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What does BS7671 mean by an "installation coupler" 411.3.3 Note 5?

What does BS7671 mean by an "installation coupler"  411.3.3 Note 5?

Is this a proprietary connector or standard connector used in a singular and specific way purely for a particular installation application?

I will be providing a new circuit in a domestic setting which supplies power to a yet-to-be-installed garden office pod.

 

The Pod supplier/builder has specified a 32amp 230v BS EN 60309-2 Commando socket at the end of the circuit.  They then deliver and build their pod and connect a flexible lead from the back of the pod to the socket/circuit I provide.  This in turn powers a 40A 30ma 2-way consumer unit, pre-wired at the pod building factory. In other words, outlets and lighting in the pod are RCD protected.

 

My circuit will come from CU (DB2) which I will fit and SWA will run from DB2 all the way to the outlet near the garden pod. (15-18 metres on 6mm2 SWA)

 

My question relates to RCD requirements.

 

In the interests of Selectivity, I could run the SWA from just an MCB, as the SWA negates RCD protection for the cable itself.  However, if the 32amp commando I fit is classed as a "socket outlet", I could be failing to provide RCD protection where BS7671 requires it.

 

411.3.3 Note 5 pg65 A2:2022 - states that an "installation coupler" "is not regarded as a socket outlet for the purposes of this regulation"

 

Would it be fair to class this connection between pod and circuit as an installation coupler?  It is unlikely to be accessed by lay persons to, let's say, power a lawn mower and will be behind the pod and not readily accessible to lay persons, once the pod is installed.  It will more than likely be connected once and stay permanently connected for many many years without interference.

 

Or

 

The 32amp outlet used to connect the pod to power is without question a socket outlet and therefore 411.3.3 must be obeyed and the cable run from DB2 to the outlet must be RCD protected?  Even if I sacrifice selectivity as the lesser of 2 evils and have 30ma upstream and downstream?  (or fit time delay upstream)

 

Any advice is much appreciated. Thumbsup tone1

 

Cheers

James

 

Other info.  single phase, domestic setting, TNCS, 8-year-old property, "17th edition" dual RCD (AC wave) split board for the main house, no existing SPD.

Parents
  • Andy, you have got the wrong idea. Pods are used because they are not fixed buildings and therefore do not require planning permission. I used to have a mate who manufactured them, quite nice jobs, all wood of course, and you put them in a shed for winter when there was no market and the weather took a significant maintenance toll. Even a nice lifting loop on the top. As for SY as a flexible cable, the braid is steel, why would it melt (1550 C). The conductors would have been soup long before (1085C) and the plastic well burnt. The braid does prevent insulation damage by sharp edges and severe conditions where rubber or PVC would have long failed in workshops etc. The conductors and inner sheath are very much made to BS6500, for some reason it is left out of BS7671, although there is an EN spec for similar cables. They are widely used on the continent and kitchens etc, because they are robust. You would have a job proving that they are not fit for purpose as you claim.

  • They have screw pile foundations, they cannot be moved around and are permanent buildings.

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  • They have screw pile foundations, they cannot be moved around and are permanent buildings.

Children
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