The electrician trade emerged with electrification around 1900 and was gradually tied together by three things: a set of safety rules (the strong-current regulations), a licensing scheme and formal vocational training. Here is the long view — from the first installations through European harmonization to today's green transition.
Introduction
The electrician trade is young compared to most crafts. It emerged only when electricity was taken into use for light and power — in Denmark really from the end of the 1800s, when the first power stations and electrical installations appeared in cities. Initially, the work was loosely regulated and quality depended greatly on the individual craftsman's experience.
Electrification and the need for rules
As electricity was installed in homes, shops, and factories, the danger of faults became clear: electric shock and fire could cost lives and property. This created a need for uniform safety rules rather than individual discretion. The Danish tradition became — like the rest of Europe — to consolidate requirements in a high-voltage regulation that prescribed how installations should be performed to be safe.
High voltage regulations
In large parts of the 1900s, the Strong Current Regulations (and later the Strong Current Ordinance) was the central ruleset for electrical installations in Denmark. It specified the technical requirements for protection against shock, fire and overcurrent. The regulations were continuously revised as new appliances, materials and installation methods appeared.
The installation part of the Heavy Current Regulations (section 6) was replaced when Denmark switched to the European installation standards. Today the Installation Order (BEK no. 1082 of 12 July 2016) applies: if an installation is carried out according to the DS/HD 60364 series, the safety requirement is deemed to be met. (Source: retsinformation.dk/eli/lta/2016/1082)
European harmonization—DS/HD 60364
One of the biggest shifts in the trade's history was the move from purely national rules to common European harmonisation documents. The DS/HD 60364 series — the Danish implementation of the international IEC 60364 — today brings together the requirements for cable sizing, protection against electric shock (4-41), overcurrent protection (4-43) and verification (6). The series is published collectively in Handbook 183, which Danish Standards now publishes in a new edition every year; the latest is Handbook 183:2026 from 1 July 2026. (Source: ds.dk, news 1 July 2026)
The harmonization meant that Danish electricians had to work according to the same basic principles as colleagues in the rest of Europe — and that the trade required continuing education as standards were revised.
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