BS 7671


BS 7671 "Requirements for Electrical Installations. IET Wiring Regulations", informally called in the electrical community The "Regs", is the national standard in the United Kingdom for electrical installation and the safety of electrical wiring in domestic, commercial, industrial, and other buildings, also in special installations and locations, such as marinas or caravan parks and medical locations
In general, BS 7671 applies to circuits supplied at nominal voltages up to and including 1000 volts AC or 1500 volts DC. The standard therefore covers the Extra Low Voltage range range up to and including
50 volt AC and 125 volt DC and the low voltage range which is above 50 volt AC and 125 volt DC Up to and including the threshold of High voltage 1000 volt AC and 1500 volt DC, the frequencies covered are 50 60 and 400 Hz AC mains supply used in the UK for houses, offices, and commerce. It did not become a recognized British Standard until the publication of the 16th edition in 1992. The standard takes account of the technical substance of agreements reached in CENELEC.
The current version is BS 7671:2018 issued in 2018 and came into effect from 1 January 2019. Amendment 1 to the 18th Edition was published in February 2020 but the only changes were to section 722. These changes came into immediate effect upon publication release, unlike previous amendments where 6 months elapsed before changes became compliant. http://www.theiet.org/media/press-releases/press-releases-2020/3-february-2020-iet-bsi-publish-amendment-1-to-bs-76712018-iet-wiring-regulations BS 7671 is also used as a national standard by Mauritius, St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Cyprus, and several other countries, which base their wiring regulations on BS 7671.

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 by the IET. 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 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, 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 the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization harmonisation documents, and therefore is technically very similar to the current wiring regulations of other European countries.

1st Edition

"Rules and Regulations for the Prevention of Fire Risks arising from Electric Lighting." - Two core cable, line and neutral, no earth. The protection was a re-wirable fuse.

17th Edition

The 17th edition, released in January 2008 and amended in 2011, 2013 and January 2015 became effective for all installations designed after 1 July 2008. One of the more significant changes is that 30 mA RCDs will be required for socket outlets that are for use by ordinary persons and are intended for general use. This improves the level of protection against electrical shock in the UK to a level comparable to that in other EU countries. The 17th edition and its amendments incorporated new sections relating to microgeneration and solar photovoltaic systems, non-combustible consumer units, RCDs, and breakers.

Timeline

DateEdition / changeInformation
18821st EditionTitled ‘Rules and Regulations for the prevention of Fire Risks Arising from Electric Lighting’, and known as the "Wiring Rules"
18882nd EditionTitled 'Wiring Rules & Regulations in Buildings
18973rd EditionTitled ‘General Rules recommended for Wiring for the Supply of Electrical Energy’
19034th Editionissued as IEE Wiring Regulations, called ‘Wiring Rules’
19075th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations
19116th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations
19167th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations
19248th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations ‘Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings’
19279th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations
193410th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations
193911th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Revised in 1943, reprint with minor amendments in 1945, supplement in 1946, further revised in 1948
195012th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Supplement issued 1954
195513th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted in 1958, 1961, 1962, 1964
196614th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted in 1968, 1969, 1969 again, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976
198115th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations.
199116th EditionIssued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted with amendments 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004
1992BSI adopts as a standardWiring Regulations adopted by the British Standards Institute as BS 7671
1992LegislationElectricity at Work Regulations come fully into effect in Northern Ireland
2004Incorporated into building regulationsPart P of the Building Regulations comes into force, covering legal requirements for UK electrical installations. The guidance in the Approved Documents refers to BS 7671 as being one way to achieve compliance. The version in force when the law came into effect was the 16th edition, BS 7671:2001, as amended in 2002 and 2004.
200817th EditionAmended 2015
201818th EditionIntroduced energy efficiency performance levels and the use of surge protection devices and arc fault detection devices.
Amended Feb 2020 - Current standard as of February 2020