Protect your home and family with an Electrical Installation Condition Report
An Electrical Installation Condition Report carried out by a qualified electrician will help give you and your family peace of mind in your new home.
Moving house is a stressful business. There are so many things to think about, from moving your belongings and redirecting your post to arranging home insurance and choosing colour schemes. One thing you might not have considered is getting an EICR done, but this fairly simple process could end up saving you money in the long term, and could even end up saving your life.
What is an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a safety certificate and report supplied by an electrician following an inspection of the electrical installation within your property.
For an EICR the electrician will carry out a comprehensive check of the underlying electrical system, looking at things such as the wiring, fuse board and earth bonding. The purpose of the check is to establish whether your electrical system is safe and regulation-compliant and to identify any potential safety issues.
Any issues that arise during the checks are categorised according to severity; potentially dangerous problems are categorised as ‘code one’ and need to be fixed or made safe there and then; ‘code two’ issues are viewed as potentially dangerous, and ‘code three’ are for less urgent issues that are not considered to be unsafe.
Following the assessment, you will be provided with a report that details all parts of your home wiring. You will also receive a quote for the electrician to fix any issues identified during the check, and it is then up to you whether you want to go ahead.
Why do I need an EICR?
An EICR is not a legal requirement, but it is highly recommended, particularly when you’re moving into a new house and don’t know the particulars of the electrical system.
Having an EICR is an important safety measure for you and your family. Each year, 350,000 people are seriously injured and 70 people are killed due to electrical faults, and they cause almost half of all UK accidental house fires. These are frightening statistics, but an EICR can help to identify potential problems before they pose a threat to your safety.
By picking up problems at an early stage, an EICR can also save you money in the longer term, enabling you to carry out minor fixes in place of larger, more costly repairs further down the line. Furthermore, in the case of a fire caused by an electrical fault many insurers will use any failure to check and maintain electrical systems as a reason to refuse a claim, so the lack of an EICR could leave you seriously out of pocket should the worst happen.
Experts recommend that you carry out an EICR on your home every five to ten years. However, you may need to do it more frequently if the electrical installation is fairly old, in the case of adverse environmental conditions such as damp or flooding, or if you have any concerns about your electric system.
Finding a provider
When choosing an electrician to carry out your EICR there are a few things to consider. The electrician should be qualified and experienced; they should hold NICEIC accreditation at approved contractor level, or, failing that, be approved by another electrical regulatory body at a similar or higher level.
Before going ahead with the report, find out how long the electrician expects to be at the property. A thorough check can take a significant amount of time, and if the electrician is only there for a short amount of time they’re not doing the job properly. As a ballpark, for a three-bed house, an EICR should take between three and five hours. Be sure also to agree the scope of the check and agree any limitations.
Our Chelmsford electricians are all NICEIC accredited and can carry out all types of domestic electric work, including EICRs. So, if you’re moving to a new home in the Essex area, get in touch to see how we can help. Getting an EICR done may seem like just one more thing on your plate, but checking your electrical installation for any faults will help to give you and your family peace of mind in your new home.
