05/09/2013

NICEIC Advice...Supplies from a PME system - caravan pitches | Professional Electrician & Installer

NICEIC Advice...Supplies from a PME system - caravan pitches

16 May 2012, 14:01 NICEIC is often asked the question, "Are there any special earthing requirements that must be taken into account where a caravan park is supplied from a Protective Multiple Earthing (PME) supply? The answer is yes. The electricity distributors PME earthing terminal earthing must not be used for earthing caravan pitch socket-outlets (Regulation 708.411.4 refers). Alternative earthing arrangements must be made for these as explained later. This is because Regulation 9(4) of the Electrical Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 effectively prohibits the electricity distributor from offering the PME earthing facility for use as the means of earthing for the installation in a caravan or boat. The prohibition is intended to prevent the risk of metalwork in the caravan (or boat) becoming raised to line conductor potential in the event of the combined neutral and earth conductor of the supply became disconnected from Earth. Under such circumstances, a person entering or leaving the caravan would be at risk of electric shock.

professional-electrician.com/technical/niceic-advicesupplies-pme-system-caravan-pitches

1/3

05/09/2013

NICEIC Advice...Supplies from a PME system - caravan pitches | Professional Electrician & Installer

Regulation 708.553.1.14 of BS 7671, relating to the pitch socket-outlets on a caravan park, requires that the protective conductor of a pitch socket-outlet circuit shall not be connected to the PME earthing facility. Furthermore, the regulation requires that the protective conductor shall be connected to an installation earth electrode and that the requirement of Regulation 411.5 for a TT system shall be met. Whilst the note attached to Regulation 708.530.3 indicates not more than four socket-outlets should be grouped in one location (such as on one pillar), each socket-outlet must be protected individually by a residual current device (RCD) capable of disconnecting all poles including the neutral, and complying with the requirements of Regulation 411.5 for TT systems. Furthermore, it should be noted that each socket-outlet must be protected by an individual overcurrent protective device, such as a fuse or circuit-breaker, in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 43 (Regulation 708.553.1.12 refers). The separation of the caravan pitch TT earthing arrangement from the distributors PME earthing terminal may be made at one of a number of places, the two main possibilities being: at the consumers distribution position, where a time delay RCD would be used to provide discrimination with the RCDs protecting the pitch socket-outlets, as shown in Fig 1. at the pitch supply position, as shown in Fig 2. Note 2 to Table 41.5 of BS 7671, recommends that the installation earth electrode resistance is as low as possible as a value exceeding 200 may not be stable, and Regulation 411.5.3 requires that: RAI
n

50 V

Where RA = the sum of the resistances of the earth electrode and the protective conductor(s) connecting it to the exposedconductive-parts In = rated residual operating current of the RCD and the disconnection time shall be that required by Regulation 411.3.2.2 or 411.3.2.4, which, for a final circuit rated at not more than 32 A in a 230 V TT system shall not exceed 0.2 s,
professional-electrician.com/technical/niceic-advicesupplies-pme-system-caravan-pitches 2/3

05/09/2013

NICEIC Advice...Supplies from a PME system - caravan pitches | Professional Electrician & Installer

and for a distribution circuit or a circuit not covered by Regulation 411.3.2.2 shall not exceed 1 s.

For other guidance and pub lications please see the NICEIC web site For information ab out the NICEIC Approved Contractor Scheme, Domestic Installer Scheme or Microgeneration Certification Scheme, visit www.niceic.com or call 0870 013 0382

professional-electrician.com/technical/niceic-advicesupplies-pme-system-caravan-pitches

3/3