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Who should carry out the Electrical Inspection and what happens?

Electrical  inspection and testing should be carried out only by electrically competent persons

Electrical  inspection and testing should be carried out only by electrically competent persons, such as registered electricians. They will check the condition of the electrics against the UK standard for the safety of electrical installations, BS 7671 – Requirements for Electrical Installations (IEE Wiring Regulations).

The inspection takes into account all the relevant circumstances and checks on:

• The adequacy of earthing and bonding.
• The suitability of the switchgear and control gear. For example, an old fuse box with a wooden back, cast-iron switches, or a mixture of both will need replacing.
• The serviceability of switches, sockets and lighting fittings. Items that may need replacing include: older round-pin sockets, round light switches, cables with fabric coating hanging from ceiling roses to light fittings, black switches and sockets mounted in skirting boards.
• The type of wiring system and its condition. For example, cables coated in black rubber were phased out in the 1960s. Likewise cables coated in lead or fabric are even older and may well need replacing (modern cables use longer-lasting pvc insulation).
• Sockets that may be used to supply portable electrical equipment for use outdoors, making sure they are protected by a suitable residual current device (RCD).
• The presence of adequate identification and notices.
• The extent of any wear and tear, damage or other deterioration.
• Any changes in the use of the premises that have led to, or may lead to, unsafe conditions.

The competent person will then issue an Electrical Installation Condition Report

To Carry out an EICR in a property. All electrical Appliances will be needed to be disconnected from the wall sockets, any essential equipment, may be left in and powered on until the time of the electrical tests carried out.

All electrical installations deteriorate with age and use. They should therefore be inspected and tested at regular intervals to check whether they are in a satisfactory condition for continued use, many comments back from customers include: The Electrical system is fine - we have had no problems, we have lived here for many years.

Such safety checks are commonly referred to as 'periodic inspection and testing'. 

Once completed you will be issued with an Electrical Condition Report (EICR).

A periodic inspection will:

# Reveal if any of your electrical circuits or equipment are overloaded.
# Find any potential electric shock risks and fire hazards.
# Identify any defective electrical work.
# Highlight any lack of earthing or bonding.
Tests are also carried out on wiring and fixed electrical equipment to check that they are safe. A schedule of circuits is also provided, which is invaluable for a property.

Once the inspection has been carried out, this report is passed to our NICEIC Principal Qualified Supervisor, for the Final Verification of Test Results, & Observations in accordance with to the requirements of the Client, to BS7671 2018 18th Edition, Amendment 2, NICEIC Principal Qualified Supervisor decision is final.

-These results & recommendations are passed back to our NICEIC Principal Duty Holder, who if necessary provide a Written Quotation for any remedial works.

The Written quotation / pricing proposals are for anything which can be found having a Codes 1, 2, and FI (further investigation needed). some of the Code 3's will be rectified at the same time as the other issues, as they can be integral to those works.

 We aim to turn the Reports & Quotation around within a couple of days, however there can be at times further delay depending on the complexity of these reports, and work loads on all of the Electrical Team.

The reports off-site, can take between 1 - 6 hours to complete prior to quotations, (some testing can be complex along with potential remedial work) checking over & taking around the same time period.

We apologise in advance if this may be the case.

Should the property be an Occupied Tenanted Property. We request that the landlord / letting agent notifies the Tenant, and access to the property is confirmed.

Should the property be a House Purchase, then arrangements have been duly Confirmed with the Current Occupier, and also the Sales agents.  This will be needed to be confirmed with the Bright Spark office including name of the person we are to meet on the day.

Please note that the electrical supply will be SWITCHED OFF for a period whilst the Installation is inspected & Tested.

For futher information with regards to Inspection Coding with Electrical Inspections please click here