IET announces new amendment to BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations)

For over twenty years I have had it drummed into me that the Wiring Regulations are not prescriptive, it is not an instruction book that tells you how to do electrical installation work.


So for over twenty years my understanding has been the Wiring Regulations tells you what you should achieve, what is required, but not how to do it.


So for RCDs it told you what level of protection is required, but did not tell you which RCD to use.


Somewhere along the way a decision was made to specifically state in the 17th edition that RCDs to three standards will meet the requirements of BS7671, industry guidance was then published to say that this list was not prescriptive and exclusive, the other types of RCD that have a British Standard and gave the level of protection required to achieve the requirements of the Wiring Regulations are still considered fit for purpose and can be used.


But then a decision was made to rewrite the British Standard 7288, now that adds a whole new issue to consider, in that the new RCDs may not be as well made as the current version, in that there is not a requirement for three millimetres of separation between the contacts when they disconnect; and may not meet an additional requirement for them to provide isolation, though they meet two British Standards and meet the requirements as a socket or fused connection unit which the Wiring Regulations states meets the requirements for isolation, but by being isolated manually rather than automatically. Is there a requirement that isolation is automatic or that is it disconnection that is required to provide the automatic disconnection of the supply, ADS, whilst the isolation is manual?


Hopefully there will be a quick resolution to these issues, with the transition to new BS8277 devices supposedly being in progress and the implementation date of the new BS8277:2016 in a few weeks time in November 2019, hopefully the resolution will come sooner rather than later.


 Andy Betteridge 

For over twenty years I have had it drummed into me that the Wiring Regulations are not prescriptive, it is not an instruction book that tells you how to do electrical installation work.


So for over twenty years my understanding has been the Wiring Regulations tells you what you should achieve, what is required, but not how to do it.


So for RCDs it told you what level of protection is required, but did not tell you which RCD to use.


Somewhere along the way a decision was made to specifically state in the 17th edition that RCDs to three standards will meet the requirements of BS7671, industry guidance was then published to say that this list was not prescriptive and exclusive, the other types of RCD that have a British Standard and gave the level of protection required to achieve the requirements of the Wiring Regulations are still considered fit for purpose and can be used.


But then a decision was made to rewrite the British Standard 7288, now that adds a whole new issue to consider, in that the new RCDs may not be as well made as the current version, in that there is not a requirement for three millimetres of separation between the contacts when they disconnect; and may not meet an additional requirement for them to provide isolation, though they meet two British Standards and meet the requirements as a socket or fused connection unit which the Wiring Regulations states meets the requirements for isolation, but by being isolated manually rather than automatically. Is there a requirement that isolation is automatic or that is it disconnection that is required to provide the automatic disconnection of the supply, ADS, whilst the isolation is manual?


Hopefully there will be a quick resolution to these issues, with the transition to new BS8277 devices supposedly being in progress and the implementation date of the new BS8277:2016 in a few weeks time in November 2019, hopefully the resolution will come sooner rather than later.


 Andy Betteridge