Seventeenth Edition

[bremen1874]

I need to change some wiring in my kitchen. Due to the nature of the work and the age of the existing wiring I'm going to have to get the rest of the wiring updated at the same time including a new CU.

I believe that the seventeenth edition of the requirements is coming out in January and coming into force later in the year.

Presumably any work I have done over the next couple of months is going to be done to the sixteenth edition?

What happens if I find I need some additional work doing after the seventeenth edition comes into force? Am I going to be in the same situation again with a lot a lot of remedial work required and a hefty bill?

Thanks.

 

[davy_owen_88]

There are very few major changes in the 17th so if the work is done correctly to the 16th you should be fine.

 

[bremen1874]

I thought there were going to be changes to the rules for the RCD protection of circuits (could well be wrong).

If the RCD rules do change won't be split load CU my electrician was intending to install be out of date less than 12 months after it's fitted?

 

[RF Lighting]

AFAIK the only changes to the use of RCDs is going to be that all sockets are required to be RCD protected which is already accepted as normal practice, and all bathroom circuits will require RCD protection. This could be acheived locally by installing an RCD FCU near the bathroom (leaving the CU unaffected) or swapping the lighting MCB for an RCBO.

The CU may need a bit of alteration in the future, but it is unlikely it will be obsolete, but no one can say for sure until the 17th edition is actually published.

There are still loads of installations wired to previous editions of the regs, which although no longer comply with the current regs, they are not unsafe.

 

[JohnD]

Hooray for RCBOs!

just get a CU that accepts a single-width RCBO and you can jig it around later if you have to.

 

[Albert]

Correct me if I am wrong (I am sure you will...) But I think that there is no requirement to update every installation when new regs are published. What I think is; that if a major work is done all the modified parts of the installation should comply if reasonable and practical.