EICR - Electrical Installation Condition Report
What is an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is carried out to provide an engineering view on whether or not the electrical installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued use.
Necessity for an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is necessary because all electrical installations deteriorate due to a number of factors such as;
- SAFETY
- AGE
- DAMAGE
- CORROSION
- OVERLOAD
- WEAR AND TEAR
- EXTERNAL INFLUENCES
- SUITABILITY
Faulty and old wiring is one of the main causes or electrical fires in the home. You can reduce the risk of a fire by checking the condition of your cables, switches, sockets and other accessories regularly.
An electrical installation condition report should be performed by a competent electrician with the necessary experience and extensive knowledge of the type of installation that he or she is testing.
When an EICR is performed on the property the electrician will need to disconnect the installation from the mains electrical power supply; depending on the size of the property this can be anywhere from an hour or two to a whole day, some larger installations especially commercial or industrial installations can take days or even weeks.
The electrician needs to switch off and disconnect the power for reasons of safety and also for the purpose of being able to apply the correct test to the relevant electrical circuit. The disconnection of the power supply is of course going to be an inconvenience for those that are using the building at the time, especially if the disconnection of the power impacts on the running of a business or other critical operation.
What is done during an Electrical Installation Condition Report?
For many years inspection and testing carried out on an existing electrical installation was known as a Periodic Inspection Report. From the end of 2011 that was changed, as was the format of the report to become the Electrical Installation Condition Report.
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is an in-depth inspection and test of an existing electrical installation and is reported on a form that complies with the current wiring regulations, BS7671:20018. All of the accessible electrical accessories (socket outlets, switches, etc.) are visually inspected. The installation is also inspected for the presence of bonding conductors, the correct type and location of switchgear and that the installation is being used correctly.
A detailed test follows, where a range of tests are carried out on each circuit to determine that the safety measures that have been put in place will operate correctly in fault conditions. This includes determining that the earth fault path is effective enough to result in automatic disconnection of the supply in the event of a fault, that the wiring is in good condition and that the residual current device (RCD) operates quickly enough to avoid any danger to the users of the installation.
As well as checking the condition of the installation, an EICR produces information that would be invaluable to anyone wishing to carry out any work on the installation at a later date.
How often should an EICR be carried out?
- Domestic Household - 10 years or change of occupancy.
- Domestic accommodation Eg. rented house and flats - 5 years or change of occupancy.
- Houses of multiple occupation (HMO) - 5 years or change of occupancy.
- Commercial Property - 5 years or change of occupancy.
- Industrial Property - 3 years.
- Educational establishments - 5 years.
- Shops and Offices - 5 years.
- Church installations - 5 years.
- Restaurants, Hotels, Public Houses - 5 years.
- Farms - 3 years.
- Caravans - 3 years.
- Caravan Parks - 1 year.
- Construction sites - 3 months.
Please contact us today if you require an Inspection and test, alternatively, more information can be found in our blog.
