Leading supplier of consumer units, BG is updating electrical installers and wholesalers on the latest category-relevant safety legislation, affecting electricians and electrical engineers who are inspecting, testing or installing circuits that are covered by circuit protection devices.
This change to Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) published the 3rd Amendment to BS7671: 18th Edition on the 31st July 2024 reflects safety and in particular the expansion of renewables into the home by making clear the definition and identification of protection devices.
With new build and retro-fit sales of solar, energy storage, and EV charging on the increase, the role of circuit protection devices has become ever more important. This update clearly gives definition and marking identifications for bidirectional and unidirectional circuit protection devices.
A regulation has also been added under chapter 53 that gives clear definition when defining and installing devices for protection, switch control, monitoring and circuit isolation. This regulation also covers the potential and possible directions for power flow. If power flow is not in a single direction, only appropriate bidirectional devices shall be selected and used.
Why is this relevant?
With the increased demand to incorporate PV, Battery storage, and EV into homes, the regulation has been updated to further ensure that these installations are safe. Feeding power back into a circuit that has a unidirectional device could result in damage to the device, compromising safety to the home and its users.
Compliant circuit protection available now from BG
British General has a range 18th Edition Amendment 3 Bi-directional devices for installations that feed into and draw power through the same circuit protection device. These consist of Bidirectional RCDs, Circuit Breakers, and Double Pole RCBO devices.
Philip Grove, BG’s product manager for circuit protection commented “We are seeing the industry changing at a fast rate as customers introduce solar, renewables and electrical vehicle charging to their homes. It is ever more important to ensure that expansions and alterations are safe for the home and users. We welcome this latest update as this another step forward for ensuring users have safe installations.”
BG is part of the Luceco Group, which also includes the Sync Energy and Masterplug brands as well as commercial and domestic lighting. Luceco has over eighty years of industry experience and is internationally recognised as one of the market leaders across all key electrical products.