Electrical testing and inspection can be confusing, there are lots of different certificate and report names: EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report), EIC (Electrical Installation Certificate), PIR (Periodic Inspection Report) and Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate. With the exception of an EIC, all are the same and require the electrical testing and inspection to be recorded on an EICR document. The EICR is a 9 page document that covers tests and checks to reveal if any electrical circuits or equipment is overloaded, reveal potential electric shock risks or fire hazards, find any defective electrical work and pick up on any lack of earthing or bonding. 

Domestic dwellings should ideally have an EICR every ten years and from June 2020, landlords in England are required to have an inspection carried out on rental properties every five years. Properties that are about to be let for the first time will require an EICR, as do properties that are about to be sold/bought.

So an EICR is used to demonstrate whether (or not) an existing electrical installation is in a satisfactory condition and suitable for ongoing use. An EIC, on the other hand, is used for testing and inspecting new installations (and also following alterations to an existing installation)

This year, we have all become more aware of infection control issues but for the healthcare sector, it’s been a challenge they’ve had to consider for a very long time. Products supplied to healthcare settings obviously have to meet high health and safety standards, and demands for good hygiene are essential. Electrical products such as light switches and sockets have a very high touch rate and therefore are more likely to house a high number of bacteria. It was interesting to read that Scolmore (a British based electrical accessory designer and manufacturer) have developed products that offer enhanced hygiene properties - they have developed a set of plates that have been shown to have anti-viral properties - the plates tested, had a 92% to 99.9% kill off rate against non-enveloped and enveloped viruses. Scolmore’s CLICK® Polar TM, Part M TM and Mode® wiring accessories are manufactured using Urea Formaldehyde that help inhibit the growth of infectious diseases.

The 9th of September marked the first ever World EV Day… recent surveys suggested that 83% of commercial vehicle customers would consider Electric Vehicles as their next business vehicle. A larger proportion of the 83% however, acknowledged that they didn’t know too much about EV cars or vans. World EV Day has been set up to help raise awareness of the benefits of EVs and to provide more detailed information for prospective customers. 

The Department of Transport also announced an extra £12m funding towards the research and development of EV technology and also towards more charging points at public carparks, supermarkets and tourist attractions etc. 

EV drivers will want to be able to charge their cars at home too of course. Rolec, one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of EV charging points, has launched the O-PEN:EV Consumer Unit. The unit has been designed to provide a very safe and compliant installation, benefits for the electrical installer include: no electrode/earth rod required, simple home EV charge point installation and is suitable for single phase.