British Standard 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.
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 230 volt 50 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 (the 18th Edition) issued in 2018 effective from 1 January 2019. 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.
1882 1st Edition Titled ‘Rules and Regulations for the prevention of Fire Risks Arising from Electric Lighting’, and known as the "Wiring Rules"
1888 2nd Edition Titled 'Wiring Rules & Regulations in Buildings
18973rd Edition Titled ‘General Rules recommended for Wiring for the Supply of Electrical Energy’
1903 4th Edition issued as IEE Wiring Regulations, called ‘Wiring Rules’
19075th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations
19116th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations
1916 7th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations
19248th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations ‘Regulations for the Electrical Equipment of Buildings’
19279th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations
193410th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations
193911th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Revised in 1943, reprint with minor amendments in 1945, supplement in 1946, further revised in 1948
195012th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Supplement issued 1954
195513th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted in 1958, 1961, 1962, 1964
196614th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted in 1968, 1969, 1970 (in metric units), 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976
1981 15th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1988
1991 16th Edition Issued as IEE Wiring Regulations. Reprinted with amendments 1992, 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004
1992 BSI adopts as a standard Wiring Regulations adopted by the British Standards Institute as BS 7671
1992 Legislation Electricity at Work Regulations come fully into effect in Northern Ireland
2004 Incorporated into building regulations Part P of the Building Regulations ("Requirements for Electrical Installations") 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.
2008 17th Edition BS7671:2008 highlights RCDs requored for most outlets,
2011 amendment 1 BS7671:2011 (PIR to EICR)
2013 amendment 2 (electric vehicle charging added, earlier change incorporated for medical locations)
2015 amendment 3 BS7671:2015 (non-combustible consumer units/enclosures)
2018 18th Edition Introduced energy efficiency performance levels and the use of arc fault detection devices. Made available on 2 July 2018 effective since 1st of January 2019
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