Referenced in BS 7671:2008
The UK national committee for the development of BS 7671 (JPEL/64) currently has a programme to develop amendment 1 of BS 7671:2008. As part of this programme it has been highlighted that there has been some developments in the low-voltage fuse standards that are included in the requirements of BS 7671:2008. This article will briefly describe the relevant developments in low voltage fuse standards, how these affect what is published in BS 7671:2008 and finally an insight into future developments of fuse standards.
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has restructured the IEC 60269 series of low-voltage fuse standards so that there are now only four parts to the series instead of seven. The European technical committee CENELEC has aligned to the IEC 60269 standards. Finally,
the UK has adopted the CENELEC standards, but only includes the specific fuse systems used in the UK. This alignment is summarised in figure 1. As a consequence of this alignment the UK has now withdrawn a number of low-voltage fuse standards on 1 March this year (2010) that
is summarised in table 1. A main point to highlight from figure 1 and table 1 is that UK
standard BS 88-2:2007 includes supplementary requirements for fuses for use by authorised
persons, typically industrial applications, specific to fuse types E (bolted type), G (clip in) and I (wedge tightening). These fuse systems were covered by the existing standards BS 88 2.2:1988, BS 88-6:1988 and BS 88-5:1988 respectively. However, the requirements of these fuses have been incorporated into BS 88-2:2007 and are now withdrawn.
As three standards have been incorporated into a single standard, reference will have now have to be made to either BS 88-2 fuse system E (bolted), BS 88-2 fuse system G (clip in) or BS 88-2 fuse system I (wedge tightening). A second point to highlight is that UK standard BS 88-3:2007 includes supplementary requirements for fuses for use by unskilled persons, typically household applications, to fuse system C (BS cylindrical fuse system). This fuse system was covered by the existing standard BS 1361:1971 – however, the requirements have been incorporated into BS 88-3:2007 and is now withdrawn. A BS 1361 fuse should now be referenced as BS 88-3 fuse system C.
To view the full article (including figures and tables) from the IET's Wiring Matters Summer 2010, click on the attachment below.
