BS 6396 and BS7671

The British Standard - BS6396 Electrical Systems in Office Furniture and Office Screens - was introduced to give specifications and guidance for the installation of cable management and power distribution systems in office furniture, easily, quickly and above all SAFELY.

Compliance with BS6396 assists with meeting the Statutory safety requirements of The Electricity at Work Regulations and such installations are suitable for most general office situations.

The Standard provides information on the restriction of the number of mains sockets allowed and defined electrical parameters for electrical installations in desks and workstations where the connection to the mains supply is via a 13A plug.

Where the connection to the supply is directly connected or from an underfloor track system then BS7671. The IEE Wiring Regulations will apply to the installation

Power modules available from Premier Furniture Solutions, and their components are manufactured to relevant electrical standards including those required by BS6396 and are 100% tested prior to despatch.

The illustration shows a typical workstation installation for general office use.

BS6396 requires that sockets are individually fused.

A maximum of 6 sockets may be connected from a 13A plug from the building supply when the socket fuses must be rated at a maximum of 3.15A.

Where 4 sockets or less are connected together then the fuse rating may be 5A.

Sockets installed on office furniture are intended to supply electrical equipment where the power requirement does not exceed 5A. Most office electrical equipment will run within the 5A limit. It should be noted that kettles, fan heaters, vacuum cleaners should not be used from the desk sockets.

For detailed information on compliance with Standards and Statutory Regulations or for assistance with your particular specifications and requirements please contact us and we will pleased to help

BS7671- Installations complying with IEE Wiring Regulations including Section 607

Electrical installations which are connected to the supply by any other means than a 13A plug (BS6396 installations) must comply with BS7671.

In most instances within the modern office environment, this electrical installation is likely to be an under floor track.

Where the connection is supplying :
more than one work station (i.e. via a Power distribution unit ), or...
multiple computers, for example on trading desks
then the requirements of Section 607 of BS7671 - Earthing for High Protective Conductor currents will need to be followed.

We can provide bespoke solutions in these situations to ensure the operational requirements, as well as those of safety, standards and statutory regulations, are simply and cost effectively achieved.

Power distribution units can be supplied with:

Sockets to feed directly to the desktop equipment or,
with Wieland connectors to act as a central connection point on clusters of desks; feeding from this point to power modules on individual desks.
All of these units can be fitted with suitable circuit protection to meet regulatons and ensure the safety of the installation.

Premier Furniture Solutions and our chosen suppliers, have developed solutions to ease installation and allow the fit out of offices to proceed smoothly without conflict between trades working to deadlines.

Where additional earth bonding is required, earthing kits can be developed, manufactured and packaged to meet the needs of the particular requirements.