If AFDD have been mandatory in Germany for two years the discounting of the cost should be well under way.


But we cannot just use European consumer units and devices, because we have our own British way of doing things with an insistence on designing for 100 amp supplies with tin can enclosures crammed with the cheapest possible devices.


So then we have manufacturers telling us we need dual 100amp 30 mA RCD consumer units that AFDD aren’t available for.


I have a 60 amp DNO fuse upfront of my installation at home I should be able to choose any European consumer unit and fit it in my garage with a selection of compatible devices.


Andy Betteridge

Personally I think that every proposed amendment to the Wiring Regulations BS7671 should have a supporting document, a white paper explaining the concept and purpose with a evaluation of the aims and consequences.


The process is not open to scrutiny in the manner it should be.


Andrew Betteridge

Well said that man

Indeed.

It does make me wonder how much influence the manufacturer lobby groups/reps who sit on the various committees (including the wiring regs one) have over which, and the direction of future regulatory changes and why.

(The stench of brown envelope glue is overpowering.......).

Just sayin'.

Some years ago when consumer units with metal enclosures were being developed I was invited to go the a manufacturers UK offices to participate in a customer focus group.


For attending we were all given a free consumer unit with a plastic enclosure valued at about £80. I enquired about the ethics of installing a consumer unit in someone's home knowing it would soon be obsolete and not comply with the new edition of the Wiring Regulations, the reply was to fit it in my own house, but mine (with a plastic enclosure) did not need replacing. In the end I did fit it in a customers home having told them the truth that it would soon not comply with the Wiring Regulations.


In some ways it would be good if members of the Wiring Regulations committee were actually given a free consumer unit loaded with AFDD to install at home by a manufacturer, maybe with installation thrown in so that they can evaluate it and see for themselves if nuisance tripping of AFDD is a major issue and they have to go through the entire installation upgrading equipment and accessories to stop the AFDD tripping. But that would potentially be a gift valued at hundreds of pounds, maybe thousands of pounds and I not sure how it would stand up to scrutiny.


An interesting question, that will not get answered, is how many of the Wiring Regulations committee have actually spent their own money on installing consumer units with AFDD in their own homes and their experiences with living with them.


Two days ago I actually advised some customers to replace their old consumer unit before the end of March to avoid possibly getting caught up in the AFDD issue, but if I do it I will still end up fitting a Wylex main switch CU to allow devices to be replaced with AFDD later on if need be, so I am already feeling obliged to fit consumer units from one manufacturer rather than choosing from the whole market.


The consumer unit we were invited to comment on and discussed at length for several hours was one of these I won't comment on it here, the non-disclosure agreement probably still stands! 


Andy Betteridge

Which is the chicken and which is the egg?


Does a committee decide that there should be a device which detects arc faults and then leave it up to the manufacturers to respond; or does a manufacturer invent such a device and then seek to have it included in the regs so as to give it a viable market.


I would like to think that there is a third way. Committee thinks that an AFDD would be a good idea and asks whether one is feasible. It encourages the development of such a device by indicating that once they are available, they will at first be recommended, or used in limited situations, and later mandated. Collaboration can be virtuous.

I don't remember that during any discussions about AFDD I have ever read or heard anyone on this forum or elsewhere say "I have installed them in my own home" or "I have installed them in a customers home".


It's rather difficult to debate a requirement to make AFDD compulsory on new circuits and in new installations if no one has any experience whatsoever of installing and living them them, it also suggests that there is no customer demand at all.


Is there anyone reading this discussion who actually have AFDD installed in their own home or have installed them for a someone else, paid or not?


Andy Betteridge.

Not paid as in installing a new consumer units with AFDD in their grannies house or for one of their children, because they want to afford as much protection as possible to loved ones, so they installed the AFDD for love rather than payment.