HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

British Standard British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The BSI Group produces British Standards under th ...
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 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
for electrical installation and the safety of
electrical wiring Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of Electrical cable, cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure. Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and in ...
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 CENELEC (; ) is responsible for European standardization in the area of electrical engineering. Together with ETSI (telecommunications) and CEN (other technical areas), it forms the European system for technical standardization. Standards harmon ...
. BS 7671 is also used as a national standard by
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
,
St Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...
,
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
,
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
,
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
,
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, 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 High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant sp ...
, 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 __NOTOC__ IET can refer to: Organizations * Institute of Educational Technology, part of the Open University * Institution of Engineering and Technology, a UK-based professional engineering institution ** Institute of Engineers and Technicians, wh ...
(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 The British Standards Institution (BSI) is the Standards organization, national standards body of the United Kingdom. BSI produces technical standards on a wide range of products and services and also supplies standards certification services ...
) 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 IEC 60364 ''Low-voltage electrical installations'' is the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)'s international standard series on ''low-voltage electrical installations''. This standard is an attempt to harmonize national wiring stand ...
. 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 (; ) is responsible for European standardization in the area of electrical engineering. Together with ETSI (telecommunications) and CEN (other technical areas), it forms the European system for technical standardization. Standards harmon ...
(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 British Standards (BS) are the standards produced by the BSI Group which is incorporated under a royal charter and which is formally designated as the national standards body (NSB) for the UK. The BSI Group produces British Standards under th ...
*
Electrical code An electrical code is a term for a set of regulations for the design and installation of electrical wiring in a building. The intention of such regulations is to provide standards to ensure electrical wiring systems are safe for people and propert ...
*
Electrical wiring Electrical wiring is an electrical installation of Electrical cable, cabling and associated devices such as switches, distribution boards, sockets, and light fittings in a structure. Wiring is subject to safety standards for design and in ...
*
Electrical wiring (UK) Electrical wiring in the United Kingdom refers to the practices and standards utilised in constructing electrical installations within domestic, commercial, industrial, and other structures and locations (such as marinas or caravan parks), withi ...
*
IEC 60364 IEC 60364 ''Low-voltage electrical installations'' is the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)'s international standard series on ''low-voltage electrical installations''. This standard is an attempt to harmonize national wiring stand ...
*
Earthing system An earthing system (UK and IEC) or grounding system (US) connects specific parts of an electric power system with the ground, typically the equipment's conductive surface, for safety and functional purposes. The choice of earthing system can ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


Wiring Regulations
07671 Electrical safety in the United Kingdom Electrical standards Electrical wiring