Major changes to 18th Edition open for public comment

A raft of updates are being proposed to the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations, with a consultation opened to engage with industry on the potential for a 2nd amendment.

The changes, led by IET and BSI, have been proposed following ongoing discussions at committee level, which involve stakeholders including ECA.

To help ECA Members and the wider electrotechnical industry respond to the draft for public comment, ECA has created a set of resources and guidance, available now at www.eca.co.uk/amd2.

ECA technical manager Gary Parker said: “With the ever-increasing pace of technological developments, it’s vital that the Wiring Regulations keep up-to-speed with new industry technology and methodologies. However, this must be balanced with a practical engineering approach.

“The proposed changes could impact all ECA Members. Therefore it is vital that Members submit comments to BSI if they feel these changes could be overly onerous, lacking clarity or simply require refining.”

Some of the key potential changes in AMD 2 include:

The mandating of AFDDs on circuits less than 32A
Removal of the risk assessment method for omitting additional RCD protection on socket outlets
Less paperwork for EICs
New cut-off date for complying with the 18th Edition
New energy efficiency and prosumer requirements
New SPD requirements
New foundation earthing requirements
New protected area requirements
The DPC will remain open for comment until 11 December 2020. It is available via the BSI Standards development portal: https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/

In previous years, ECA Member comments have been directly responsible for improving the Regulations and ensuring that BS 7671 remains a practical and workable document, to the benefit of both customers and contractors.

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