Summary:

18th Edition Amendment 2

Throughout the electrical industry, the requirements
contained within BS 7671 are used to achieve compliance
with the relevant parts of the statutory Electricity at Work
Regulations. It sets the standard for electrical installations
in the UK and other countries which use it.

Wiring requirements must keep pace as technology and our

environments develop and change, resulting in necessary
amendments to the regulations.

The 18th Edition was first published in July 2018. All

installations designed after 31st December 2018 were
to comply with BS 7671:2018. These amendments have
recently been reviewed, and in March 2022, Amendment 2
was released. Trimble has reviewed the 18th Edition and has
identified 20 changes you need to know.

Note:
This document is not a
complete summary of all the
changes made in Amendment 2 to
the 18th Edition.

For full details of BS

7671:2018+A2:2022, please go to:
electrical.theiet.org

1 18th Edition: 20 Things You Need to Know

 Introduction to Amendment 2:2022
BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 was published on
28 March 2022, and may be used from that
date. BS 7671:2018+A1:2020 will be withdrawn
on 27 September 2022. Unlike previous
Editions of, and Amendments to, the Wiring How this
Regulations, there is no statement what affects you:
state of design or installation, an electrical The Client, Designer and
installation is in for Amendment 2:2022 to Contractor, guided by change
apply. procedures in the relevant
contract(s) will determine if any
change is required for existing
projects or designs.

Chapter 41:
Protection against electric shock
Regulation 411.3.1.2 has been reworded to clarify main
protective bonding applies only to installations within How this
buildings. affects you:
Omission of additional
Regulation 411.3.3 has been revised so that the Designer protection for socket-outlets
must properly justify the omission of additional protection rated 32 A and less requires
by 30 mA RCD for socket-outlets rated up to and including a suitable and sufficient
32 A. The additional protection by RCD may not be documented risk
omitted without proper electrical training of ordinary assessment.
persons. Further guidance on when it may and may not
be appropriate to omit additional protection by RCD, and
what alternative measures ought to be provided instead is
available in IET Guidance Note 5 Protection Against Electric
Shock, 9th Edition (2022).

Regulation 411.4.2 now contains a recommendation that

How this
a connection to earth via a consumer’s earth electrode
affects you:
In new builds and major
connected to the installation’s main earthing terminal
refurbishments, installations
(MET) is provided for all TN systems (TN-C-S and TN-
taking a public supply at low
S). The recommendation does not apply to outbuildings
voltage, with TN-C-S and TN-S
served by the installation. In addition to assisting in
earthing arrangements should have
situations in which broken protective earth and neutral
a consumer’s earth electrode
(PEN) or protective earthing (PE) conductors are damaged
connected to
in distribution systems or the public distribution network,
the MET.
such a provision is required where prosumer’s electrical
installations operate in island mode (see Regulation
551.4.3.2.1 and Chapter 82 of BS 7671).

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 Chapter 42: Protection against thermal efiects

Section 421 Protection against fire

caused by electrical equipment
Regulation 421.1.7 now requires arc fault detection
devices (AFDDs) to BS EN 62606 to be provided for How this
single-phase AC final circuits supplying socket-outlets affects you:
with a rated current not exceeding 32 A, in: AFDDs are now mandated
• Higher risk residential buildings (HRRBs) for circuits supplying socket
• Houses in multiple occupations (HMOs) outlets in some specialised
• Purpose-built student accommodation installations.
• Care homes
For all other premises, AFDDs are recommended for
single-phase socket-outlet circuits not exceeding 32 A.

The premises for which AFDDs are mandated all have

common attributes, namely they all include sleeping
accommodation for a number of persons, which may well
include young or vulnerable persons.

Section 422 Precautions where How this

particular risks of fire exist affects you:
Designers of electrical
In these locations, additional requirements are
installations should work with
introduced.
fire safety specialists to fully
In Regulation 422.1:
take into account fire safety
• The fire safety design of the building is to be
requirements of buildings.
documented and carried out to a suitable
methodology (e.g., BS 9999).
• The design of the wiring systems should take into
account the basis of design for fire safety.

In Regulation 422.2, the concept of protected escape

routes are introduced. Only the following cables and
other electrical equipment in protected escape routes are
limited to:
• essential fire safety or related safety services; How this
• general needs lighting; affects you:
• socket-outlets provided for cleaning and maintenance. There are now limitations
on the installation of cables in
This may preclude the location of service routes for other general in areas classified as
services in spaces above protected escape routes that are protected escape routes.
not separated by an appropriate fire barrier.

Guidance on Regulation 422.2 is provided in Appendix 13.

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 Chapter 44: Protection against voltage
disturbance and electromagnetic disturbances
Section 443 has again been updated to simplify the
decision to provide surge protection devices (SPDs).
The risk assessment has been completely removed,
and SPDs shall be fitted where the consequence of
overvoltage could result in: How this
• Serious injury to, or loss of, human life affects you:
• Failure of a safety service Most installations now require
• Significant financial or data loss SPDs unless the Client declares
In all other cases, SPDs shall be provided unless the they are not necessary, and the
owner of the installation declares they accept the Client accepts risks of damage to
risks of damage to equipment and consequential equipment, and consequential
losses due to transient overvoltages due to the losses due the effects of
effects of transients from lightning strokes. SPDs transients from indirect
should also be considered in cases where switching lightning strokes.
overvoltages may occur.

Section 514 Identification and notices

Regulation group 514.4
Identification of conductors by
colour
Table 51 contains new colours for identification of
functional earth (pink), DC positive (red), and DC
negative (white). Colour code abbreviations are now How this
included to align with BS EN 60445 and BS 7645. affects you:
These two-letter colour code abbreviations should Functional earth (FE) conductors
be used where colours are identified in specifications should now be pink instead of the
and wiring/connection diagrams: many in the previously required cream, and there
industry are unaware that these harmonised colour are also changes in colours used for live
code abbreviations have been in place since the conductors in DC systems.
implementation of CENELEC HD 457 S1 (IEC 60757) Certain practices with multicore cables,
through the publication of BS 7645 in 1993. where a green-and-yellow conductor
is not used as a protective
Regulation 514.4.2 has been revised to state that conductor, will not be
conductors in multicore cables identified by green- permitted.
and-yellow throughout their length, as well as single
core cables so identified shall not be overmarked
except to identify them as PEN conductors in
accordance with Regulation 514.4.3.

4 18th Edition: 20 Things You Need to Know

 Regulation Group 514.9 Diagrams and
documentation
BS 7671 no longer contains size requirements for notices. Instead,
all notices in BS 7671 are defined as either warning notices or
instruction notices, and all notices, charts, and diagrams are
required to comply with relevant standards:

a) all diagrams, charts, and information or

instruction notices shall comply with BS EN
IEC/IEEE 82079-1, BS EN 61082-1, and, How this
for relevant commercial/industrial affects you:
installations, BS EN 81346-1; Most existing warnings and
b) all warning notices and other instruction notices will continue to
relevant safety signs shall comply be acceptable. More flexibility is now
with BS ISO 3864, BS EN ISO 7010 available, and in many cases, smaller
and BS EN IEC/IEEE notices will now be acceptable.
82079-1. Documentation provided should
comply with appropriate
Guidance on warning and instruction standards, with minimum
notices is provided in Appendix 11. font size for printed
information.
There is a slight change to the wording of
the instruction notice for six-monthly checking
of RCD functionality in Regulation 514.12.2.

Certain notices may be omitted on domestic premises

(individual dwellings):
• periodic inspection & testing (Regulation 514.12.1);
• six-monthly check of RCDs (Regulation 514.12.2);
• presence of SPDs (Regulation 514.16.1).

The requirement for a notice for colours to

How this
different versions of BS 7671 has been removed
affects you:
(although there is nothing to prevent the
If certain notices are not
continued use of an appropriate warning notice)
provided for dwellings, this
and the guidance in Appendix 7 has also been
information must be provided on
deleted.
the relevant Electrical Installation
Certificate or Minor Works Certificate
provided on completion of the work.
In tenanted premises, consider
providing the notices.

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 Chapter 53: Protection, isolation, switching,
control and monitoring

Regulation 531.3.2 states that designers

may consider RCBOs for individual final
circuits in residential premises to reduce
unwanted tripping. This does not preclude
the use of split-load consumer units How this
where designers consider that there will affects you:
be negligible risks of unwanted tripping, For most circuits, Type AC
but it should be noted that the prevalent RCDs will not be permitted, and
of LED lighting for general lighting service Type A, Type F or Type B RCDs
increases the probability of unwanted must be used instead.
tripping of RCDs.

Regulation 531.3.3 has been modified

to state that Type AC RCDs may only be
used to serve fixed equipment where it is
known that the load current contains no DC
components. This prohibits Type AC RCDs
for circuits with socket-outlets.

Chapter 54: Earthing arrangements and

protective conductors
Regulation Group 543.7 Earthing requirements for the
installation of equipment having high protective conductor
currents
This Regulation Group has been extensively revised.

Regulation 543.7.1.201 is deleted, and there are no special requirements for the connection
of individual items of equipment with protective conductor current exceeding 3.5 mA but
less than 10 mA. This aligns with the requirements of harmonised product standards for
equipment supplied with standard plugs for BS 1363 series.

Regulation 543.7.1.202 no longer requires the protective conductor of a flexible cable

connecting equipment with protective conductor exceeding 10 mA to have a cross-sectional
area at least half that of the associated line conductor. Protective conductors have the same
cross-sectional area in most multicore flexible cables to harmonised standards.
Regulation 543.7.1.204 is deleted. This means that separate terminals are no longer
necessary for protective conductors of ring final circuits, or dual protective conductors, in
circuits with protective conductor currents exceeding 10 mA.

6 18th Edition: 20 Things You Need to Know

 Regulation Group
How this
544.1 Main protective affects you:
bonding conductors
Some of the specific national
Regulation 544.1.1 clarifies that,
requirements for circuits with high
where an installation supplies
protective conductor currents have
more than one building,
been revised, and more design solutions
main protective conductors
are now possible.
are to be sized based on
There is nothing to prevent the use of former
the characteristics of the
practice such as dual or ring-connected
distribution circuit protective
protective conductor terminations using
conductor supplying that
separate terminals.
particular building.

Chapter 55: Other equipment

Regulation 551.7.2, regarding connection of
generators into installations, has been updated How this
to require the maximum current rating (InA) of a affects you:
switchgear or controlgear assembly (such as a
Current ratings of switchgear
distribution board, switchboard, or consumer unit)
and controlgear assemblies
to be calculated to take into account the sum of the
should take into account
nominal rating of the protective device supplying
generators connecting through
the assembly and the sum of the nominal output
them, as well as loads, supplied.
ratings of all generating sets connected through
the assembly.

7 18th Edition: 20 Things You Need to Know

 Chapter 64: Initial veriffcation
Regulation Group 643.3
Insulation resistance
The requirements for insulation resistance
testing have clarified that, where SPDs or
sensitive electronic equipment are connected How this
in the installation, the insulation resistance test affects you:
should be carried out at 250 V DC, between the Many projects will need
protective conductor, and all live conductors staged insulation resistance
connected together. In addition, cables must be testing to be conducted at
tested after installation, but before connection, appropriate points in the
at 500 V DC. In both cases, the minimum works.
insulation resistance is 1 MΩ. The reason for
the change is the increasing use of electronic
control, embedded generation, and other energy
efficiency devices within the fixed equipment of
installations. This new approach will, in many
installations mean staged insulation resistance
tests, which is common practice in some major
infrastructure projects, or mandated by some
standard construction specifications.

Regulations 643.7 Automatic

disconnection of supply and
643.8 Additional protection How this
Where RCDs are used for automatic
affects you:
disconnection of supply (ADS) and/or additional Test procedures for
protection, the requirements of Regulations 643.7 installations incorporating RCDs
and 643.8 are deemed to have been satisfied if should be revised, and test results
the RCD operates within 300 ms when tested forms updated to align with
at the nominal residual current rating (using a Amendment 2:2022.
Type AC setting if the instrument is capable of
providing test currents for multiple RCD Types).
Only the longest tripping time for the ×1 test need
be recorded on the Schedule of Test Results.

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 Part 7: Special locations
Restriction on sources
for SELV and PELV in
some Special Locations How this
A source specified in Regulation affects you:
414.3 (iv) shall not be used to Sources for SELV and PELV in
supply circuits of SELV and PELV these locations should be selected
in certain parts (or zones) of to ensure that the required SELV/PELV
locations specified in: voltages for safety in the location are not
exceeded under single-fault conditions in
• Section 701 Locations the equipment. Reliance on a Declaration of
containing a bath or shower Conformity to a Conformed Standard
(Regulation 701.414.3) may not, alone, meet this
• Section 702 Swimming pools requirement.
and other basins (Regulation
702.414.3)
• Section 703 Rooms and cabins
containing sauna heaters
(Regulation 703.414.3)
• Section 710 Medical locations (Regulation 710.414.3)

Some standards for products that may be used to supply SELV or PELV
services in such locations do not limit the ELV voltage due to a fault in
the equipment, to the reduced level required for parts of the location as
specified in the relevant Section in Part 7 of BS 7671.

Section 704 Construction and Demolition sites

Regulation 704.511.1 clarifies requirements for selection of industrial plugs and
socket-outlets with regard to interchangeability.
Regulation 704.537 regarding supply via an Assembly for Construction Sites
(ACS), and selection devices for isolation, has been updated.

Section 706 Conducting locations with restricted

movement
This section has been completely re-drafted, and Regulation 706.415 introduced
covering requirements for additional protection.

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 Section 710 Medical locations
Changes include requirements concerning
socket-outlet circuits in the medical IT systems
and minor changes to requirements concerning
luminaires and lighting installations. How this
affects you:
Requirements for IT systems have also been There are some major
redrafted, and there are revised requirements changes to Section 710 of BS
for the proximity of medical isolated power 7671, and it is recommended
supplies (Medical IPS), equipotential bonding that anyone designing such
busbars (EBBs), to the areas they serve. There locations undertake
are requirements for maximum capacitance relevant CPD.
of circuits supplied by Medical IPS, and also to
test the leakage current of IPS-supplied circuits
before the IPS is put into service, and every 3
years thereafter.

Requirements concerning diagrams and

documentation have been revised.

Section 711 Exhibitions, shows and stands

Section 712 Solar PV installations
This section has been extensively revised in line with the latest harmonised document.
There are additional considerations for DC design currents affecting cable selection.

Selection of surge protective devices for AC

and DC sides is covered, and methods of
protection against overcurrent and electric
How this
shock on AC and DC sides clarified.
affects you:
There are some major changes
There are new requirements for labels:
to Section 712 of BS 7671, and it is
• “Solar PV on building” (Regulation
recommended that anyone designing
712.514.101)
such locations undertake relevant CPD.
• “Solar DC – Live parts can remain
The IET is expected to publish the 2nd
energised after isolation” to be fitted at all
Edition of the Code of Practice for
points of access to live parts on the DC side
Grid-Connected Solar PV later
(Regulation 712.514.102)
in 2022.
• Safe isolation of inverters (Regulation
712.514.103)

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 Section 717 Mobile and transportable units
Regulation 717.411.4, covering conditions for PME supplies, has been revised. A
mobile or transportable unit may be connected to a PME earthing facility if it is
located within, or outdoors on an upper storey or roof of, a building or structure
containing the electrical installation which supplies the unit.

Section 722 Electric vehicle

charging installations
There have been 2 updates to Regulation How this
722.411.4.1. First, Indent (i) has been deleted, affects you:
and it is no longer possible to rely on balanced Standard designs for
three-phase systems to protect against PEN EV charging equipment
faults where PME conditions apply. Second, installations that rely on
indent (iv) has been updated, meaning the balanced three-phase
device described in it may be used for charging systems, will require
points in all systems, three-phase as well as revision.
single-phase.

New Chapter 82: Prosumer’s low voltage

electrical installations
This is a new Chapter which includes requirements
for installations that have their own sources of power
How this
(such as wind or Solar PV generation) in addition to
affects you:
Chapter 82 is becoming
a grid supply. Designers should ensure protection
more relevant as the rollout
against shock, overcurrent and fire are effective in all
of embedded generation
modes of operation, and, where appropriate, select
and battery storage gains
devices for bi-directional operation.
momentum.
It is also acknowledged that instruments taking
earth fault loop impedance and prospective fault
current measurements may be affected by electronic
converters, and the readings not representative of
conditions in the installation.

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 Appendices
Appendix 3 Time/current characteristics
of protective devices
Table 3A3 (RCD operating times) has been deleted. Figures
3A3(a), 3A3(b), and 3A3(c) have been redrawn; however,
the time/current characteristics of the devices shown in
them has not changed.

Appendix 6 Model forms for certification

and reporting
Model forms have been updated with fields for recording
details of SPDs and AFDDs. To ensure the minimum font
size requirements of BS EN IEC/IEEE 82079-1 and BS EN
61082-1 are met, to be able to print on A4 has necessitated
the Schedule of Circuit Details to be separated from the
Schedule of Test Results.

Appendix 7 has been deleted

Appendix 8 includes some minor changes to the rating
factors for current-carrying capacity.

Appendix 11 Warning and user instruction

labels
This is a new Appendix that provides guidance on warning
and instruction notices, including where these are provided
by electronic equipment.

Appendix 13
This is a new Appendix that provides guidance on escape
routes and fire protection.

For more information, please visit

mep.trimble.co.uk.

The information in this document is subject to change without

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obligation by Trimble Inc. The data in this document is believed
to be accurate at the time of publication but is provided “as is”.
Trimble accepts no liability for any errors that may appear in this
document, save to the extent that such liability cannot be excluded
or limited by law. In no event shall Trimble be liable for indirect or
consequential loss in connection with, or arising from, the use of
the information on this document.

©Copyright 2022 Trimble, Inc.

12 18th Edition: 20 Things You Need to Know