Well-known to professionals, NF C 14-100 and NF C 15-100 standards deal with the design and installation of electricity distribution networks. Each covers a different portion of the low-voltage distribution network, so it's important to know where you are on the network to know which standard to apply.
While the French standards NF C 15-100 and NF C 14-100 both deal with the rules to be respected for the installation of electricity distribution networks, they each relate to quite different portions of the electrical network. Indeed, NF C 14-100 deals with the section of the network upstream of the connection circuit-breaker, while NF C 15-100 deals with the section downstream of the circuit-breaker.
NF C 15-100 regulates all low-voltage electrical installations in residential premises. To put it plainly, it lays down the conditions for designing and installing electricity in individual or collective housing. NF C 15-100 (which applies to new buildings as well as renovations) is a veritable bible for all electricians: it indicates the characteristics that their installation must meet, and details the rules for implementation.
Insofar as the NF C 14-100 standard relates to the installation of connection facilities between the network connection and the electricity delivery point (the circuit breaker), it is mainly the electricity distributor (Enedis) that is concerned by its application. It also applies to both single-family and multi-family dwellings.
Each of these two standards has been regularly amended to reflect modern expectations in terms of the safety and durability of electrical installations. The NF C 14-100 standard was amended in 2011, to update aspects concerning - among other things - long-use connections, the case of enclosed housing estates, recessed and semi-recessed technical sheaths, and wall material thicknesses.
NF C 15-100, for its part, has undergone numerous modifications since its creation in 1956, the most recent of which was amended in June 2015. This latest amendment notably recorded changes relating to residential premises, premises containing a bath or shower, and installations in the common areas of collective housing. Like all official standards in France, NF C 14-100 and NF C 15-100 are issued by AFNOR (for "Association Française de NORmalisation"), from whom their most recent evolutions can be consulted.
