Electrical wiring in the United Kingdom

Electric wiring in the United Kingdom is commonly distinguished by a number of criteria, such as voltage (low, very low, high, etc.), phase (single or 3 phase), nature of electrical signal (power, data), type and design of cable (conductors and insulators used, cable design, solid/fixed or stranded/flexible, intended use, protective materials), circuit design (ring, radial), and so on. Most electrical wiring is ultimately regulated for legal purposes, by the Building Regulations, currently legislated as the Building Regulations 2010, which lists ""controlled services"" such as electric wiring that must follow specific directions and standards. The detailed rules for end-use wiring followed for practical purposes are those of BS 7671 (""Requirements for Electrical Installations. IET Wiring Regulations"", informally ""The regs""), currently in its 17th edition Amendment 3, which provide the detailed descriptions referred to by legislation.UK electrical wiring is largely harmonised with the regulations in other European countries and the international IEC 60446 standard, however there are a number of specific national practices, habits and traditions that differ significantly from other countries, and which in some cases survived harmonisation. These include the use of ring circuits for domestic and light commercial fixed wiring, fused plugs, and for circuits installed prior to harmonisation, historically unique wiring colours.