With 21 different standard plug patterns used worldwide, it is important to be familiar with the requirements for the country for which you are designing your equipment. In our
Interpower Connections newsletter we are reviewing information you need to know, and providing resources to make it easy to design your equipment for worldwide markets. This month we will cover designing for the United Kingdom.The official plug standard in the United Kingdom since 1962 is the BS 1363 plug. British standard BS 1363 requires use of a 3-wire grounded and fused plug for all connections to the power mains (including Class II, 2-wire appliances). The British power outlets incorporated shutters on the line and neutral contacts to prevent someone from pushing a foreign object into the socket. The BS 1363 plug contains a BS 1362 fuse, which is designed to protect the cord and branch wiring back to the branch circuit protector installed in the building. Class I plugs are rated from 3-13 amps (depending on the fuse), 250 VAC. Class II plugs are rated at 2.5 amps, 250 VAC. The United Kingdom runs on 50 hertz.The British use a ring wiring system in their houses and buildings, which provides a secondary protection device at the plug, to minimize safety hazards. Circuits leave the local branch protection device, travel out to the loads (outlets or lamps, for example), and then return to the circuit protection device. In other words, the circuit starts at the supply point and goes out to the connection and then at the last device goes back to the power supply to form a continuous ring. Most of the world has a linear wiring system which starts at the circuit protection device or supply point and goes straight out to the lighting or outlets and stops at the last outlet or light.Since electricity can be supplied from both directions, the outlets are always hot. As a result, the British plug always has a fuse mounted in the plug. The United Kingdom is the only country that requires a fused power plug where the fuse in the plug must meet the BS 1362 standard. In addition to the fuse in the plug, most equipment must also provide its own over-current protection. So when you are designing equipment for the British market, plan on designing circuit protection in your equipment, unless you are advised differently by one of the British safety agencies.The British do have a special plug and socket for protected data circuits. The plug and socket incorporates a special “T” shaped ground pin, which allows that data circuit plug to connect only to a protected outlet. The outlets exclude all other plugs so that you cannot accidentally plug in a vacuum for example, to the protected circuit and allow unwanted “noise” on the circuit. It is important to note however that the data circuit plug does not carry any approvals, however it does meet the BS 1363 standard. It is also important to note that, like most of the rest of the world, the United Kingdom does not have a medical-grade standard.British Standards Institution (BSI) is the National Standards Body (NSB) of the United Kingdom. This non-profit organization represents the United Kingdom’s interests in most of the European and international standards organizations. BSI works with a variety of entities including but not limited to: manufacturing and service industries, businesses, governments and consumers to develop British, European and other international standards.The first thing you should do when designing your product for export is to contact the testing agency for the country you are designing for, which in this case, is the United Kingdom. Below are the links for the United Kingdom’s testing and marking agencies.BSI -
http://www.bsi-global.com/en
ASTA-BEAB
-
http://www.intertek.com/marks/asta/diamond/ 
ASTA-BEAB -
http://uk.intertek-etlsemko.com/services/beab-approved-mark/ You will be able to find out from the testing agencies to which standards your equipment will need to conform. When you have the appropriate standard numbers, you can go to
shop.bsigroup.com and purchase the standards. The standards contain the information you need to design your equipment and gain the appropriate approvals to export to the United Kingdom.The BS 1363 plug is also used in Ireland, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Cyprus, Malta and many former British colonies. Ireland, Malaysia, and Singapore have an equivalent standard to the BS 1363.For information on the United Kingdom’s power mains, you may visit our
Power Mains Monday – UK blog post, our National Power Mains
webcast, and our National Power Mains
white paper.
Plug-in to the United Kingdom
Interpower Corporation manufactures
United Kingdom power cords and cord sets with a 1-week manufacturing lead time for nonstock cords. The United Kingdom plug carries SASO, for use in Saudi Arabia, and ASTA approvals. We offer value-added options such as custom lengths,
any angle of IEC 60320 C13 connectors, and custom labeling and packaging. From 1 to 1,000 pieces or more, we offer no minimum order requirements. Same-day shipping is available for stock cords. Order online at
www.interpower.com, or contact our Customer Service Department from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. CST at (800) 662-2290 or email
sales@interpower.com.
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