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BS7671 or Wiring Regulations?

UKPN
There is a guy on here asking "what is the point of the wiring regulations?" He hasnt explained his question, so I would like to expand a little.

If you pass the City and Guilds exam, you are awarded a certificate titled "BS7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations" The term "Wiring Regulations" is not on the sheet.

However, I note that most job requirements ask for 2391/2396/18th Wiring Regulations. Virtually no one talks in the context of " BS7671"

I am wondering if members can give me an idea how the two terms are related, who makes the decisions on "regulations" and who is accountable for those decisions. I have noted errors/confusion on various posts these last few days caused by ambiguity in those regulations and it seems the person who should be protected by these regulations (the customer) is the last to be considered.

Ever the cynic, is the term "wiring regulations" retained  for sentimental reasons or just to sell the book?

Thanks in advance.


Regards, UKPNZap


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    It's probably a circular thing.  It's been called the "Wiring Regulations" for so long that everybody knows it as the "wiring regulations".  If they took the words "Wiring Regulations" off the cover, people would wonder if they have the right book.  So they continue to put it on there, albeit in smaller print than the "Requirements for Electrical Installations".
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    I believe various generations of the book have been known as the "Wiring Regulations"  for generations.


    When the IEE publication became BS 7671 in 1992 the term "IEE Wiring Regulations Sixteenth Edition" appeared for the first time on the front cover. Every edition has had this on the front cover ,as does the current edition  "IET Wiring Regulations Eighteenth Edition".


    The current regulations derive from the IEC standard IEC 60364 which is divided i to parts and has much of the same wording as does BS 7671. The European Harmonised Standard (CENELEC) is also derived from the IEC standard HD 60364 which is much the same as our own standard. 


    The joint BSI/IET committee JPEL/64 are responsible for producing the UK standard BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations , IET Wiring Regulations. Most of the IEC 60364 standards have to be adopted by the CENELEC standard and  BS 7671 within 3 years or at least the technical intent of individual requirements. 


    Each edition and amendment draft to BS 7671 goes out for public consultation (DPC) the DPC comments then go back to JPEL/64 for consideration prior to publication.


    You can see the lists of people who sit on the JPEL/64 committee on page9 and 10 of the current edition.


    BS 7671 is not a statutory document so in itself is not law but may be quoted in a court of law in the same way the Highway Code can be quoted, I have done this in both the County and Criminal Courts. In the fatal Emma Shaw Crown Court case one defendant was charged under Section 7 of the HASAWA for failing to carry out an insulation resistance test and the requirement  to do this was quoted in the prosecution evidence. I have been in court many times over the last 30 years but never thought I would hear the words "insulation resistance test" in the charge read out to the defendant prior to the trial. 


    Hope this helps?






  • 0
    It's a bit historical. Back in 1882 (well before the BSI or even Electricity Boards existed) the first "Rules and Regulations for the prevention of Fire Risks Arising from Electric Lighting" was published by the forerunner of the IET, then called the Society of Telegraph Engineers and of Electricians".


    By 1897 it had become the "General Rules recommended for Wiring for the Supply of Electrical Energy"  and simply "Wiring Rules" by 1907.


    By 1924 it had adopted the more modern title of "Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings" then in 1981 it became "Regulations for Electrical Installations".


    Only in 1992 did it become adopted as a British Standard - and as BSI like to number things, given a BS number of 7671.


    The edition numbers count from the original 1882 edition (plus intervening amendments). BSI have their own quite different identification system based on the standard number and year of issue.


    So there are two distinct languages if you like for referring to the wiring regs - the traditional IET (title + edition) one and the BSI numbers (BS 7671+year) - but most people in the industry are fluent enough to use the two interchangeably - Joe Public probably finds the wordy one easier to understand, designers typically prefer the precision and consistency of the BS numbering. - Even today the front cover says "Requirements for Electrical Installations", "IET Wiring Regulations Eighteenth Edition" and "BS 7671:2018" (ignoring the amendments).


       - Andy.
  • 0
    John Peckham:


    BS 7671 is not a statutory document so in itself is not law but may be quoted in a court of law in the same way the Highway Code can be quoted, I have done this in both the County and Criminal Courts. In the fatal Emma Shaw Crown Court case one defendant was charged under Section 7 of the HASAWA for failing to carry out an insulation resistance test and the requirement  to do this was quoted in the prosecution evidence. I have been in court many times over the last 30 years but never thought I would hear the words "insulation resistance test" in the charge read out to the defendant prior to the trial. 


     


    Although one piece of legislation does require compliance with BS 7671 for some things - not least Regulations 21 and 22 of ESQCR which requires the consumer's electrical installation to comply with BS 7671 where the consumer has generation that may operate as either a switched alternative to the public supply, or operate in parallel with the public supply.


  • 0
    Lamp or bulb?
  • 0
    gkenyon:
    John Peckham:


    BS 7671 is not a statutory document so in itself is not law but may be quoted in a court of law in the same way the Highway Code can be quoted, I have done this in both the County and Criminal Courts. In the fatal Emma Shaw Crown Court case one defendant was charged under Section 7 of the HASAWA for failing to carry out an insulation resistance test and the requirement  to do this was quoted in the prosecution evidence. I have been in court many times over the last 30 years but never thought I would hear the words "insulation resistance test" in the charge read out to the defendant prior to the trial. 


     


    Although one piece of legislation does require compliance with BS 7671 for some things - not least Regulations 21 and 22 of ESQCR which requires the consumer's electrical installation to comply with BS 7671 where the consumer has generation that may operate as either a switched alternative to the public supply, or operate in parallel with the public supply.




    Also the "Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020" (although not quite the same version of BS 7671).

       - Andy.


  • 0
    AJJewsbury:
    gkenyon:
    John Peckham:


    BS 7671 is not a statutory document so in itself is not law but may be quoted in a court of law in the same way the Highway Code can be quoted, I have done this in both the County and Criminal Courts. In the fatal Emma Shaw Crown Court case one defendant was charged under Section 7 of the HASAWA for failing to carry out an insulation resistance test and the requirement  to do this was quoted in the prosecution evidence. I have been in court many times over the last 30 years but never thought I would hear the words "insulation resistance test" in the charge read out to the defendant prior to the trial. 


     


    Although one piece of legislation does require compliance with BS 7671 for some things - not least Regulations 21 and 22 of ESQCR which requires the consumer's electrical installation to comply with BS 7671 where the consumer has generation that may operate as either a switched alternative to the public supply, or operate in parallel with the public supply.




    Also the "Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020" (although not quite the same version of BS 7671).

       - Andy.




    So the reason I didn't mention this, is that it only requires periodic verification to BS 7671, not full compliance (although that could be inferred by having to address defects, it could be debated that only "make safe" not "fully comply" is required).


  • 0
    John Peckham:

    The joint BSI/IET committee JPEL/64 are responsible for producing the UK standard BS 7671 Requirements for Electrical Installations , IET Wiring Regulations. Most of the IEC 60364 standards have to be adopted by the CENELEC standard and  BS 7671 within 3 years or at least the technical intent of individual requirements. 


    And the IEC 60364 standards are developed by IEC Technical Committee 64, the UK member of which is JPEL/64.....


  • 0
    gkenyon:
    AJJewsbury:
    gkenyon:
    John Peckham:


    BS 7671 is not a statutory document so in itself is not law but may be quoted in a court of law in the same way the Highway Code can be quoted, I have done this in both the County and Criminal Courts. In the fatal Emma Shaw Crown Court case one defendant was charged under Section 7 of the HASAWA for failing to carry out an insulation resistance test and the requirement  to do this was quoted in the prosecution evidence. I have been in court many times over the last 30 years but never thought I would hear the words "insulation resistance test" in the charge read out to the defendant prior to the trial. 


     


    Although one piece of legislation does require compliance with BS 7671 for some things - not least Regulations 21 and 22 of ESQCR which requires the consumer's electrical installation to comply with BS 7671 where the consumer has generation that may operate as either a switched alternative to the public supply, or operate in parallel with the public supply.




    Also the "Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020" (although not quite the same version of BS 7671).

       - Andy.




    So the reason I didn't mention this, is that it only requires periodic verification to BS 7671, not full compliance (although that could be inferred by having to address defects, it could be debated that only "make safe" not "fully comply" is required).




    ESQCR 2002:

    Switched alternative sources of energy



    21.  Where a person operates a source of energy as a switched alternative to a distributor’s network, he shall ensure that that source of energy cannot operate in parallel with that network and where the source of energy is part of a low voltage consumer’s installation, that installation shall comply with British Standard Requirements.


    That's pretty wide - I wonder how many Standards would apply in addition to BS 7671?


  • 0
    Hi Graham, I’d like to agree with you with regards to the PRS Regulations, only I think that another, much more onerous interpretation may be easily adopted.  I.e. that the installation is required to meet the requirements of BS 7671:2018. 

    That interpretation is one which a hypothetical (or real!) prosecution could quite reasonably and easily adopt. 

    See Regulation 3(1)(a) of Part 2 (excerpt provided below for clarity), which says “ensure that the electrical safety standards are met. . .”
    78258be0013ed03244186706526bd778-original-image.png

    “Electrical safety standards” are clearly defined in Part 1 as meaning those of BS 7671:2018.

    65aeb5a16a6be7d6f66bdfc504aa9721-original-image-20210106093804-2.png

    I think we all would agree that the wording of the PRS Regulations is poor and ill thought out, but I just wanted to make the point that simply testing in accordance with BS 7671:2018 will likely not be good enough given the wording of this statutory document.  Anyone choosing to interpret the statutory document according to what they think it should have said, is taking quite a risk. 

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