You cannot see electricity. Cables are usually hidden inside our walls, and consumer units are often hidden in cupboards, so it is not surprising that we forget to check the condition of our electrical installation for damage or wear and tear.
Faulty and old wiring is one of the main causes or electrical fires in the home. You can reduce the risk of a fire by having the condition of your cables, switches, sockets and other accessories regularly checked by a qualified electrician.
Commercial, domestic and landlord EICR testing, otherwise known as an Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR) or periodic electrical testing, is a full-scale inspection of your electrical systems and installation.
What is the aim of an electrical installation condition report?
The five main aims of an electrical installation condition report are:
- Record the results of the inspection and testing to make sure the electrical installation is safe to be used until the next inspection (following any work needed to make it safe)
- Find any damage and wear and tear that might affect safety, and report it
- Find any parts of the electrical installation that do not meet the IET Wiring Regulations
- Help find anything that may cause electric shocks and high temperatures
- Provide and important record of the installation at the time of the inspection, and for inspection testing in the future.
Is EICR a Legal Requirement?
Although an Electrical Installation Condition Report – or EICR – is not a legal requirement in itself, many property owners are bound by legal obligations to their staff, customers or tenants which can be met by an EICR inspection.
Each year there are still instances of people suffering death and injuries at work or home as a result of faulty electrics, but having a regular EICR report carried out by a suitably qualified electrician can minimise the risk of avoidable tragedies occurring.
For businesses: There are various laws which require business owners to take suitable measures to prevent accidents. For example, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 states that employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees in the workplace. At the same time, The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require precautions to be taken against the risk of death or personal injury from electricity used as part of work activities.
The Health and Safety Executive regularly prosecutes businesses which fail to protect employees from electrical injuries at work.
For landlords: (EICR) Electrical installation condition reports are now a key part of electrical safety, Landlords have the responsibility to ensure that a tenanted property has an electrical installation that is safe to use by its tenants. The Law around the EICR has now changed and will come into effect in July 2020. There will a legal onus on all landlords to have a electrical installation condition report in place. They will have to be able to provide this to the tenant, managing agent or local authority within 30 days should they ask. The government have also laid down the law that all existing tenancies will require a EICR report by April 2021.
For homeowners: There are no legal requirements for homeowners to have an Electrical Installation Condition Report although it is a sensible practise to adopt in order to check the safety of your electrics and help prevent any avoidable accidents from occurring.
EICRs are often recommended as part of a house selling process and can prove invaluable in terms of checking the electrics of a property before deciding to buy it.
If you’re unsure of your legal obligations where electrical safety is concerned, the EICR Testing team of specially-qualified and highly-trained electrical testing and inspection engineers are happy to advise.
How Often Do I Need an EICR?
Electrical installations are not immune to the process of ageing, deterioration and even general wear and tear. For this reason, an EICR should be conducted at regular intervals. British Standard BS 76719 (IET Wiring Regulations) recommends the following intervals for businesses, landlords and homeowners:
- Businesses – employers are recommended to have an EICR test undertaken once every five years.
- Buy-to-let or rented property – landlords should have an EICR test done every five years or when new tenants enter the property.
- Homeowners – an EICR is recommended every 10 years. If the property has a swimming pool, this should be tested once every year.
What Does an EICR Test Involve?
An EICR will check if your property’s electrics have any faults that cannot be identified through a visual check. A number of faults may occur, such as electrical circuits being overloaded or overheating during use. If any electrical circuit is not properly installed – for example, without earthing or bonding to safely secure the electrics – it may potentially cause a fire or shock hazard. EICR testing will identify any defective electrical work within the system.
A visual check can also be performed to give you a quick analysis of how safe your property is. This will look for broken sockets and light switches, damaged cables and scorching / burn marks as a result of overloading the power outlet. It will also look at the residual current device (RCD) for the circuits that operate the bathrooms and gardens. It is recommended that this visual check is completed at regular intervals in between the more in-depth EICR tests.
After the test has been completed, the testing engineer will produce a certificate for you. It will detail any damages, deterioration, defects or other dangerous conditions. It will also highlight anything that doesn’t match the present day safety standards and things that might put people at risk.
Should the EICR test come back as negative, the EICR will be classed as “unsatisfactory” meaning that the required work needs to be done, without delay, to remove the risk to those living or working at the property. As well as returning an “unsatisfactory” result, the report will detail which electrical system(s) failed the test. Work required is classified using the following codes:
- C1 – ‘danger is present’, risk of injury is likely and immediate action is required.
- C2 – potentially dangerous and remedial action is needed urgently.
- C3 – improvement to your electrical system is recommended. C3 is the only classification code that can appear on a report and still pass the EICR test.
Once your electrical system has passed the inspection fully and any urgent remedial work has been completed, you will be provided with an EICR Certificate of Safety, giving you peace of mind that your electrics are safe.
Prices starting at £120, so whether your landlord, home buyer or business your electrical safety of your installation is paramount.