This British Standard specifies requirements for both enclosed and open busbars and busbar connections which are components of a.c. high-voltage electrical systems (above 1 kV) and are composed of metal such as copper or aluminium, with air, oil, gas, solid or semi-solid materials as principal insulation.
This British Standard can apply, for aspects other than frequency, to high voltage d.c. busbars and busbar connections (above 1.5 kV) which have similar characteristics to those for a.c.
Insulators such as bushings and supports can comprise part of the assembly, and detailed requirements for such insulators are specified in BS 223.
For degrees of protection for enclosures, reference should be made to BS 5490
The busbars in this standard can also form a component of metal enclosed switchgear (see BS 5227 and BS 5524).
This British Standard does not apply to:
insulated cables which can form a part of busbars and busbar connections;
low-voltage busbars which are specified in BS 5486-1.
For the purpose of this standard the requirements for the ratings and type tests of BS 6581 for switchgear and controlgear are considered to apply to both busbars and busbar connections.
In addition to the definitive requirements, this British Standard also requires the items detailed in clause 9 to be documented. For compliance with this British Standard, both the definitive requirements and the documented items have to be satisfied.
NOTE The titles of the publications referred to in this standard are listed on the inside back cover.