The primary purpose of an EIICR is to highlight,

• Potential & Existing Wiring Faults
• Potential & Existing Dangers
• Non Compliance's with BS7671
• The Overall Suitability Of Your Electrical System For It's Intended Purpose.

What does an EICR test involve?

When we begin an EICR we perform some initial checks.

Things like,

• Type of electrical system
• Earthing arrangements
• Protective bonding
• Suitability of protective devices.

After these checks we perform a series of tests on your individual circuits.
These tests confirm things like,

• Continuity Of Protective Conductors
• Quality Of Circuit Insulation
• Correct Polarity
• Operation Of Protective Devices such As RCD's (Residual Current Device) or RCBO's (Residual Current Circuit Breaker)
• The Overall Suitability Of The Circuit For It's Intended purpose.

Once these tests have been completed, the electrician testing your property will assess the results in reference with wiring regulations set out in BS7671.

If the circuit is compliant it will pass.
In the event of a non compliance or serious defect, it will be issued one of the following codes.

• C1 Danger Present, Risk Of Injury, Immediate Remedial Action Required.
• C2 Potentially Dangerous
• C3 Improvement Recommended
• FI Further Investigation Needed

If your testing electrician issues these codes, they will provide a detailed explanation of the problem and solutions to rectify it.

How Long Does It (EICR) take?

The amount of time needed to perform an inspection will depend on a few things.

• The Size Of The Property
• The Age Of The Property
• Number Of Circuits To Test.
• Availability Of Previous Test Results

-Naturally the larger the installation the longer it will take to inspect.
-A large commercial premise will naturally take longer than a 2 bed house.
-If the wiring is very old, greater levels of inspection may be required
-If the testing electrician has access to previous tests carried out on the property, they can use their professional judgement to reduce the level of testing required.

Having said that a common 2 bed house will usually take around 2-3 hours to complete.

After the test is complete you will be issued with the EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report), and advised on actions required (if any) to bring your electrical system in line with current wiring regulation under BS7671.

Hopefully this has given you a little insight of what to expect.

It's important to note that electrical testing and inspection is complex and this isn't a comprehensive article on the matter.

If you have any queries or would like to talk to us directly about testing and inspection please feel free to call or email us.