Scope of Part P (extra-low voltage)

I do not consider plugging an appliance into a 13 Amp socket, an addition or alteration to an electrical installation.

5. Part P notifiable jobs currently include major ones such as house rewires, replacing a consumer unit, and fitting a complete new circuit (for example, for an electric shower or cooker); and alterations in what were deemed the more hazardous locations of kitchens, bathrooms and outdoors. However, alterations elsewhere in a dwelling, and repairs and replacements anywhere, are not notifiable.

Z.

Everything in dwellings is subject to Part P.

Notification has nothing to do with Part P - Approved Document P is guidance.

Of course "not exceeding 50" includes 48.

Cheers Z, I don't feel the need to notify anyone when I plug in my laptop daily either. That said, it's not routed through the fabric of the building.

Do you really feel a full house lighting rewire which converted all the lights to being powered off a 13A socket wouldn't be notifiable?

My point is there is no lower limit :-)

Just who would do that?

Z.

Hello Z.

Whether notifiable or not is nothing to do with Part P; all work must be done to ensure safety.

Kitchens and outdoors were in England removed from the notifiable work list in 2013.

Zoomup said:

I do not consider plugging an appliance into a 13 Amp socket, an addition or alteration to an electrical installation.

OK, so power over Ethernet is powered by something plugged into a socket-outlet.

But it's over fixed telecomms cabling infrastructure.

It's definitely part of the electrical installation in the scope of BS 7671. There are also fire and electric shock risks using PoE in bathrooms.

Whilst it's convenient to try and "get round" Part P, if we are not careful we take ourselves into a world where there are fire (and occasional shock) risks, but there is no way to manage those adequately because there's an opinion forming that it's OK to "scoot around" Part P when it's convenient.

Yes, it happens all the time, but that doesn't mean the "permanent extension lead" in the garden is safe - and doesn't mean there won't be people in the firing line when something does go wrong and there's a claim or prosecution pending.

I guess the best person to ask is a solicitor.

geoffsd said:

Everything in dwellings is subject to Part P.

Notification has nothing to do with Part P - Approved Document P is guidance.

Of course "not exceeding 50" includes 48.

Agreed. Same with Electricity at Work Regulations there is no lower voltage limit.

There used to be an exclusion for Extra Low Voltage supplied as a kit for example four halogen lights connected to a transformer with a prewired harness supplied by the manufacturer.

However this exclusion did not apply for example to a 12 volt SELV bathroom extractor fan when the manufacturer supplied a transformer and fan, but the electrician connected them with some cable out of the back of the van.

Then the requirement to notify all electrical work in bathrooms and kitchens in England was removed, but not in Wales. 

So the answer is probably more about where you live that the actual electrical work. My profile picture was taken at a cafe in Saundersfoot whilst I was in Wales working on a two day jolly staying overnight in Saundersfoot, I did a job in Bristol on the way there which was not notifiable because it was in England, then two jobs in Wales which were both notifiable because they were in Wales, it's all about politics rather than ensuring safety.

I was referring to this

1. Lots of people are retrofitting under unit lights into their kitchens which are 12V. They have a plug in transformer, but in many cases the wires are then routed 'through the fabric of the building'. Why isn't this in the scope of Part P if a house wide extra-low voltage lighting system would be?

I consider a few L.E.D. under unit lights on the kitchen wall units powered by an E.L.V. power supply via a 13 Amp plug an appliance, not fixed wiring. Heck, they are supplied as a complete D.I.Y kit.

You'll be saying a 12 Volt train set power supply, or electric racing car set supplied by a similar transformer is a fixed  installation next.

Z.