Electrical Installation Condition Reports

An EICR is an electrical installation condition report. This was formerly known as a periodic inspection report. The Electrical installation condition reports became active in 2013 under the new 17th edition regulations. If you are provided a Periodic inspection report this is now obsolete!

Each year around 70 people are killed & 350000 people are seriously injured because of electrical faults in the home, according to government statistics.

Commercially the number of fatalities due to contact with electricity falls to 8 people with a further 14928 serious non fatal & other electrical related injuries.

15,432 fires caused by electricity (out of a total of 28,350 fires)

54.4% of fires in England were caused by electricity (2015/16)

In short the best description is somewhat like an MOT for your electrics. Electrical installations deteriorate over time due to adverse conditions, heat, movement within buildings as well as external elements or even rodent damage.

To ascertain the condition of an electrical system a series of tests are carried out in conjunction with the current edition of the IET wiring regulations BS7671 to highlight any issues which are unsafe or non compliant with current regulations. These tests are carried out along with mathematical calculations and visual observations to ensure the system is safe and that it will disconnect under fault conditions. All the results are recorded and each item is coded depending on risk. Not all items may be actionable.

For example a code 3 for green sleeving may be recorded if the installation was installed to an older edition. The current edition stipulates earth sleeving standard should be of green and yellow, however this does not affect the safety of the installation so a satisfactory report can still be issued.

C1 – Danger Present. Risk of Injury. Immediate remedial action required.
C2 – Potentially Dangerous – Urgent remedial action required.
C3 – Improvement needed
FI – Further investigation required

For a full report to be carried out properly is a complex and in depth task. Many companies apply limitations to reports that consumers are not aware of and can sometimes end up paying for a cheap report which is not worth the paper it has been written on. If it’s too good top be true it generally is!

Commercially each system would have to be assessed individually as there can be many factors and variables to be taken into account.

All installations both domestic and commercial depend on the number of Distribution boards, the number of circuits, the size of each circuit with the number of points to be tested as well as the actual size of the property/premises.

Typically a 3 bedroom house with 8 or 9 circuits will take one electrician up to 1 full day or a pair of electricians 4-6 hours. If anyone achieves a thorough report with no limitations quicker than this there is an extremely good chance that it has not been carried out properly!

BS7671 (Current Edition Wiring Regulations) recommends having an EICR carried out not more than 10 years apart. It is also important to have this carried out if you are moving out or into a new home. It is common practice to be required to produce these documents during the sale of a property especially if any electrical works has been carried out in previous years. It is advisable to have an EICR carried out if it has never been carried out or you suspect poor quality additions. If you purchase a new home just because the fuse-board looks new it does not mean it has been inspected and is safe. It should have a 5 page report or installation certificate. If it hasn’t it is likely that it is not complaint with current regulations & a potentially dangerous installation. The usual cause of most faults and fires are sub standard work or even worse DIY electrical installations. The expression “a little bit of knowledge is dangerous” springs to mind. Just because something works it does not mean it is necessarily safe and will not go up in smoke or disconnect under fault conditions!

As an employer you are responsible for the welfare of your employees and general public Under the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act stating that employers are ‘responsible for the health and safety of their employees’ and the ‘Electricity at work regulations’ which required that precautions must be taken against the risk of injury from electricity used as part of work activities.

An EICR should be undertaken not more than 5 year intervals & in most cases this is required by your insurers as well as ISO certification.

Portable appliance testing is also a requirement commercially and should be carried out annually, certain low use items may differ in frequency providing a risk assessment has been provided.

Get in touch with one of our team to discuss your requirements

Until recently the legal requirements were somewhat confusing and a rather grey area.

Under the ‘Landlord and Tenants Act (1985) landlords must ensure that the electrical installation in a rented property is maintained safely throughout a tenancy.

We now have some clarity and as of July 2020 it is now a legal requirement for a property to be electrically inspected & tested at least every 5 year and change of occupancy.

The law currently requires Landlords to provide electrical installation certificates and also places a duty to keep all electrical systems and appliances in good repair and safe working order.