FEATURE INDUSTRY FOCUS
WIRING REGULATIONS: The future of the electrical industry
THE 18TH EDITION WIRING REGULATIONS
The following major additions and amendments are likely to be included in the 18th edition wiring regulations:
T
he environment for electricians is constantly changing with the growth
of wireless technology, demand for USB charging and the move to more digital specifications with the continued growth of BIM. Emma Segelov, head of marketing at Honeywell and MK Electric, interviews Alistair McLean, director at McLean Electrical Systems, about how the market handled the 3rd Amendment to the 17th Edition, and his predictions for what the future might hold.
WHAT IS DICTATING THE DIRECTION OF THE INDUSTRY? The near saturation use of smart phones and tablets means everyone wants to have constant, easy access to their devices. As a result, we have seen an increased demand for everything from connected heating controls and home security, to easier ways to keep devices charged, such as USB charging outlets. Installers and contractors will need to make sure they keep on top of these advancements so that they are able to offer their customers the best solutions, as well as ensuring they know how to correctly install them. Ultimately, this change is a good thing
for the industry. Electrical contractors have never been so in demand and new, smarter wireless systems give opportunities for savvy electricians to increase this type of business.
HOW WILL THE 3RD AMENDMENT AFFECT THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY? The new requirement for non- combustible enclosures for consumer units had a major impact on the industry.
8 JUNE 2017 | ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
In terms of product and user protection, it was a wise decision; manufacturers were quick to introduce a range of modern metal consumer units. Making these units mandatory is undoubtedly helping to avoid fires in the home. It was impressive to see how the whole
industry pulled together to offer more training, greater awareness and a wider range of products. This resulted in a swifter adoption of these products to satisfy the regulations.
WHAT ARE THE CURRENT TRENDS? Looking ahead, it seems that we will see a growth in the installation of smart products, which could result in greater upsell opportunities for electricians, as well as helping to make the industry attractive to young apprentices. What we are now seeing is a trend towards end users wanting products that are easy to use, smart and sensible in their functions. They want connected products that use their smartphone as a control point. This gives electricians an opportunity, both to explain the advantages of products that offer 21st Century connectivity, but also to be able to point out that ‘smart’ does not always mean expensive. Overall, the major trend we will see is
that electricians will become the advocates for these new products. After all it is a role we are used to – we are always specifying and offering products to our customers, just because they are ‘smart’ doesn’t make them any different.
MK Electric
www.mkelectric.co.uk
1. PROTECTION AGAINST OVERVOLTAGE AND TRANSIENT OVERVOLTAGE Protection of installations of overvoltage, from internal and external overvoltage sources, can be provided by Surge Protection Devices (SPDs). Overvoltage can affect human life, public services, and commercial and industrial activities. In all other cases, such as domestic, a risk assessment could be required to determine whether this protection is required. It is suggested that in some circumstances, for example, a single dwelling, where the total economic value of the installation is less than five times the value of an SPD, this may not need to be used. It will be interesting to see how demographic changes in dwellings can be included within this calculation.
2. PROTECTION AGAINST FIRE Protection against fire has been around ever since electricity has been used within buildings. However, although RCDs may be used to reduce the effect of fire, these do not distinguish between series or parallel arcing between live conductors. For this reason, BS7671:2018 will include for the installation of arc fault detection devices (AFDD) to reduce the risks of faults within the fixed installation.
3. SECTION 753 (FLOOR AND CEILING HEATING SYSTEMS) Section 753 will be extended to include for embedded electric surface heating. This will apply to electric heating systems for de-icing and frost protection, for both internal as well as external conditions. Areas to be included are heating systems for walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, drainpipes, gutters, pipes, stairs, roadways, and non-compacted outdoor areas, such as playgrounds and lawns. As walls are more susceptible to potential damage than floors, protection will be required to heating systems within these areas from penetration of the heating elements by earthed metallic grids, for example.
4. ENERGY EFFICIENCY A new section to provide for energy efficiency will also be included. This will address the ever increasing need to reduce the energy consumption of installations. Draft proposals provide the client with the ability to specify the level of energy efficiency to be applied to the electrical installation, transformer and power factor correction, for example. These efficiency measures can be added together to provide a class of ‘electrical installation efficiency’ ranging from EIEC0 to EIEC4 (dependant on the efficiency of the systems). This section will cover vehicle charging points, lighting, metering, cable losses, transformer losses, PF correction and harmonics.
MCP Consulting and Training
www.mcpeurope.com
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