Electrical Emergency in Liverpool

1) We are often called out to homes when there are electrical problems or an electrical emergency. 

These problems have often gone unnoticed for many weeks, months or years and have suddenly caused something to stop working. 

It is only when a consumer unit trips or something smells funny that we are called out to have a look. The photograph above shows a completely burnt and ruined cable. The cable was powering a shower and there had been problems for some time that had gone unnoticed. Due to the age of the Consumer Unit / Fuse box it had not tripped at all meaning more damage had been caused. There is obviously significant burning here and no doubt a fire has occurred inside the switch but the consumer unit has not taken care of this situation and disconnected the power. Everything was still turned on when we got there.

There are numerous problems with this circuit and shower set up. The shower is too powerful for the circuit breaker in the consumer unit, there is no electric shock protection on the circuit and the enclosure for the shower pull cord switch was too small. The burning is likely to have been caused by loose connections, worn shower pull cord and too small an enclosure. This is a repair that is likely to be somewhat time consuming to undertake properly but we are always happy to tackle these things. 

If you have any of the following:

• Discoloured Electrical Accessories
• Burning Smells
• Buzzing Sounds
• Flickering Lights

Then you may have electrical problems. Go to our ELECTRICAL EMERGENCY information page to find out more https://www.electricalfaultsfixed.co.uk/emergency-electrician . This page has some useful advice and tips on when to call us and what to do in an electrical emergency. 

2) What can be done to prevent emergencies?

The best thing that can be done to prevent these types of electrical emergencies from occurring is to have a thorough electrical inspection carried out once every ten years. The cost of this is not excessive when we consider the recommended frequency of the testing. 

An electrical inspection will highlight any safety concerns, issues with wiring or electrical accessories, the condition of your fuse board / consumer unit and any non-compliances with current wiring regulations. A thorough electrical inspection may help to prevent dangerous electrical situations from occurring through early discovery of such situation BEFORE they are likely to cause major issues. This could save money in the long run. 

3) What is done on an electrical inspection?

We carry out a visual inspection on all lights, sockets, switches, consumer unit and any cabling that can be easily seen. We also carry out thorough testing of all circuits at as many sockets and switches as possible. We measure things like electrical resistance, potential fault currents and check that if there is a fault in your property that your electrical system will react as it is supposed to and turn off the electricity supply before a fire starts! You can see how an electrical inspection may be an important part of owning and being safe in your home? 

4) Do I get a certificate?

You will be given a document that is between 7 and 10 pages long. This will detail any defects or recommendations for improvement in your electrical system. It will contain test results, opinions of the inspector and list all the circuits and their protective device characteristics (TECHNICAL, EH?). 

The document is an important part of proving to an insurer, a buyer or anyone else that you have taken steps to maintain the electrical system in your property. It can be a good selling point when you come to sell your home and give a buyer peace of mind that they are purchasing a good, safe property. 

The certificate will have a “recommended next inspection” date on it. The inspection frequency will be the recommendation of the inspector that carried out the inspection. They will take into account any dangers that were found, the test results obtained and any other pertinent factors. 

5) Can my installation “Fail”?

Yes. Your electrical installation can essentially “fail” and inspection. The certificate will be either “unsatisfactory” or “satisfactory” depending upon the issues that have been highlighted and the classification codes given to each of these issues. Different classification codes are given to different situations depending upon the severity of danger presented. 

6) I think I have burnt cables what should I do?

If you think you have burnt wiring then this would be a great time to contact us to discuss your problems. We will ask you what you suspect is wrong and then either carry out some fault finding / investigation work or give you an estimate / quote depending upon your situation. Sometimes we have to carry out investigative work to find the issues BEFORE we can give you a quote to fix the problem. Occasionally when carrying out fault finding we are able to simply fix the issue whilst we are there.

7) What does it cost to fix a burnt cable?

This can depend on a number of factors:

• How bad the damage is
• The cables compatibility with the circuit breaker and load
• The age of the wiring
• The location of the cable and its installation method

We cannot always repair a cable as there are sometimes regulations that would prevent such a repair. For instance, if the cable was undersized for its intended purpose and as a result the cable has been damaged. To enact a repair on this cable would be not only dangerous but pointless as the same issue would re-occur.

For costs of typical jobs, it’s a good idea to head over to our “costs” page where you can find information on “typical” repairs, installations, inspections and so on. These are not fixed prices and each home and electrical installation is different but it may give you an idea of costs before you contact us. 😊 

The page can be found here: 

https://www.electricalfaultsfixed.co.uk/costs