Testing, Inspection & Certification

Electrical work that is carried out by a registered electrician is subject to certification. If you are buying or selling a house you will need an EICR test done.

If you have building work done the electrical work must be certificated.

  • Certification to BS7671
  • NICEIC registered
  • Minor works
  • Electrical installation certificate
  • Electrical installation condition report (EICR)
  • Domestic fire alarm certificate

Quality testing and certification. Registration of work with Building control.

CERTIFICATION

Work that is not certificated is deemed illegal and may be dangerous and/or cause problems when you are later trying to sell your property. Anybody who does electrical installation work on your home and does not provide the correct certification is performing a criminal offense. Domestic electrical work being carried out is broadly split into 3 categories:

Minor Works: replacement of a light fitting, addition of a new socket to an existing circuit etc. This work should be certificated by issue of the “Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate”.Work not covered here is any installation work carried out in special locations (kitchens, bathrooms and gardens) or formation of a new circuit.

Electrical installation: Formation of a new circuit, any work carried out in special locations (i.e. kitchens, bathrooms or outdoors), earthing upgrades, consumer unit (fuse box) change, sub-main installation, rewire of a property etc. This type of work requires a) the issue of the “electrical installation certificate” b) the notification of building control. In the case of NICEIC registered electricians building control are automatically informed by the electrician. The customer will receive written notification of this process from the relevant council.

Periodic Inspection Report (or Electrical installation condition report), sometimes called “landlord certificate”. The purpose of this report is to assess the condition of an existing electrical installation. It is a very useful way for a new or prospective landlord to assess the condition of the household electrical system. The result is usually an investigation, of defined scope (either full test or sample test), followed by issue of a certificate including relevant test results and recommendations to remedy problems. These certificates should be commissioned by people living in a dwelling with an installation greater than 10 years old or by landlords who are responsible by law for the electrical safety of their houses to be rented. Landlords are obliged to carry out such an inspection at regular intervals or in the case of change of tenancy of their property.

FAULT FINDING

ELECTRICAL FAULTS ARE REASONABLY COMMON.

They include but are not limited to:
nuisance tripping of MCBs (miniature circuit breakers) or RCDs (residual current devices)
ingress of water due to excessive damp (garden or house)
damage to the insulation of PVC cable
Incorrect connection in a ring final circuit
Heat damage of cable due to power overloading of circuits

IN MINOR CASES THESE CAN GO UNDETECTED OR CAUSE A NUISANCE BUT IN SOME INSTANCES THESE CAN CAUSE GENUINE RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK OR FIRE.

Due to the nature of fault finding (i.e. dealing with the unknown) it can be quite difficult to estimate the cost of diagnosis and repair. In this case SAGE electrical operates a policy of “call-out-fee” and pre-agreed “day rate” for diagnosis. Once the problem has been established the customer is usually offered a no obligation “fixed price” or estimate (i.e. a separate contract) for remedial work to be carried out to address the issue.