Fixed Electrical Installation

Every electrical installation, shall, during erection and on completion, before being put into service, be inspected and tested to verify, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the requirements of the Regulations have been met. All fixed electrical installations should be verified in accordance with BS 7671 and an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) issued.

Periodic inspection and testing is necessary because all electrical installations deteriorate due to a number of factors such as damage, wear and tear, corrosion, excessive electrical loading, ageing and environmental influences.

Periodic inspection and testing of every electrical installation must be carried out in order to determine, as far as reasonably practicable, whether the installation is in a satisfactory condition for continued service. Wherever possible, the documentation arising from the initial certification and any previous periodic inspection and testing shall be considered. Where no previous documentation is available, investigation of the electrical installation shall be undertaken prior to carrying out the periodic inspection and testing. Guidance on the initial frequency and subsequent frequencies at which periodic inspections should be performed are given in the IET’s Guidance Note: 3 (GN3) Inspection and Testing. It also provides information on the necessary competence of those carrying out the inspections and any testing.

Several factors need to be considered when determining the time interval between periodic inspection and testing of an electrical installation. These include the type of installation and equipment, its use and operation, any known maintenance and the external influences to which it is subjected. These time intervals can be set and/or amended by the Authorising Engineer after a formal risk assessment of the electrical installation has been completed.

Fixed Electrical Equipment

All fixed electrical equipment and appliances are included in this code and should be verified in accordance with the IET Code of practice for in-service inspection and test of electrical equipment.

It is possible to test fixed electrical equipment during the EICR (as part of the fixed installation inspection and testing). EICR testing does not normally include this type of equipment, but as the testing requires the isolation of circuits it is sensible to combine the two together. An EICR is usually carried out every 3 - 5 years, so a risk assessment should be carried out first to determine if the test intervals are appropriate. The person or department responsible for the equipment will need to request that the work is carried out as an addition to the standard EICR.

For the inspection and testing to take place, the fixed equipment must be isolated from the mains supply. For equipment connected via a plug this is straightforward, it can simply be unplugging from the socket.

Staff appointed as electrical equipment test operatives are not approved to isolate fixed electrical equipment, unless formally appointed to do so.