17th Edition of the “IEE Wiring Regulations.” Given green light

03 December 2007

One hundred and twenty five years since the forerunner of the IEE’s Wiring Regulations was first published, the latest edition has been formally approved for publication.

The 17^th Edition of BS 7671, Requirements for Electrical Installation, also known as the IEE Wiring Regulations, will be published in January 2008.

The publication is produced by the IET  (formerly the IEE) and plays a key role in safety and standards within the electrical installation industry. The IET manages the UK’s national wiring committee which prepares and updates the regulations and publishes the Wiring Regulations.

The 50 - strong committee representing the electrical industry has been reviewing the current regulations for the last two years. Over 2,500 comments were received from industry during a three month public consultation period. The 17^th edition will run to almost 400 pages.

A great deal of progress has been made on international standards work in IEC and CENELEC since the publication of BS 7671:2001, requiring both structural changes to the British Standard and also significant technical advances to be included. There are now requirements for renewable energy generation and combined heat and power.

These changes affect all areas of the Standard, therefore the decision was taken by JPEL/64, (the national committee responsible for BS 7671), to publish the revised Standard as the 17^th Edition. As a result the 17^th edition now includes additional requirements to ensure the safe connection of low-voltage generating sets including small scale embedded generators and solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems.

The first edition was published by in 1882 by the Society of Telegraph Engineers and Electricians, (later the IEE) Journal. Called ‘Rules and Regulations for the Prevention of Fire Risks Arising from Electrical Lighting’, it took six weeks to produce and comprised just four pages, including the list of committee members and one diagram.

Nigel Friswell FIET, who chairs the committee which oversees the process of formulating the regulations, said: “I would like to thank all the committee members for their hard work and dedication. The electrical installation industry values the role this publication plays in ensuring consistent safety standards.”

BS 7671 (the IEE Wiring Regulations) is jointly published with the British Standards Institute. All supporting guidance material published by the IET, including the On Site Guide, will be updated during 2008.

Publication details

Requirements for Electrical Installations
BS 7671 : 2008 (IEE Wiring Regulations 17^th Edition)
ISBN-13: 978 0 86341 844 0 (Paperback) £65

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