The landlords choice
9Mar, 2020
FUSE BOARD REPLACEMENT
Your fuse board, or to give it the proper name your Consumer Unit, Is the electrical hub of your home. It distributes electricity to your lights, plug sockets, oven etc if working correctly It should protect your cables from overload. This gives you and your family protection from serious shock or electrical fire. However, most people never give it a second thought. I often hear people say ‘It worked fine, so we just left it alone’ or in some cases the home owner doesn’t even know where it is. It is important to maintain your electrical installation and a functioning and safe fuse board goes a long way to doing this. You can book a free visual inspection of your fuse board with pro-lec electrical Nottingham.
How do you know if you need a fuse board upgrade?
– Age– If your fuse board has not been changed in twenty years then it is likely not compliant with current standards and may not provide you with basic protection. Technology and safety associated with consumer units has also moved on massively in the last thirty years from both the perspective of shock and fire protection and also the ease of use for the homeowner.
– Does your consumer unit have an RCD or Residual Current Device? (switches that trip a circuit under dangerous conditions) Most modern consumer units should have and this single device massively increases the safety of your home electrics.
– Live parts exposed– Are the working parts, fuses, or circuit breakers enclosed or are parts of the board exposed? It’s surprising how many fuse boards we come across with fuse holders or blanking plates missing leave live parts exposed to touch.
– Fire Risk. As mentioned above, is your fuse board constructed of wood or plastic? If it is then it may not meet fire regulations.
3Mar, 2020
Electrical Safety Inspection covering nottingham
electrical safety inspection is like and mot for your electrical installation,
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 checking the condition of your cables, switches, sockets and other accessories regularly.
How old is my electrical installation?
Clear signs that can help you tell the age of equipment in the electrical installation in your home include:
- 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 or no skirting boards (used before the 1960s).
- Light switches on the walls or in bathrooms (used before the 1960s).
However old your electrical installation is, it may get damaged and will suffer from wear and tear. So you should get an electrician to check its condition at least every 10 years or when you move into a new property.
What is the aim of a condition report?
The five main aims of a 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.
Types of condition report
In general, there are two types of domestic electrical installation condition report:
- Visual condition report – this does not include testing and is only suitable if the installation has been testing recently.
- Periodic inspection reports – this is what we would normally recommend, as it tests the installation and would find any hidden damage.
And EICR is like an mot for your home electrics it start with a visual inspection that give me a quick indication in to the condition of sockets switches and wiring that can be seen. Also all of the switches and sockets within your home will be removed to check this condition. A full test on the whole installation will be carried out ensuring cabling is safe the correct size and fit for purpose.
Your EICR report will grade the findings with the following code
C1 – IMMEDIATE DANGER
C2 POSSIBLE DANGER IF LEFT
C3 IT IS RECONMENDED THAT YOU RECTIFIE THIS
It is recommended that at a minimum that c1 and c2 are completed to obtain a satisfactory certificate
We will provide you with following after completing your
- A 3 part comprehensive report on the current snapshot condition of your electrics
- A written quotation for any necessary works needed to be carried out to improve your safety
- Guarantee of works for 7 years
- Peace of mind knowing that your electrics have been checked to a professional standard
Protect you and your family from unsafe electrics with an electrical safety inspection and request a quote and Contactus us
see some of the loose wire cause fires videos below