The new 6A and 10A breakers can be used to limit loads to 1.3kW and 2.3kW respectively. The UK IEEE 17th Edition Wiring Requirements (BS7671:2009) lowered the permissible wiring distance from the dimmer rack to the socket outlet for standard wire gauges by up to 25% of 16th Edition values. Previously some venues would have had to completely rewire in order to take advantage of Sensor dimming, but the new lower amperage breakers mean that Sensor can be installed in many more buildings.
Mark White, ETC's regional manager for UK and Ireland, says, "The release of these new modules with smaller MCBs may not seem a big step, but is actually extremely important to us - it is a product which had been frequently requested by customers in buildings often wired back in the 1970s and 1980s Electrical Regulations were not as tight as nowadays; no-one imagined then the size of wires we now have to use. Our dimmer load survey of a couple of years back showed us that around 80% of dimmer loads are less than 1kW so that was also a really good reason for introducing these new modules."
The first installation using 10A MCBs has been at Glyndebourne opera house near Lewes, East Sussex.
(Jim Evans)
