Recreational Vehicles

This directive is being issued by a provincial safety manager pursuant to section 30 of the Safety Standards Act.

Electrical Safety Regulation, Section 21:

Certification or approval mark required for electrical equipment 

21 (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), a person must not use electrical equipment in British Columbia, or offer for sale, sell, display, or otherwise dispose of electrical equipment for use in British Columbia, unless the electrical equipment displays a label or mark as follows:

1. a certification mark;
2. a label or mark of a certification agency that is acceptable to the appropriate provincial safety manager to certify electrical equipment for a specific installation;
3. an approval mark issued under section 10 of the Act;
4. in the case of used manufactured homes—used factory-built structures and used recreational vehicles—a label supplied by the appropriate provincial safety

(2) An approval mark under subsection (1) (c) signifies compliance with requirements in respect to fire and electrical shock hazards only.

Interpretation:

“Recreational vehicle” is interpreted as meaning any recreational unit that is built on a single chassis mounted on wheels and is intended to provide temporary living quarters for recreational, camping, travel, or seasonal use and has its own motive power or is mounted on or towed by another vehicle.

The requirement for certification or approval applies to all recreational vehicles that are offered for sale, sold, displayed, or used in British Columbia.

Certification or approval is required for the following integrated components of the recreational vehicle:

• Electrical wiring.
• Electrical equipment that is intended to be connected by a cord and attachment plug to a source of electrical supply not exceeding 250 V between conductors or 150 V to ground, in accordance with rules of the BC Electrical Code, including on-board generators or inverters.

Certification or approval is not required for 6 or 12 V battery-operated vehicular lighting and brake wiring systems specified in CSA Z240.1.2 provided that the conductors of such systems are not or cannot come into contact with the conductors of the higher voltage system.

A recreational vehicle is deemed to be used in British Columbia if:

• licensed by the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Act; and
• other than 6 or 12 volt wiring used only for vehicular operation, electric lighting and power circuits are connected at any time to an electrical

The requirements of Electrical Safety Regulation, section 21 are interpreted as including all recreational vehicles that have been imported for use or sale in British Columbia.

Exceptions

Notwithstanding items identified in Electrical Safety Regulation, Section 21 (1) & (2), an electrical contractor may only apply for a label supplied by the appropriate provincial safety manager if they can demonstrate the following:

1. No approval is possible through an accredited certification or inspection body.
2. The safety officer is satisfied that units are not commercially produced.
3. A permit is obtained, and the normal inspection procedure is followed. Upon acceptance, a Technical Safety BC label will be applied.

Vicky Kang
Manager, Energy
Provincial Safety Manager, Electrical

References:
Safety Standards Act
Electrical Safety Regulation
Safety Standards General Regulation
Information Bulletin NO: IB-EL 2015-01