18th edition of IET Wiring Regulations

The IET Wiring Regulations have been revised and the new 18th Edition will apply to all new installations from January 2019.

In the UK the main electrical safety standard is British Standard (BS) 7671 Requirements for Electrical installations, IET Wiring Regulations. This is the standard used by electricians and designers of electrical installations as a reference source, to check how any new installations should be designed.

The 18th Edition of BS 7671 was released in July 2018 and will come into force on 1st January 2019. This means that any electrical works installed from that date must conform to the new standard. The changes between the 17th and 18th Edition are mainly technical in nature and relate to such things as protective features to prevent electric shocks and protection form arcing faults.

If you have any electrical works planned for in 2019, you need to ensure that your electrical designer and electricians are up to speed on the new Regulations between then and now.