BS 7671

British Standard BS 7671 "Requirements for Electrical Installations. IET Wiring Regulations", informally called in the UK electrical community "The Regs", is the national standard in the United Kingdom for electrical installation and the safety of electrical wiring systems.

It did not become a recognized British Standard until after the publication of the 16th edition in 1992. The standard takes account of the technical substance of agreements reached in CENELEC.

BS 7671 is also used as a national standard by Mauritius, St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Cyprus, and several other countries, which base their wiring regulations on it.

The latest version is BS 7671:2018+A3:2024 (18th Edition, amendment 3) issued in 2024.

Scope

Locations

The regulations in BS 7671 apply to the design, selection, erection and verification of electrical installations such as those of:

# residential premises
# commercial premises
# public premises
# industrial premises
# prefabricated buildings
# low voltage generating sets
# highway equipment and street furniture
# locations containing a bath or shower
# swimming pools and other basins
# rooms and cabins containing sauna heaters
# construction and demolition sites
# agricultural and horticultural premises
# conducting locations with restricted movement
# caravan / camping parks and similar locations
# marinas and similar locations
# medical locations
# exhibitions, shows and stands
# solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems
# outdoor lighting
# extra-low voltage lighting
# mobile or transportable units
# caravans and motor caravans
# electric vehicle charging
# operating and maintenance gangways
# temporary installations for structures, amusement devices and booths at fairgrounds, amusement parks and circuses including professional stage and broadcast applications
# floor and ceiling heating systems
# onshore units of electrical shore connections for inland navigation vessels.

'Premises' covers the land and all facilities including buildings belonging to it.

Exclusions:

# systems for the distribution of electricity to the public other than prosumer's installations covered by Chapter 82
# railway traction equipment, rolling stock and signalling equipment
# equipment of motor vehicles, except those to which the requirements of the Regulations concerning caravans or mobile units are applicable
# equipment on board ships covered by BS 8450, BS EN 60092-507, BS EN ISO 13297 or BS EN ISO 10133
# equipment of mobile and fixed offshore installations
# equipment of aircraft
# those aspects of mines specifically covered by Statutory Regulations
# radio interference suppression equipment, except so far as it affects safety of the electrical installation
# lightning protection systems for buildings and structures covered by BS EN 62305
# those aspects of lift installations covered by relevant parts of BS 5655 and BS EN 81 and those aspects of escalator or moving walk installations covered by relevant parts of BS 5656 and BS EN 115
# electrical equipment of machines covered by BS EN 60204
# electric fences covered by BS EN 60335-2-76
# the DC side of cathodic protection systems complying with the relevant part(s) of BS EN ISO 12696, BS EN 12954, BS EN ISO 13174, BS EN 13636 and BS EN 14505.

Supply characteristics

BS 7671 only covers electrical systems with the following characteristics:

* having a nominal voltage up to but not exceeding 1000V AC or 1500V DC
* for AC having a supply frequency of 50, 60 or 400Hz, though the use of other frequencies for special purposes is not excluded.

This includes low-voltage installations, as found in most domestic and commercial properties, and extra-low-voltage systems, but excludes high voltage, as found in generation, transmission and distribution networks.

Compilation and publication

The standard is maintained by the Joint IET/BSI Technical Committee JPEL/64, the UK National Committee for Wiring Regulations, and published jointly by the IET (formerly IEE) and BSI. Although the IET and BSI are non-governmental organisations and the Wiring Regulations are non-statutory, they are referenced in several UK statutory instruments, and in most cases, for practical purposes, have legal force as the appropriate method of electric wiring.

The BSI (British Standards Institute) publishes numerous titles concerning acceptable standards of design/safety/quality across different fields.

History of BS 7671 and predecessor standards

The first edition was published in 1882 as the "Rules and Regulations for the Prevention of Fire Risks arising from Electric Lighting." The title became "General Rules recommended for Wiring for the Supply of Electrical Energy" with the third edition in 1897, "Wiring Rules" with the fifth edition of 1907, and settled at "Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings" with the eighth edition in 1924.

Since the 15th edition (1981), these regulations have closely followed the corresponding international standard IEC 60364. In 1992, the IEE Wiring Regulations became British Standard BS 7671 so that the legal enforcement of their requirements was easier both with regard to the Electricity at Work regulations and from an international point of view. They are now treated similar to other British Standards. BS 7671 has converged towards (and is largely based on) the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) harmonisation documents, and therefore is technically very similar to the current wiring regulations of other European countries.

Timeline

The historical timeline of publication can be found within documents published by the IET, such as within the PDF detailing amendment 3 to the 18th edition (), and is summarised below, along with some notable other events. Only major changes between editions/amendments are noted.

See also

*British Standards
*Electrical code
*Electrical wiring
*Electrical wiring (UK)
*IEC 60364
*Earthing system

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wiring Regulations

07671
Electrical safety in the United Kingdom
Electrical standards
Electrical wiring