An ELECTRIC TEST is commonly carried out on properties that are being bought or sold in order to establish the condition of the electrical system and its suitability for continued use. The process is becoming more common with estate agents and solicitors increasingly asking for this to be carried out prior to agreeing a sale.
Electrical testing is also carried out on completion of a new wiring system for example a new build home or a rewire. Testing is important to ensure that the system has no defects, is safe to use and complies with the electrical wiring regulations BS7671. Electrical testing is also carried out before putting into service a new electrical circuit such as an electric shower circuit, lighting circuit or sockets circuit.
This testing involves checking that there is an earth connection throughout the circuit, there are no unwanted connections in the circuit and that the cable insulation is suitably sufficient to ensure no problems. The polarity of the circuit is also checked to ensure that Line, Neutral and Circuit protective conductor are all present in the correct positions. The resistance of the circuit is checked to ensure that in the event of an electrical fault the circuit will disconnect in the required time to limit the risk of electric shock, fire, and damage.
Back to top1) What is electrical fault finding?
Electrical fault finding is a process by which an electrician seeks to determine the nature of an electrical fault and where it lies on the circuit. Electrical testing may highlight faults on a circuit and this will then require fault finding to determine where it has occurred, why it has occurred and what steps are necessary in order to affect a repair.
Back to top2) What types of electrical faults are there?
Typically, there are short circuit faults and faults to earth. These can manifest in a variety of ways. An RCD may trip, a circuit breaker may trip or a fuse may blow. These things may happen intermittently and cause confusion to homeowners as to the reason why. Intermittent faults can also be a headache for electricians to pinpoint as they may not always show up during the variety of tests that are performed when fault finding. Some electrical issues can leave a trace behind of the problem and in these cases, we are often able to determine where the problem lies. By using a variety of test equipment, we are able to see which electrical circuit may be in distress and then begin to pinpoint the problem.
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3) When should I call an electrician?
If you have an electrical problem then an ELECTRICAL TEST will not resolve the problem but will highlight any circuits that have electrical faults present. An electrical test will NOT involve fault finding or involve repairs. Fault finding and repairs are a separate job to electrical testing.
If you have an electrical issue then you should call an electrician straight away. The electrician will undertake fault finding to attempt to locate the issue and then either fix it or provide a quote to carry out further works. It may be, for example, that the electrician finds several other issues on circuits or discovers other problems with the electrical system whilst fault finding and advises that a full electrical test may be necessary in order to establish if there are any other issues in the system.
REMEMEBER, just because an electrical system appears to be operating normally does NOT mean that everything is absolutely fine. Many electrical systems can harbour faults and still appear to operate ok. When a secondary issue develops, this can lead to dangerous situations in a faulty system whereas a healthy system would provide electric shock protection and disconnect affected circuits a faulty system may not.
Back to top4) How much does an electrical test cost?
This can depend on the area you are in, the size of the property, number of circuits and the thoroughness of the test. A cheap test is likely to involve little testing and inspection, take little time and not really give a good idea of the condition of the wiring system. More information on electrical testing / safety checks / EICR / Electrical reports can be found here: https://www.electricalfaultsfixed.co.uk/electrical-safety-checks-eicr Pricing can also be found there.
Back to top5) How long does an electrical test take?
Typically, several hours to perform correctly and thoroughly.
Back to top6) What paperwork will I get?
The action of carrying out an ELECTRICAL TEST will produce a report of approximately 6 to 8 pages in length. The more issues that are found and the larger the electrical system, the longer the report will be. The document you receive is called an “Electrical Installation Condition Report”. If you have any questions regarding fault finding or electrical testing then don’t hesitate to get in touch using our contact form and we will answer your query as thoroughly as we can.
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