How will the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations Affect You?

The most recent BS 7671 IET Wiring Regulations (18^th edition) were published in July 2018, however, they haven?t as yet been enforced. From the 1^st January 2019, however, all new electrical installations or new builds in the UK, and many other countries, will now need to comply with the regulations.

As part of the changes to the wiring regulations, there is now the additional requirement to consider energy efficiency and over-voltage protection and control.

The UK power grid is more unstable today than at any time in the last 20 years with voltage sags, surges and spikes directly impacting businesses, equipment and operations. Wholesale energy costs have also increased significantly and with over 40% of the UK's power now coming from renewable sources power instability is here to stay.

The new wiring regulations combined with the power instability in the UK (and many other countries) presents an ideal opportunity to instal voltage optimisation or power factor control (PFC) equipment within your site.

Poor power factor can affect businesses in several ways including:

1. A reduction in the lifespan of electrical equipment incurring costs for repair or replacement of equipment.
2. An inflated electricity bill; having to pay for electricity which doesn?t contribute towards the completion of a task.
3. A poor power factor can result in a reactive power charge from energy suppliers again another unnecessary cost for businesses.
4. Losses can occur at transformers leading to inefficiency and unwanted heat gains.
5. The effective capacity of the electrical supply is reduced as when more reactive power is carried there is less room for useful power.
6. Unstable electrical power supply can cause unnecessary interruptions to a business for example- machinery stops or breaks, this then causes delays in manufacture of products which are then not available on time and has the potential to incur penalties from customers.

With the 18^th edition of the wiring regulations coming into force next month, if you would like to find out more information about how power factor control or voltage optimisation can help your business please don?t hesitate to contact our friendly sales and technical team who will be delighted to advise you.