An electrical installation can be potentially hazardous when it develops wear and tear over time. This can occur through general use and doesn’t necessarily mean the system has been used incorrectly or that there has been a poor-quality installation. And because it can be very difficult to identify when or where a fault has occurred with a system, we have to undertake a regular, formal inspection to ensure the installation is working safely and effectively.
Basic electrical installations in a home or business are a system of wires, switches, socket-outlets and lighting. These deliver mains electricity into the property and make it usable. An electrical installation can include wires and connections in the walls and under the floors, consumer units and fuse boxes, light fittings, switches and sockets, fixed electrical equipment and protective devices, such as circuit breakers and residual current devices. Separately, an electrical installation does not include portable items that are plugged into socket outlets, these are classed as appliances.
An EICR – What is it?
An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is the method through which an electrical installation is inspected and tested. It is a comprehensive health check of an electrical installation in a home or business, and an EICR report is the document produced at the end of this process to indicate the electrical safety status of the property, ie. to identify any faults found, or to verify that the installation is safe and operating correctly.
The purpose of an EICR is to identify signs of aging, wear and tear or damage, and to indicate where these are, or to confirm that the installation is safe to use and doesn’t present any risks to people using the property caused by faults in the installation. These risks could include electric shock or fire.
Which properties need to have an EICR report?
- Rental properties – Landlords renting out properties in the private rental and social housing sector must have the electrical installations in those properties inspected and tested via an EICR at least once every five years. They must also provide a copy of an EICR report to tenants moving into the property.
- Business premises - Under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, employers must ensure that all electrical installations and equipment used within a business property are safe and usable. Undertaking an EICR is generally considered the most effective way to comply with this legal requirement, therefore employers are strongly advised to undertake an EICR at least once every five years.
- Domestic homes – There are no laws requiring people who own their own home to undertake an EICR, but it is recommended, for basic safety purposes, to do so once every ten years.
What does an EICR involve?
- Visual inspection – To spot obvious and visible signs of damage, wear and tear or a poor-quality installation.
- Testing circuits – Isolating parts of the installation to carry out a range of tests on the wiring using specialist test equipment, such as continuity testing, insulation resistance testing, polarity testing, earth fault loop impedance testing and RCD testing.
- Recording the results – Any faults or issues found will be assigned a classification code relating to how dangerous the issue is.
- Issue a report – A full report on the electrical status of the property, listing all faults identified, along with their classification code and recommending remedial action to fix them. If there are no faults identified, the report will also indicate this.
Specialist test equipment for the purposes of carrying out an EICR on a property can be supplied by Test Instrument Solutions.
Please note that this section is for information purposes only. Anyone using equipment referred to in this section must be suitably qualified and/or experienced within the respective field. If in doubt before use, please consult a qualified electrician or engineer & thoroughly read all instruction booklets.