Considerations on the use of AS3000 Part 1 Designs

Installations

AS/NZS 3000:2018 (known as the Wiring Rules) is a comprehensive document, comprising over 600 pages. It is written in two parts: Part 1 provides the scope, application, and fundamental principles (pp 33-74), while Part 2 provides prescriptive guidance in such a way that an installation which meets the requirements of part 2 is deemed to comply with the requirements of Part 1.

However, the standard makes clear that an installation can be engineered to meet the requirements of Part 1 without needing to meet all (or indeed any) of the prescriptive requirements of Part 2 of the standard.

This submission explores examples where solutions which achieve compliance via Part 1 assessment and documentation may be best overall for the asset owner. Plainly such examples are for commercial or industrial situations rather than regular domestic sites, where site-specific matters have sufficient bearing that bespoke solutions are warranted.

Various examples will be explored, including the following:

โ€ข Isolated LV supplies to wayside assets in the rail industry, for which optimal outcomes may be achieved without any buried elements on the โ€˜isolatedโ€™ side of the supply

โ€ข Opportunities to provide separation between various elements of a location supplied at LV without the use of an isolating transformer โ€“ including identification of risks/threats to such an installation

โ€ข Examples where โ€˜privateโ€™ LV installations might use a combined PEN conductor in situations which otherwise do not clearly comply with the strict interpretation of all the clauses within Part 2