TESTING & INSPECTION
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An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), formally known as a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR), is a report detailing the suitability of an existing electrical installation for continued operation.
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Obtaining an EICR on your home electrics is not (currently) a legal requirement, however in the case of dwellings it is recommended that you have your installation properly inspected at least every ten years (domestically owned only).
For offices, shops and properties being rented, an inspection every five years or upon a change of occupancy is recommended. Landlords are obliged to ensure the electrical installation in their property is safe, and ordering an EICR is the only recognised method for legally ensuring compliance.
From 1st July 2020, government legislation states all new private rental sector tenancies must have an EICR carried out prior to a new tenant residing in the property.
Please scroll down for frequency of testing for all property types
A complete and valid EICR may be required if you plan to sell or rent your property, if you are planning major building work, if there has been a serious incident such as fire/flood damage, if previous electrical work is suspected to have been sub-standard, if your insurance requires it, or if you have purchased/rented a property where you feel the electrical installation may be old, inadequate or unsafe.
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An EICR will involve inspection and testing on all final circuits, consumer units, protective devices, service meters, main fuses and earthing arrangements. The report will classify the overall installation as satisfactory or unsatisfactory as deemed appropriate by the inspector. Any deviations from the regulations will either be coded as C1, danger present, C2, potentially dangerous, C3, improvement recommended or FI, Further Investigation required without delay.
Any C1 or C2 or Further Investigation observations would result in an ‘unsatisfactory’ verdict being passed on the installation as a whole and remedial works recommended.
An EICR fully satisfies the requirements of landlords, estate agents, letting agents, banks, solicitors, mortgage lenders, loan providers, insurers and surveyors. Where someone refers to a 'landlord electrical safety certificate', they actually mean the EICR paperwork as no standard 'landlord safety certificate' is provided by BS7671. Only a thorough EICR is relevant when it comes to the inspection and testing of an existing electrical installation.
Pricing and timing
Our domestic and commercial property EICR's are priced on the size of the property and complexity of the installation. The current circuit price is given on our Pricing Guide page, please note this is a guide and the costs may vary.
Pricing remains the same regardless of whether an installation passes for the maximum term or less, or if it fails outright. Pricing includes not only the time taken to perform the inspection and create the report, but also the legal liability for the ongoing safety of the electrical installation, meaning it's extremely important to ensure that the company undertaking the report is competent and insured.
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Our testing engineers hold the latest City & Guilds Level 3 qualifications for electrical verification 2391-10, inspection and testing and professional indemnity insurance.
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In the event of an incident such as an electrical fire or shock injury, a valid and current report will help you with any legal or insurance claims.
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The time it takes to perform a domestic EICR depends on the size of the installation, but you should allow for it taking at least half a day for a domestic property, and you should plan for your electricity to be switched off throughout testing.
Electrical Installation Condition Report codes explained
An Electrical Installation Condition Report, or EICR, can be explained easily comparing it to an MOT for a vehicle. With an MOT the vehicle will either 'pass' or 'fail', with an EICR the installation will either be deemed 'satisfactory' or 'unsatisfactory'.
On an MOT, should the vehicle fail, the failures will be marked down as 'major failures', this can be compared on an EICR to a code C1, C2 & FI.
Your vehicle may pass an MOT, but you may be issued 'advisories' to the vehicle, which are recommended to be undertaken, this can be compared to a code C3 in an EICR - it is recommended that the code C3 observations are undertaken to the installation - however, if only C3s are listed on the EICR, a satisfactory EICR should be provided.
Recommended frequency of testing & inspection
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Within the below table are the recommended testing intervals for electrical installations. Please note, this is a recommendation only. An electrical engineer cannot deviate from the maximum period between inspection & testing, however, the interval periods, depending on the installation condition, can be made shorter at the electrical contractors discretion.
What are the Routine Checks ?
Thermal Image Testing
Thermal image testing is a method that can be used for premises that require testing (for example for insurance purposes) but that are required to operate or trade 24/7 meaning isolating circuits for testing is not an option. In this instance, Thermal Imaging of electrical equipment can be used to undertake a Thermal Testing Report alongside thorough inspections of the installation.
Should you require this service, please feel free to get in touch for a free quotation.
