Amendment 2 of the 18th edition…What are the changes?

Have you heard about the upcoming changes to the 18^th edition?  Amendment 2 BS7671:2018+A2:2022 is expected to be published in Spring 2022.  This will be the first full amendment to the 18th Edition IET Wiring Regulations [published 2018].  It will also include Amendment 1:2020, which was published as a standalone PDF in 1st February 2020.

The intention is that BS 7671:2018(2022) will apply to any electrical installations designed after the 28^th of March 2023.

There are many minor changes being proposed under Amendment 2.  However, there are also a number of more significant changes, such as a new Part 8 for Chapter 82 Prosumers Low Voltage electrical installations.

Brief Summary of the changes being introduced under Amendment 2

• There are proposals for the removal of the RCD risk assessment used in non-dwelling installations and new requirements for mandatory installation of AFDDs.
• Chapter 42 has been rewritten to take account of fire engineering guidance and a new Appendix 13 has been produced to help electricians understand fire engineering terms, escape routes and fire protection.
• Chapter 44 regarding the transient overvoltages has been revised on the bullet points where the protection is required.
• Changes within Part 6 regarding the insulation resistance where circuits are vulnerable to damage but ensuring the cables are subject to full testing.
• Throughout Part 7 there are several changes to the sections although the majority are minor changes.
• The new Part 8 for Chapter 82 within BS 7671 covers energy efficiency measures, the interface with the smart grid, the management of electricity consumption, the management of renewable sources of electricity, and energy storage. Chapter 82 provides additional requirements, measures and recommendations for the design, erection and verification of all types of low-voltage (LV) electrical installations.
• The model forms in Appendix 6 have major changes which will reduce the amount of form filling.

Please note that this only gives an overview of draft proposals which may or may not be included in Amendment 2 of the 18th edition (BS 7671:2018+A2:2022), depending on the decision of the national committee, JPEL/64. The Draft for Public Comment [DPC] is now available to the public https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2019-02917#/section

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