⚠️Do I have safe electric?⚠️
There are times when we might question the safety of our home electrical installation. The photograph here shows a socket and a switch that were never meant to be installed outside. The elements have taken their toll on these two electrical accessories and now they are definitely dangerous. One knock, one small bash and they could shatter with the amount of rust that has developed. This would then expose live parts to the touch and may even give a nasty shock (or worse) straight away.
I would hope that most people would look at this photograph and know that it was not right and, in those circumstances, would call an electrician for advice.
What do we do when the safety of our electrical installation is not so apparent? This is clearly a dangerous situation above but there are also lots of hidden dangers that can be present in an electrical installation that would never be seen with our eyes. Even a modern fuse box / consumer unit cannot detect certain faults on electrical circuits in the home. Scary thought.
Lots of customers call us as they are unsure about the safety of their electrical installation. They may have just bought the property, got the property back from a tenant or are considering buying or selling a property and want an opinion on the safety of the electrical installation.
In order to answer the question regarding “SAFE ELECTRIC” there is only normally one sensible solution to this and that is to contact a trusted electrician for an electrical inspection. You can find a trusted electrician by performing an internet search and checking their Google reviews to see what previous customers have had to say. You can chat to friends and neighbours and ask if they have had good service from an electrician and you can look at the electrician’s website to see what it is all about. 😊
What do I ask the electrician for?
When you make contact with your chosen electrician, you need to ask them to perform a Periodic Electrical Inspection for you. This will result in an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) being produced. This document is very useful for future reference as well as in the moment determining the condition of your electrical installation.
Now bear in mind that electricians can have different training, different opinions on electrical safety and their own interpretation of BS7671 Electrical Wiring Regulations. There is some industry guidance on certain situations, faults and electrical problems along with what safety concerns they might present.
If you would like to read more about EICR and Periodic Electrical Inspections then we have compiled a larger article covering this in more depth here:
https://www.electricalfaultsfixed.co.uk/electrical-safety-checks-eicr
What things should I check for myself?
There are a few obvious signs that may indicate an electrical installation is of questionable safety, for instance if you see any of the following then it is likely that there are obvious or hidden dangers within your electrical system and an electrical inspection should be considered.
- A very old looking consumer unit / fuse box.
- Electrical accessories with scorch marks.
- Sockets mounted in the skirting boards (indicate a very old installation).
- Single sockets as a majority rather than double sockets.
- Light fittings in the bedrooms mounted on the ceiling close to the window rather than central in the ceiling.
- Very few sockets in the property.
- Very few circuits on the fuse box / consumer unit.
- Damaged / worn / broken electrical accessories.
- Flickering lights.
- Burning smells.
If you send us a photograph, we are sometimes able to advise if an electrical inspection is likely to be good value or not. There are occasions when we see installations so old that a rewire is simply recommended and the cost of an inspection can be saved.
How quickly can you do an electrical check for me?⌚
A full electrical check takes several hours to a day and as such this needs to be booked in advance with a deposit paid to secure the booking. We are then able to give you a firm date when we can carry out the inspection for you. We appreciate that we are busy and may not be able to do this for you as quickly as some other firms and we are still happy to give you free advice and help even if you ultimately do not use our services.
Waiting times can vary for a full inspection but generally within 2 to 3 weeks we are able to carry this out for you. Sometimes sooner if you are flexible with us and we can work it in to a weekend if needed.
A visual inspection only is a quicker and cheaper option for checking the safety of an electrical installation. The disadvantage with this is that there is much more limited information that we are able to assess from the installation. We are usually able to date the installation and give you an approximate age of the wiring, consumer unit and electrical accessories but no test results will be produced.
Sometimes a visual inspection is all that is necessary to give you some peace of mind one way or another. A very modern installation is less likely to have electrical faults than a very old installation in general. A very old installation is likely to need rewiring much sooner than a more modern installation.
The important thing to remember is that if you are concerned that you do not have “SAFE ELECTRIC” then get in touch for a non-nonsense, no obligation chat. If you use our contact form, we promise not to hound you with sales calls, pepper you with emails or otherwise annoy you 😊. We will get in touch however you want us to and then leave the ball in your court.
We are genuinely here to help and at your service.
Our contact info:
📧 Fill in our contact form here.
