May June 2020 Electric.ie Magazine

26 ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • I.S.10101 Regulations The draft version of I.S.10101 was issued on 3rd November 2018. The final version was published by NSAI in March 2020 and will come into effect on 1st October 2020. It is the latest in a series of documents giving the requirements for electrical installations. Installations designed after 1st October 2020 are to comply with I.S.10101. The Regulations apply to the design, erection and verification of electrical installations, also additions and alterations to existing installations. Existing installations that have been installed in accordance with previous editions of the Regulations may not comply with this edition in every respect. This does not necessarily mean that they are unsafe for continued use or require upgrading. The following are some of the main changes included in the new Regulations. Clause 411.3.4 Additional requirements for circuits with luminaires “Additional protection by an RCD with a rated residual operation current not exceeding 30 mA shall be provided for a.c. final circuit supplying luminaires in domestic premises. Precautions should be taken to ensure that a fault of one circuit does not leave the installation hazardous.” In practice these requirements can be met by installing a consumer unit fitted with two RCDs. A mix of socket and lighting circuits can then be protected by each RCD to ensure redundancy in the installation. Clause 421.1.7 Protection against fire caused by electrical equipment “It is recommended that special measures be taken to protect against the effects of arc faults in final circuits: – in premises with sleeping accommodation; – in locations with risks of fire due to the nature of processed IS:10101 Bitesize Guide IS:10101 details the latest requirements for electrical installations in Ireland and comes into effect on the 1st of October 2020. We have created this bitesize guide, which outlines the principle changes to these wiring regulations, how they will affect you and what you can do to prepare. or stored materials, i.e. BE2 locations, (e.g. barns, wood- working shops, stores of combustible materials); – in locations with combustible constructional materials, i.e. CA2 locations (e.g. wooden buildings); – in fire propagating structures, i.e. CB2 locations; and – in locations with endangering of irreplaceable goods.” IS:10101 introduces a new kind of protection device – an Arc Fault Detection Device (AFDD). This device is specifically to detect and disconnect dangerous electrical arcs in both the fixed wiring and the connected equipment which could be the source of a fire. An electrical arc could be a series arc (damage to or improperly terminated conductors) or parallel arc (damage to insulation) in nature. Should the arc reach certain parameters, the device will disconnect, extinguishing the arc and preventing a fire. Arc fault detection devices conforming to IEC 62606 are recommended by I.S.10101 as a means of providing additional protection against fire caused by arc faults in AC final circuits. Part 443 Protection Against Transient Overvoltages of Atmospheric Origin or Due to Switching Previously the requirements to provide surge protection devices or not was rather complex, requiring consideration of keraunic (lightning) activity level at the location of the installation. This has been revised, and I.S.10101 now requires surge protection to be fitted in the following circumstances; 443.4 Overvoltage control “Protection against transient overvoltage shall be provided where the consequence caused by overvoltage affects: 1. human life, e.g. safety services, medical care facilities;