UK Is an SPD required for a loft conversion?

[ionionascu]

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Hi. We live in an older house and we are doing a loft conversion. We do not have an SPD on the connection to the grid and the builder's electricians insist that we must have one, otherwise he can't sign the certificate, but he doesn't want to give me a reason. We have a few consumer units under the stairs, next to the meter and I do not think there is enough space for him to do any changes now. I want to have an SPD installed, but not right now as we plan to do some other changes in the house soon and I do not think it is worth paying for something now just to have it changed in a few months. Can someone please tell me whether there is a legal requirement to install an SPD when doing a loft conversion? (the house is a semi-detached with a looped connection and the electrician didn't even have to connect a new loop to the consumer unit as this had alreay been done a few years ago when we had some other electrical work done in the house). Thank you

 

[pc1966]

Strictly speaking there is no legal aspect to the wiring regulations. It is the The Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations (2002) aka ESQCR, and the The Electricity at Work Regulations (1989) that are legally enforceable, and in turn they state that following BS7671 "Requirements for Electrical Installations" is usually the means to meet them.

But to all intents and purposes you need to follow BS7671.

Following Amendment 2:2022 to the 2018 version of BS7671 SPD are required to be fitted if any risk of injury/death or significant financial or data loss, for other cases the shall be fitted "unless the owner of the installation declares it is not required due to any loss or damage being tolerable and they accept the risk of damage to equipment and any consequential loss" (regulation 443.4.1). What any insurance company would do if such a declaration is made is another matter and one I don't know if being tested yet...

There is another option for SPD fitting without the change of your existing CU and that is to have an isolator switch with SPD fitted such as these:

Wylex REC2SPD 100a REC c/w Type 2 SPD Insulated

Buy online Wylex's REC2SPD insulated REC unit with Type 2 Surge Protection Device, with free 24 hour delivery from Edwardes

www.edwardes.co.uk

 

[ionionascu]

Thank you for your reply, @pc1966 . I have already suggested this option to him as we have multiple consumer units the there is a separate main switch of a similar size, that could be replaced with something of the same size, but with an SPD. He quoted me £250 for the work, which, with all respect, I think is too much. My preference would be for him to just focus on the loft and sign the certificate and then I can change this as part of other work that we plan to do in the near future.

 

[Ursanelec]

As your electrician has said, he can't sign off his work if you don't want the spd fitted as any alterations or additions to the electrical installation have to be covered by the current wiring regulations as PC1966 has pointed out to you and therefore loft extension won't be signed off as the building inspector will want the certificate for the electrics, unless you find a cowboy to all this for you...

 

[ionionascu]

@Ursanelec , the electrician hasn't given me a reason (apart from saying "because these are the rules"). Separate from this, he hasn't done any work on the consumer unit yet as the ring for the socket and the cable for the light had already been done a few years ago and all he had to do was to extend it.
I also asked another electrician about this and he said that even though an SPD is good, in this area, a risk assessmen would show it is not required.

 

[Pretty Mouth]

As your electrician has said, he can't sign off his work if you don't want the spd fitted as any alterations or additions to the electrical installation have to be covered by the current wiring regulations as PC1966 has pointed out to you and therefore loft extension won't be signed off as the building inspector will want the certificate for the electrics, unless you find a cowboy to all this for you...

Not sure I follow you here @Ursanelec . The reg @pc1966 quoted allows for the omission of an SPD should the owner request it, which @ionionascu has. Surely it would be a cowboy that insisted on installing one in this situation?

 

[loz2754]

I also asked another electrician about this and he said that even though an SPD is good, in this area, a risk assessmen would show it is not required.

The risk assessment option was removed in the most recent update to the wiring regulations. However, as prettymouth says, the person ordering the work may refuse to have an SPD fitted if they deem it unnecessary. Most electricians would want a written declaration by the person ordering the work to this effect, to cover themselves.

 

[Jukv96]

You state that you want to get a get an SPD installed.

However you don't want to install an SPD in such a way to it will just need to be ripped out in the near future, which is understandable as this would be poor value.

You then mention that you did manage to come up a soltution together with your electrcian which would provide both an SPD and longevity by installing a main upfront SPD. This is a good solution and meets what you are looking for based on what you have said.

It seems the only issue you have is the price of £250 - you think this is too much. It might be more than you are willing to pay but it is a reasonable price.

Why not just pay for the solution that meets your needs and get on with your life?

 

[pc1966]

It seems the only issue you have is the price of £250 - you think this is too much. It might be more than you are willing to pay but it is a reasonable price.

If it is £250 including all parts, etc, then it is very reasonable given the isolator/SPD is over £100.

 

[ionionascu]

If it is £250 including all parts, etc, then it is very reasonable given the isolator/SPD is over £100.

The price is excluding parts. Any way, I am waiting for another electrician to give me a quotation on this as well and I will just go for this cheaper option. Thank you for all your replies.