is no clear regulation that electric wheelchairs cannot go upstairs, but it is not recommended to charge electric wheelchairs indoors; at the same time, it reminds residents to purchase electric wheelchairs from regular channels, prepare their own fire-fighting equipment at home, and always keep an eye on the charging equipment.

a community in sijiqing, haidian district, requires the guardians of people with limited mobility to go to the property management to sign a relevant agreement before electric wheelchairs can be used upstairs. the reporter called the community where mr. zhou lives, and the community said that as long as the electric wheelchairs purchased and used by residents meet national standards, they can be used upstairs.

grandpa zhou believes that in the absence of clear regulations, it is understandable that some properties do not allow electric wheelchairs to enter the building for everyone's safety. "but we are getting older and older. although we can still go downstairs now, we may not be able to walk one day. we have to make plans for the future. there are many elderly people around me who have mobility problems like me. everyone wants to know how to use electric wheelchairs more safely while facilitating travel. i hope the relevant departments can see our needs and improve the regulations and guarantees in this regard as soon as possible." grandpa zhou said.

battery safety is the key

the reporter asked two stores with the highest sales of electric wheelchairs on the e-commerce platform, and they said that the common electric wheelchairs on the market are generally equipped with lead-acid or lithium batteries. there is a difference between the batteries of electric wheelchairs and electric bicycles - the battery voltage of electric bicycles is generally 48v, while the battery voltage of electric wheelchairs is 24v. therefore, the merchants claim that the batteries of electric wheelchairs are relatively safe and can be charged at home.

"from the perspective of preventing electric shock, the lower the voltage, the safer it is, and 24v voltage is less likely to cause electric shock. but from the perspective of fire risk, the battery risks of electric wheelchairs and electric bicycles are similar, and they are both very dangerous once a fire occurs," explained qi xinglong, deputy chief of the news and publicity section of the tongzhou district fire rescue detachment.

"we recommend that electric wheelchairs be charged at charging stations, but considering the actual situation that users are usually inconvenient to move, if they must be charged at home, we must remind everyone to purchase qualified products from regular manufacturers, and to replace accessories and repairs through regular channels, and not to modify them privately. during use, special fire-fighting equipment should be selected according to the different materials of the battery, and a fire blanket should also be kept at home. there should be no flammable materials around the electric wheelchair when charging. it is best to have separate wiring and a separate switch to facilitate power off. when traveling with an electric wheelchair, be careful not to get it exposed to rain or water, and do not charge it in the corridor, let alone charge it with flying wires."

beijing evening news reporter shi yue, intern reporter hou guodi