This book sets out to provide a basic grounding in the design of electrical services for buildings. It is intended for students of building services engineering in universities and polytechnics but will also be useful to graduates in mechanical and electrical engineering who are about to specialize in building services after obtaining a more broadly based, first degree. The emphasis throughout is on the needs of a design engineer rather than on those of an installation electrician or of an architect.

Engineering is one discipline, but with the increasing number of specialized first degree courses, the requirements for greater flexibility among engineers within industry have increased commensurably, many young graduates find themselves called on to work in fields not fully covered in their studies. In spite of the many opportunities which now exist for continuing professional education there is still a lack of books to bridge the gap between the theoretical texts and the unwritten experience of one’s predecessors. It was in the hope of meeting this need that I originally wrote this book, and I believe the need still exists sufficiently to justify this new edition.

Opinions will always differ about the order in which the topics within the subject should be taken. I have retained the order of the previous editions, which was based on my own view that it is confusing to try to explain distribution without first saying to what the supply has to be distributed. Those who find a different order clearer may prefer to read the chapters out of sequence. A number of changes and additions have been made in this edition to keep up with the changes in practice, the section on hazardous areas has been expanded, the chapter on lighting has been considerably rewritten to bring the information on mercury and sodium discharge lamps up to date, and the chapter on lightning protection has been revised to take account of the new British Standard. To make this clearer, calculation examples have also been added. Sections have been added on the application of solid state electronics to fire alarms and to lift controls and the chapter on emergency supplies now includes uninterruptible power supplies. Elsewhere changes have been in terminology. Thus fused spur units have become fused connection units and earth leakage circuit breakers are now residual current circuit breakers. There is a chapter on the form and function of the IEE Regulations, but I have not attempted any commentary on them. The intention of this book is to provide something more than a gloss on the regulations: A book which hopes to cover the complete design of an electrical installation must include many things not dealt with by regulations and should be free to follow its own methods and sequence. Once this was done there was nothing to be gained by covering the same ground a second time in the form of a commentary or explanation of the regulations.