NEN 1010
The Dutch national standard for low-voltage electrical installations. What it covers, how it relates to the European IEC‑60364 family, and what WireSketch does — and doesn’t — model for installations in the Netherlands.
What NEN 1010 is
NEN 1010 is the Dutch national wiring rules document for low-voltage installations. It is published by NEN (the Royal Netherlands Standardization Institute) and developed by national committee NEC 64. The current consolidated edition is NEN 1010:2020+C1:2024, in force from 1 July 2024. The NEN catalog describes it as “Electrical installations for low-voltage — Dutch implementation of the HD-IEC 60364 series”, and as “the guideline for the installation, expansion and adaption of low-voltage installations.”
That phrasing matters. NEN 1010 is the Dutch implementation of the CENELEC HD 60364 harmonization documents, which themselves transpose the IEC 60364 series. So the “skeleton” of NEN 1010 — protection against electric shock, protection against thermal effects, selection and erection of wiring systems, special locations — is the same skeleton you’ll find in BS 7671 in the UK, NF C 15-100 in France, or VDE 0100 in Germany. What differs is the set of Dutch-specific additions and editorial choices that NEC 64 has layered on top.
Who NEN 1010 applies to
All low-voltage electrical installations in the Netherlands, residential and otherwise. In the Dutch market it is the standard contractors design to and inspectors check against; it is also referenced by Bouwbesluit (the Dutch building code) and by Dutch network operators as the technical basis for connection acceptance.
Because the underlying HD 60364 skeleton is shared across the EU, NEN 1010 reads as a close cousin of NBN HD 60364 (Belgium), VDE 0100 (Germany), ÖVE/ÖNORM (Austria) and BS 7671 (UK). The bathroom-zone model, the RCD-protection requirements, and the selection-and-erection logic look familiar across the family. The differences that matter for residential planning are in the Dutch-specific socket-density, circuit-count, and special-locations additions, none of which WireSketch encodes today.
Key requirements
Because the standard is the Dutch implementation of HD 60364, it carries forward the European baseline:
- IEC 60364 bathroom zones — the familiar Zone 0/1/2 model with IP ratings rising as you approach water.
- RCD protection for socket and bathroom circuits per the HD 60364-4-41 requirements transposed by NEN 1010.
- Selection and erection of wiring systems per HD 60364-5-52 as transposed, including cable sizing, voltage drop and protective-conductor sizing.
- Special locations via the HD 60364-7 series — bathrooms, swimming pools, saunas, EV charging, photovoltaic.
- Verification — initial verification and periodic inspection regimes transposed from HD 60364-6.
Dutch-specific deltas live on top of that baseline. WireSketch’s research did not reach a verified primary-source list of every NEC 64 addition (socket-density minimums per room, mandatory circuit counts, Dutch-specific cable-type preferences), so this page does not enumerate them. A contractor working to NEN 1010 will know them; a homeowner should ask theirs.
Compliance in practice
Compliance with NEN 1010 is the contractor’s responsibility. The post-installation artefact a Dutch installer hands to a homeowner or network operator is the documented verification — an inspection certificate or installation report covering the items in HD 60364-6 as transposed by NEN 1010. WireSketch’s planner output is a design and discussion artefact, never the legal compliance document. For new connections, the Dutch network operator’s connection acceptance process sits downstream of that contractor verification.
What WireSketch models from NEN 1010
Honest answer: WireSketch does not yet model NEN 1010 as a separate region. The closest selector is DIN 18015 / VDE 0100 (Germany), which works as a planning baseline because both standards transpose the same HD 60364 family. What you get with the German selector in the Netherlands:
- Vertical and horizontal installation-zone overlays drawn from DIN 18015 — these are the German cable-route conventions, not Dutch. They’re a useful planning aid, not a code-compliant overlay.
- IEC 60364 wet-room Zone 0/1/2 in bathroom mode — this part does translate, because NEN 1010 transposes the same HD 60364-7-701 model.
- Type A RCD as the default main protection — correct for general residential circuits in the Netherlands.
- Kitchen-rule dedicated circuits for heavy appliances — a sensible planning default in any HD 60364 jurisdiction; the exact Dutch circuit-count rules are not enforced.
Treat the planner output as a sketch, not compliance. When you select DIN 18015 in the Netherlands, you are getting a German-flavoured layout that happens to share most of its safety baseline with NEN 1010. A Dutch contractor will adjust socket density, circuit counts, and cable conventions to match the Dutch standard before the installation is signed off.
What WireSketch doesn’t model
- Dutch-specific NEC 64 additions on top of HD 60364 — socket density per room, mandatory minimum circuit counts, kitchen and utility-room specifics.
- Dutch cable conventions — the German default cable in the app is NYM‑J; Dutch practice varies and a Dutch contractor will choose the appropriate type per circuit.
- Bouwbesluit interactions — the Dutch building code touches on smoke alarms, escape lighting and energy-performance items that NEN 1010 references but does not replace.
- NEN 1010 verification reports — the inspection certificate format used by Dutch contractors is not produced by the app.
- Network operator connection acceptance — the planner output is not an artefact the Dutch network operator accepts as a connection request.
Practical tip
If you are a homeowner in the Netherlands planning a remodel, use WireSketch with the DIN 18015 selector to capture the layout you want, generate the Renovation Brief PDF, and hand it to your Dutch contractor. Tell them the brief is a German-flavoured sketch and that they should adjust to NEN 1010 conventions for socket density, circuit count and verification. The brief is faster than a kitchen-table conversation and removes a lot of ambiguity about where you want what.
If you are a contractor working to NEN 1010, treat WireSketch as a layout tool for the client conversation and as a way to capture the wall photographs and intent. Translate to the Dutch conventions in your own design package.
Important. WireSketch produces a planning and design artefact, not a compliance document. Standards are modelled at their baseline — local amendments apply, and final certification of any installation must come from a licensed electrician operating under your jurisdiction’s adopted edition and amendments.