If you’re ready to book an EICR test, you’ll need to know a few things about it. What is EICR testing and how long will it take to produce an EICR report? Most importantly, how long will an EICR remain valid for? Here, we take a closer look at the facts behind this electrical safety test so that you can be well-informed.
What is The EICR?
Electrical installations have to meet the regulated standards to ensure that they are safe. An EICR is a test that is carried out in industrial, commercial and domestic premises to check that all sockets, switches, fuse boards and wiring are safe and won’t cause any damage or injury to anyone onsite.
Evidence has shown that electricity fires occur in 20,000 UK homes each year with electrical items causing 89% and faulty wiring causing 11% of them. These incidents could mostly be avoided if the electrical systems had been regularly inspected and maintained.
Landlords have a duty to make sure their tenants are living in safe conditions and this includes ensuring that all electrical appliances, fuse boxes and wires have been installed safely and are functioning properly. Those inspections must be carried out by a fully qualified electrician who will then prepare an EICR report that proves the property meets the highest level of electrical safety standards.
What Is The Purpose Of The EICR?
The EICR inspection has 5 primary purposes:
- To ensure every onsite electrical installation is safe and free from deterioration, wear and tear and damage.
- To find any electrical components that don’t meet the required standards.
- To determine whether any of the electrical appliances on the premises could cause a fire or an electric shock.
- To officially record the condition an electrical installation is in to prove that all necessary measures have been taken to ensure anyone onsite is safe.
How Long Will It Take To Carry Out An EICR Inspection?
The property will need to be inspected in-depth by a fully qualified electrician so, obviously, this isn’t a quick process. The average EICR inspection will take between 1 and 4 hours to carry out, but the length of time the test takes will depend on how big the property is, how accessible the electrical systems are, how many electrical items there are to inspect, and several other factors. Depending on what the qualified electrician learns from their comprehensive assessment, a further additional inspection could also be required.
How Frequently Does A Property Have To Be Inspected For EICR Purposes?
The current recommended Electrical Safety Standards state that EICR inspections should be carried out at intervals not further apart than 5 years. In some cases, though, more frequent inspections may be required. These may be recommended by an electrician for the following reasons:
- The property’s electrical systems are old.
- The property has a swimming pool. Inspections of such properties should be carried out between every 1-3 years.
- The property has had a floor or a fire that could have damaged the electrical installations.
- The electrical system in the property has been vandalised or tampered with.
- The property has changed its usage. Perhaps there has been a tenancy change, or the property is being sold or purchased. The additional inspection will ensure that the property’s electrical systems are still safe and whether any remedial work must be carried out before the property changes hands.
If all is satisfactory on the report, the EICR report remains valid for five years.