OVE E 8101
Austria’s low-voltage installation standard. What OVE E 8101 covers, how ETG 1992 and ETV 2002 make Austrian standards binding by reference, what still remains of the older E 8001 series, and what WireSketch does — and doesn’t — model for Austrian installations.
What OVE E 8101 is
OVE E 8101 is the comprehensive Austrian Errichtungsbestimmungen for low-voltage electrical installations, structurally aligned with the CENELEC HD 60364 series. Editions of record are OVE E 8101:2019-01-01 and OVE E 8101:2025-10-01. It replaces the older ÖVE/ÖNORM E 8001-1:2010-03-01, which the Austrian Standards catalog now lists as withdrawn.
The supersession is partial. Some sub-parts of the older E 8001 series remain in force separately — for example E 8001-4-701:2013 for certain special locations and E 8001-4-708:2012. In addition, the ETV 2002 Anlage 3 list of parts declared verbindlich (binding) under § 2 Abs. 1 still enumerates specific E 8001 documents, including E 8001-1/A3:2007-10, E 8001-1/A4:2009-04, E 8001-1-24:2006-01, E 8001-2-30:2008-12, E 8001-2-39:2008-08, E 8001-4-753:2009-04 and E 8001-4-95:2008-12. The practical effect is that an Austrian designer references OVE E 8101 as the central installation text and still has to track the E 8001 sub-parts the regulator has declared verbindlich.
The legal frame: ETG 1992, ETV 2002, Anlage 3
The Austrian regulatory chain runs as follows:
- ETG 1992 — the Elektrotechnikgesetz, the federal Bundesgesetz über Sicherheitsmaßnahmen, Normalisierung und Typisierung in the field of electrical engineering.
- ETV 2002 — the Elektrotechnikverordnung 2002, BGBl. II Nr. 222/2002, consolidated Fassung 8 July 2020. ETV 2002 implements ETG 1992.
- ETV 2002 Anlage 3 — the annex that declares specific ÖVE/ÖNORM (and now OVE) standards verbindlich under § 2 Abs. 1, which is the binding-by-reference mechanism.
Above the federal layer, Austrian Bundesländer also cite the E 8001 / OVE E 8101 documents in regional law — for example Burgenland (LGBl. B Nr. 60/2019 of 11 September 2019 and LGBl. B Nr. 73/2021 of 12 October 2021) and Upper Austria (LGBl. OÖ Nr. 28/2019 of 28 March 2019). The 2021 Burgenland citation is a transitional clause moving from E 8001 to OVE E 8101.
Who OVE E 8101 applies to
All low-voltage electrical installations in Austria. OVE E 8101 is the central installation text; ETV 2002 Anlage 3 binds it (along with the surviving E 8001 sub-parts) into the Austrian legal order via ETG 1992.
The enforcement model: Anlagenüberprüfung
The Austrian model is post-installation Anlagenüberprüfung — an inspection of the installation by a qualified person, producing a conformity artefact. The exact German terminology for that artefact — Anlagenattest, Prüfprotokoll, Prüfbefund, Anlagenbuch — was not independently verified in WireSketch’s research and remains an open question this page does not paper over. An Austrian Elektrotechniker working under ETG 1992 / ETV 2002 will know the current name and the form the inspection report has to take; the WireSketch planner output is a design and discussion artefact only.
Key requirements
OVE E 8101 is structurally aligned with the HD 60364 series, so the baseline mirrors the rest of the European HD 60364-aligned set:
- Bathroom zones in the IEC 60364-7-701 model, as transposed by the Austrian text.
- Protection against electric shock per the relevant chapter of OVE E 8101 (the HD 60364-4-41 transposition).
- Selection and erection of wiring systems per the HD 60364-5-52 transposition.
- Special locations from the HD 60364-7 series, plus the verbindlich E 8001 sub-parts that ETV 2002 Anlage 3 still enumerates.
- Verification and Anlagenüberprüfung — initial verification, then the post-installation inspection regime.
WireSketch’s research did not surface a verified primary-source enumeration of Austrian-specific socket-density, circuit-count or RCD-type rules. An Austrian designer will know which OVE E 8101 sections and which surviving E 8001 sub-parts apply; this page does not invent rules it could not verify.
What WireSketch models from OVE E 8101
Honest answer: WireSketch does not yet model OVE E 8101 as a separate region. The closest selector is DIN 18015 / VDE 0100 (Germany), which is the natural neighbour for an HD 60364-aligned German-language standard. With DIN selected in Austria you get:
- IEC 60364 wet-room Zone 0/1/2 in bathroom mode — the underlying model OVE E 8101 transposes.
- Type A RCD as the default main protection — a reasonable residential baseline; the Austrian text has its own scope rules.
- Kitchen-rule dedicated circuits for heavy appliances — sensible everywhere in the HD 60364 family.
- Generic installation-zone overlays drawn from DIN 18015 — useful as a planning aid in DACH territory; not a substitute for the Austrian text.
Treat the planner output as a sketch, not the Anlagenüberprüfung. An Austrian installation needs a post-installation inspection by a qualified Elektrotechniker producing the conformity artefact prescribed by ETV 2002 under ETG 1992. The WireSketch layout is a useful conversation starter for that designer; the regulatory artefact comes from the post-installation inspection.
What WireSketch doesn’t model
- OVE E 8101 Austrian-specific additions — socket-density, circuit-count and RCD-scope rules specific to the Austrian text.
- The surviving E 8001 sub-parts declared verbindlich by ETV 2002 Anlage 3 are not consulted by the planner.
- Anlagenüberprüfung artefact format — the exact German-language name (Anlagenattest / Prüfprotokoll / Prüfbefund / Anlagenbuch) is an open question this page acknowledges; the legal artefact in any case is not produced by the app.
- Land-level overlays — Burgenland, Upper Austria and other Bundesländer citations are not modelled.
- Network operator energisation workflow — the planner does not interface with the Austrian distributor connection-acceptance process.
Practical tip
If you are a homeowner in Austria planning a remodel or new build: use WireSketch with the DIN 18015 selector to capture the layout you want, generate the Renovation Brief PDF, and give it to your Austrian Elektrotechniker. Be explicit that the binding documents are OVE E 8101 (with the surviving E 8001 sub-parts) under ETV 2002 and ETG 1992, and that the legal artefact comes from the post-installation Anlagenüberprüfung.
If you are an Austrian designer or inspector, treat WireSketch as a layout and client-communication tool. Translate the layout to OVE E 8101 in your own design package, track the relevant ETV 2002 Anlage 3 verbindlich parts, and issue the conformity artefact in the form the regulator expects.
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.