BS 7671
Encyclopedia
British Standard BS 7671 "Requirements for electrical installations" is the national standard in the United Kingdom for low voltage
Low voltage
Low voltage when used as an electrical engineering term concerning an electricity supply grid or industrial use, broadly identifies safety considerations of the system based on the voltage used. The meaning of the term "low voltage" is somewhat different when used with regard to a more typical end...

 electrical installations.

It is also used as a national standard by Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

, St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....

, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

, Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

 , and several other countries base their wiring regulations on BS 7671.

The IET
Institution of Engineering and Technology
The Institution of Engineering and Technology is a British professional body for those working in engineering and technology in the United Kingdom and worldwide. It was formed in 2006 from two separate institutions: the Institution of Electrical Engineers , dating back to 1871, and the...

 (formerly IEE
Institution of Electrical Engineers
The Institution of Electrical Engineers was a British professional organisation of electronics, electrical, manufacturing, and Information Technology professionals, especially electrical engineers. The I.E.E...

) has published wiring regulations in the United Kingdom since 1882. Since their 15th edition (1981), these regulations have closely followed the corresponding international standard IEC 60364
IEC 60364
IEC 60364 Electrical Installations for Buildings is the International Electrotechnical Commission's international standard on electrical installations of buildings. This standard is an attempt to harmonize national wiring standards in an IEC standard...

. Today, they are largely based on the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
CENELEC is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization.CENELEC is responsible for European Standardization in the area of electrical engineering...

 (CENELEC) harmonization documents, and therefore are technically very similar to the current wiring regulations of other European countries.

In 1992, the IEE Wiring Regulations became British Standard BS 7671 and they are now treated similar to other British Standards. They are maintained by the Joint IET/BSI Technical Committee JPEL/64, the UK National Committee for Wiring Regulations. Although the IET and BSI are non-governmental organizations and the Wiring Regulations are non-statutory, they are referenced in several UK statutory instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...

s.

The BSI publish numerous titles concerning acceptable standards of design/safety/quality etc. in various fields. BS 7671 : 2001 (AMD No 2 : 2004) concerns the safety of electrical wiring
Electrical wiring
Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. This article is intended to...

 in buildings (dwellings, commercial, industrial or otherwise) – generally known as the "Regs" (wiring regulations) – and succeeds the previous publication the 16th Edition of the Wiring Regulations.

The On-Site Guide is a handbook that contains some information not in BS 7671:2001. It is meant as a handy notebook reference for electricians working on building sites.

17th Edition

The 17th edition, released in January 2008, is the latest edition of BS7671, and became effective for all installations designed after 1 July 2008. One of the more significant changes is (chapter 41) that 30 mA RCD
Residual-current device
A Residual Current Device is a generic term covering both RCCBs and RCBOs.A Residual-Current Circuit Breaker is an electrical wiring device that disconnects a circuit whenever it detects that the electric current is not balanced between the energized conductor and the return neutral conductor...

s will be required for socket outlets that are for use by ordinary persons and are intended for general use. This improves the level of protection against electrical shock in the UK to a level comparable to that in other EU countries. The 17th edition incorporates new sections relating to microgeneration
Microgeneration
Microgeneration is the small-scale generation of heat and power by individuals, small businesses and communities to meet their own needs, as alternatives or supplements to traditional centralized grid-connected power...

 and solar photovoltaic systems.

External links


See also

  • British Standards
    British Standards
    British Standards are the standards produced by BSI Group which is incorporated under a Royal Charter...

  • Electrical wiring
    Electrical wiring
    Electrical wiring in general refers to insulated conductors used to carry electricity, and associated devices. This article describes general aspects of electrical wiring as used to provide power in buildings and structures, commonly referred to as building wiring. This article is intended to...

  • Electrical wiring (UK)
    Electrical wiring (UK)
    There are a number of specific national practices, habits and traditions associated with consumer mains wiring in the United Kingdom that differ significantly from other countries...

  • IEC 60364
    IEC 60364
    IEC 60364 Electrical Installations for Buildings is the International Electrotechnical Commission's international standard on electrical installations of buildings. This standard is an attempt to harmonize national wiring standards in an IEC standard...

  • Earthing system
    Earthing system
    In electricity supply systems, an earthing system defines the electrical potential of the conductors relative to the Earth's conductive surface. The choice of earthing system can affect the safety and electromagnetic compatibility of the power supply, and regulations can vary considerably among...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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