1) What is earth bonding?
Put simply, Earth bonding is a safety electrical connection to exposed metal parts in your home. Parts that could give risk to an electric shock if an electrical fault were to occur. Electricians test to see if water and gas pipework needs to be connected to the electrical installations earth via green and yellow earth wiring and if so, then they run cables to the pipes and to the consumer unit area to make sure that electric shock risk is minimised in the event of an electrical fault.
Back to top2) How do they test?
Electricians with suitable testing knowledge are able to check if your pipework needs to be earthed. They do this by performing a test between the earthing conductor of your electrical installation and the part they believe may be in need of earthing. Electricians are looking for a specific range of resistance values to determine whether a metal part is in need of connecting to the earthing or not. Normally Gas and Water pipes will need connecting to the earthing of the building but it does depend.
Back to top3) Why do metal parts need earthing?
When there is an electrical problem such as a live wire touching a metal part (think about a loose wire in a socket that slips out and touches the metal box behind) briefly, the appliances in your home that have metal cases could become live along with other exposed metal parts. When we install earth bonding to your pipework we ensure that not only do those parts become live but they reach the exact same voltage as the faulty appliance or other metal live part!
I know CRAZY RIGHT??????
There is good reason behind this. If two metal parts are at exactly the same voltage (potential) then there is no difference in potential and therefore no shock risk. If your pipework has not been safely connected to Earth by the use of earth bonding then you can have metal pipes at 0 volts and faulty appliance at 240 volts and therefore a real potential for a shock!! ☹
Back to top4) I am not sure I understand?
Its ok. Electrical installations and earthing requirements are technical and require a great understanding of not only electricity and ohms law but also the safety electrical wiring regulations and BS7671 not to mention the electricity at work regulations EAWR 1989.
The important thing for you to know is that we have you covered. We will ensure that your home is as safe as can be and in the event of a fault that electric shock risk is minimised. We will ensure that in the event of an electrical fault that your electricity supply automatically disconnects and keeps everyone safe. We can do this because of our training and expertise in this area.
Back to top5) What is earthing?
Earthing is the method of ensuring that electrical faults have a safety path for electrical current to flow away to. Lots of electrical appliances require earthing and when the earthing is connected correctly, your electrical installation will turn off when there is an electrical fault. This along with earth bonding reduces your risk of electric shock.
Back to top6) What if there was no earthing or earth bonding?
When electrical faults occur, they need that safety path to send current away to. If an earth is missing from an appliance and an electrical fault occurs with that appliance then any metal casework of that appliance will remain live and lethal to the touch.
Back to top7) Should I have earth bonding carried out?
If you are worried about the safety of your electrical installation then get in touch with your local electrician and ask them to perform a safety electrical check (EICR) for you. This is an in depth test that looks at the earthing on each of your circuits, tests the quality of cable insualtion on those circuits and ensures that in the event of an electrical fault, resistances on your electrical circuits are suitably low to cause the electric supply to disconnect.
How long does an EICR take?
A 1 bed flat will take around 2 hours, a 4 bed detached home will take around 4-5 hours. The time depends on a lot of factors such as:
- How many fuse boxes your home has
- How many electrical circuits there are in your home
- What barriers there are in the way of the electrician carrying out the testing
8) How much does earth bonding cost?
This will depend on length of the run and any obstacles that need to be overcome in order to install the safety earth bonding.
Back to top9) How much does an EICR cost?
This depends on the amount of consumer units and electrical circuits. The size of the property does not normally make a difference. If you want a price for your electrical inspection then get in touch and send us a photgraph of your consumer unit(s) / fuse boxe(s) and we will get back to you quickly with a quote.
Our costs for all our services are available on our costs page here:
https://www.electricalfaultsfixed.co.uk/costs
We regret that we are not able to offer the absolute cheapest prices for our services, we are able to offer great value, quality and customer service though 😊
Back to top10) Question?
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