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BS7671:2018 SECTION 708

Phil Kinnaird

Hi all,

At present i stay in a Residential Park home. 

I have raised the matter with with the Site Manager that in my opinion the Connection to the Lodges is not in compliance with BS7671:2018 Section 708. The Electrical supply has been confirmed by the DNO  by visual inspection to be PME.

Section 708 clearly states that a Residential Park Lodge under ESQCR Regulations states that a PME earthing facility shall not be used for the means of earthing for this type of installation.

Unfortunately the Site Manager is digging his heels in stating he has spoken with 2 Electrical Contractors who say it is perfectly OK to utilise this means of earthing and the a Contractor who carried out an EICR Report stated in his opinion the System was not PME despite the DNO confirming it was in an email.

I have advised in my opinion each lodge should have its own earth rod installed to earth the individual lodges.

I did contact the helpline at Certsure which is a helpline run by the NICEIC.

They did advise that in their opinion BS7671 :2018 would apply.

They also provided an extract from UK Power Networks Engineering Design Standard  EDS 06-0017 CUSTOMER LV INSTALLATION EARTHING DESIGN Section 6.9 Mobile Homes which states.

 6.9 Mobile Homes

A PME earthing terminal may be provided to mobile homes if the following criteria are satisfied.

The mobile home is permanently sited

The mobile home is is permanently connected to water and sewerage services

The installation is constructed such that a person in contact with the general mass of earth cannot touch any metalwork connected to the earth terminal

The installation complies with the earthing and bonding requirements of BS7671

If these conditions cannot be satisfied the mobile home shall be treated as a caravan in according with Section 5.6

Refer to BS7671:2018   SECTION 721 for earthen and bonding.

Any comments / clarification would be gratefully received.

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  • +1
    Phil Kinnaird said:
    Section 708 clearly states that a Residential Park Lodge under ESQCR Regulations states that a PME earthing facility shall not be used for the means of earthing for this type of installation.

    Are we talking about a residential park home or a static caravan?

    Please could I ask how you came to the conclusion that BS 7671:2018 prohibits the connection of PME earthing to a residential park home?

    Section 708 of BS 7671:2018 (and of BS 7671:2018+A2:2022) only prohibits connection of PME to leisure accommodation vehicles (regulation 708.411.4). A residential park home is not, in general, likely to come under the definition of 'leisure accommodation vehicle', which is stated in Part 2 of BS 7671:2018 (and BS 7671:2018+A2:2022). The term residential park home is separately defined. PME may be used on caravan sites for purposes other than supplying leisure accommodation vehicles.

    Section 721 applies only to the installation within a caravan or motor caravan itself, and residential park homes are excluded from the scope of Section 721 (see Regulation 721.1).

    Other than that, it is really not possible to comment on the suitability of a particular installation without seeing it.

  • 0 in reply to gkenyon

    Thank you for your comments which are very helpful. i am in fact  talking about a Residential Park Home.

    I was taking the overall view indicated in 708.1 and being over cautious, as technically Residential Park Homes are still defined as Caravans.

  • 0 in reply to Phil Kinnaird
    Phil Kinnaird said:
    as technically Residential Park Homes are still defined as Caravans

    To be clear, there are definitely Residential Park Homes which are not classed as caravans (or even "static caravans"), and BS 7671 has, for some time, recognised that - and so has DNO guidance.

    Have you tried getting in touch with a trade association to verify whether your particular home is classed as a caravan? The NCC might have some further advice: www.thencc.org.uk/.../aboutNCC.aspx

  • 0 in reply to Phil Kinnaird
    Phil Kinnaird said:
    I was taking the overall view indicated in 708.1 and being over cautious, as technically Residential Park Homes are still defined as Caravans.

    Technically not, at least as defined by BS 7671, where a caravan is something which is towed on the public roads.

    Legally yes, under S.29 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960:

    29 Interpretation of Part I.

    (1) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

    • “caravan” means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted ...

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  • 0 in reply to Phil Kinnaird
    Phil Kinnaird said:
    I was taking the overall view indicated in 708.1 and being over cautious, as technically Residential Park Homes are still defined as Caravans.

    Technically not, at least as defined by BS 7671, where a caravan is something which is towed on the public roads.

    Legally yes, under S.29 of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960:

    29 Interpretation of Part I.

    (1) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

    • “caravan” means any structure designed or adapted for human habitation which is capable of being moved from one place to another (whether by being towed, or by being transported on a motor vehicle or trailer) and any motor vehicle so designed or adapted ...

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