France in Focus

The French electrical code, NF C 15-100 and all the changes during the last fifteen years involve a steep learning curve for those from the other side of the English Channel and other European countries. And even for the French it is "back to school" if you are not an experienced electrician. No wonder that one of the best sellers of the Eyrolles publishing company is "L'installation électrique". The 5th and 6th editions already included all the latest amendements to the French electrical code.

The last fifteen years the page count has been going up: 338 pages in the 2nd edition, 358 pages in the 3rd edition, 478 pages in the 4th edition and several pages more in numbers 5 and 6. More content than in the previous editions. Special attention for new technologies in the domestic environment: domotics, the special tableau de communication and associated network cabling, renewable energies as solar panels, windmills and micro hydro power. Price has gone up from 25 euros to almost 40 euros, but for such a complete reference book, even for French professionals, this is still a bargain. And these guys keep updating, the 7th edition has been published on 4 February 2021.

The complete French electrical code NFC 15-100 goes for 738 € HT, and reading it is quite a challenge, let alone understanding the technical semi-legal language. Thanks to the many pictures, their narrative way of explaining and their knowledge of the practical side of the French regulations. Thierry and David have been able to reach out to a vast audience, and will continue to do so with their latest update. A must have for those who own a house in France or start renovating.

Promotelec, an advisory organisation, used to have a nice little booklet by the name of "Locaux d'habitation" but stopped publishing it, first edition somewhere in the late sixties, last 28th edition in 2015.

The updated content you’ll find in “L’Officiel de l’électricité“ (3th edition 2022), in the more than 170 pages of chapter 3 “Installations électriques des parties privatives”. In this book almost everything an electrician needs to know about the French regs. The 500 pages are probably a bit of an overkill for the DIY. Many helpful illustrations try to explain the many lines of text in the official regulations, not always easy to decode.

Anything in English? Yes, read this review about "Electricity in your French House". Published in 2010, so still a nice aid to translation but missing several essential updates of the regs.

Anything cheaper? Yes, website information of the "big three" here in France: Legrand, Hager and Schneider.

An intro about the changes in the French electrical code in 2015 by Legrand and more in depth information in this documentation, see their website.

My personal favourite is Hager's introduction because it follows the French electrical code almost step by step referencing to the many articles in the French electrical code NF C 15-100.

Schneider has this to say ( update 2017) about French wiring practices and regs. You can download their further updated information from their website.

I almost forgot to mention number four on the French market: an introduction by ABB.

Trying to identify the not-so-safe elements in your wiring? Perhaps this document of Schneider (2011) about the Diagnostic Électrique Obligatoire (DEO) might offer some guidance. This DEO tries to identify rather basic safety problems, see the more recent information provided by Promotelec.

To conclude easy reading, the essentials of the Amendement 5 changes by Promotelec. A year later a second more detailed edition.

Hope this restart, recycling already published text including several updated links, helps in finding your way in the French regulations.


RA

Thanks Robert that's really useful info.

Thanks for that Robert. Electrical safety is paramount.

One of the returning questions on every DIY forum in France is: how to feed a shed/grange/gîte/garage somewhere on your terrain from la maison principale. In its simplest single-phase form It all boils down to this picture:




Something to bear in mind is the allowable voltage drop, again a simple picture:




A clarification about the connection to the grid, where we sometimes see the meter and disjoncteur de branchement (DB) outside (30 m or more):



or meter and DB inside, the so called branchement type 1:






More details in a recent publication by Promotelec.

As this was sinking into the depths I've stuck this to the top so it's easier for people to find.

VOS, not NOS. Very Old Stock, not New Old Stock. Fuses of papi et mami. Some very easy to repair: no fil fusible available? Use standard 1.5 mm copper wire. Wiring: nice extension lead, for a flat iron? To conclude a disjoncteur de branchement, first generation equipped with an interrupteur différentiel of 650 mA.

When I rewired our last house (after waiting for the electrician for 6 months), I used a very handy booklet given to me by EDF with a summary of the then rules and lots of diagrams. That was 2000, just after the big storm when all the electricians had been requisitioned.

RobertArthur wrote: ↑Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:37 pm

Thierry and David's book was the best money I have spent on a book. It clearly was a chore to type it all into a translater but it soon became clear that very little of what I had been doing in UK was going to cut it here in France. Once I absorbed the basics I used the tables and illustrations as references and have done years later. I have done two first installations that passed inspection and sleep well.

If there is a publication that teaches French plumbing it would also be a wise investment. I have had to put right a lot of stupid mistakes made by previous Brit (and French) installers that went wrong causing a lot of damage.

@ Hotrodder, the answer to your question is in the Plumbing section of this forum.

I hate to admit it but some of the stuff I have had to do here wouldn't pass muster, being a time served electrician of over 40 years, it's hard to confess. Problem in my abode is that you cannot access the mains intake, so to enlarge the tableau to cater for new wiring, is impossible without smashing the place up or putting hideous trunking around the walls.