Whats electrostatic propensity?
In simple terms, its the “ability” of a carpet to produce an electrostatic charge when a person scuffs or shuffles across it. The charge is then contained by the carpet and the person. When the person touches a metal object, quite a violent discharge or shock can take place, accompanied by an audible and often even visible spark. Older carpets could build up a potential difference of around 7 kV, well above the comfort level of human beings and, indeed, quite enough to “kill” a memory chip in an electronic device. A few years ago, 1 kV at 65% relative humidity was considered adequate for commercial aviation purposes, but of course, the air in cabins is usually much drier. Consequently, lab tests did not really emulate reality. All Lantal carpets have an electrostatic propensity rating of well under 1 kV at 10% relative humidity. This was achieved with the proprietary finish of the pile material and the hightech carpet back coating developed by Lantal. The era of electrostatic shock is
