Electrical Installation Condition Reports

All electrical installations deteriorate over time. And need to be inspected and tested at regular intervals to check whether they remain safe for continued use.

But electric cables are usually hidden inside the fabric of a building while fuse boards are often tucked away in cupboards. Unsurprisingly, they are often overlooked and left unchecked for damage, misuse or wear and tear.

This is a mistake, with potentially serious consequences. Old, or faulty, wiring is one of the main causes of electrical fires in buildings. But you can reduce the risk by having the condition of your cables, switches, sockets and other accessories checked at regular intervals. Think of it as like an MOT for your car.

Electrical Condition Reports

So, business owners are advised to call in a registered electrician to undertake periodic inspections of their premises at regular intervals as defined in the IET Wiring Regulations (typically around 5-7 years). The inspection will:

Find out if any electrical installations are overloaded.
Identify any potential electric shock risks and fire hazards.
Flag any defective, non-compliant electrical work.
Highlight any lack of earthing or bonding
(the two ways of preventing electrical shocks that are built into electrical installations).

At the end of the inspection, we will produce an electrical installation condition report (EICR) which records the results of the inspection, finds any parts of the electrical installation that do not meet the current IET Wiring Regulations and identifies any work needed to make the installation safe and compliant with the Regulations.

The report provides an important record of the installation at the time of the inspection and can be used as a baseline for future inspections.

We normally recommend the full inspection to our customers as it provides complete peace of mind that the installation has been tested and is safe to use. But we can carry out a simpler visual condition report, if preferred, provided the installation has been inspected and tested within the last five years.

Ensure you stay safe.

Inspection & Testing Intervals

Your electrics should be inspected and tested as a minimum every:

10 years for an owned home
5 years for a rented home
3 years for a caravan
1 year for a swimming pool / hot tub

Electrics should also be inspected when a property is being prepared for letting or before buying/selling a property.

So, how old is your wiring?

If you’re unsure about the age of the wiring in your premises, these indicators will help:

Fixed cables coated in black rubber (stopped being used in the 1960s).
Fixed cables coated in lead or fabric (used before the 1960s).
A fuse box with a wooden back, cast-iron switches, or a mixture of fuse boxes (used before the 1960s).
Older round pin sockets (or light switches), braided flex hanging from ceiling roses, brown (or black) switches, or sockets mounted in skirting boards (used before the 1960s).

But, whatever the age of your electrical installation, accidental damage can occur along with inevitable wear and tear.