Summer is almost here and we’re keen to spend more time outdoors. Time to tidy up the garden and introduce some garden lighting to allow us to make the most of the warmer evenings…

Good garden lighting design is crucial if you wish to create a stunning and inviting outdoor area. It can enhance your outdoor spaces both aesthetically and functionally. LED neon flex strips offer a really versatile and modern solution allowing you to transform your garden into a visually captivating space. They’re the perfect product to wash garden fences with light or illuminate a garden path or add layers of light to steps. 

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Following the pandemic, more and more companies offer work from home or hybrid working. As a result, we’re seeing organisations and workplace design changing to offer a softer, more homely and holistic design experience. Thankfully, gone are the days where offices were lit by a grid of harsh, ceiling strip lights. Now many businesses offer a more organic and biophilic type of lighting solution. This lighting is inspired by nature and designed to mimic the natural light patterns that you see in nature. Bringing elements of nature and natural lighting in to a workplace can really benefit employees mental and physical wellbeing,Ch leading to higher productivity and creativity.

If you own a business or you’re a landlord, you may like to consider our PAT testing services. Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is the process of checking electrical equipment to make sure that it is safe to use. Any electrical appliance that plugs into a wall socket should be tested. Regular testing can help mitigate risks by finding faulty appliances before they cause issues that could lead to damage of properties from potential fire hazards or other electrical related risks including shocks. 

Some insurance policies may require that regular PAT testing is carried out. Testing shows a commitment to safety and can support broader health and safety compliance regulations such as the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

Most of our clients have their PAT testing done annually or for landlords, this is sometimes carried out at the start of a new tenancy too. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.

The 6th - 12th June is Child Safety Week. Phones, tablets and laptops are a very familiar sight in most teenagers bedrooms but do they know how to charge their devices safely? Fires caused by Lithium-ion batteries are on the rise so make sure your kids are switched on to the dos and don’ts of charging:

Do not:

• Charge your devices on your bed or under a pillow. This can cause overheating that may lead to a fire
• Overload sockets
• Put any liquids near your electrical devices
• Leave your clothes on top of devices such as games consoles… if the device’s air vents get covered, the device may overheat and become a fire hazard.
  

Do: 

• Make sure your charging leads and chargers meet the UK safety standards - if they don’t, this can lead to fires or electric shock
• Make sure you leave your devices to charge on a hard surface
• Check your cables, plugs and sockets for signs of wear 
• Switch all electronic devices off overnight.

If you’ve recently had to have an EICR carried out for rental purposes, you will have been advised that the outcome of the Report is either ‘Satisfactory’ or ‘Unsatisfactory’. If the report has an ‘Unsatisfactory’ outcome, you will be able to find a list of the issues within the report. Each issue will also have a code attributed to it. The code responds to the severity of the issue as follows:

C1 - Danger present or risk of injury. Therefore, immediate remedial action is required.
C2 - Potentially dangerous. Immediate remedial action is required.
C3 - Improvement recommended.
FI - Further investigation is required.

The EICR must be shown to the tenant within 28 days of the inspection or for new tenants, before they occupy the premises. Codes C1, C2 and FI will require remedial work to be resolved within 28 days (or less time if this is stipulated on the report). Written confirmation that the remedial work has been completed must then also be provided to the tenant, again within 28 days of completion.

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New safety laws mean that private landlords now have to provide documentation, on a regular basis, to prove that their property is electrically safe for rental.

As of 1st April 2021, new laws have been introduced to cover all private rental properties. Therefore, an EICR (Electrical Inspection Condition Report) will need to be completed every five years. An EICR provides information around the condition & safety of an electrical installation and will highlight any works that are deemed unsafe along with a list of any further recommendations. Landlords can face hefty fines if they do not comply with the new law or do not undertake any remedial work that is outlined as urgent (as a result of the Report).

Whilst the new safety checks are being introduced to protect tenants, they can, of course, also help to prevent damage to the landlord’s property. An EICR may take around 3-4 hours to complete but the time depends on the size of the property and also the number of circuits that require testing. There will also be power and lighting outages whilst the testing is taking place. Landlords should only employ registered electricians who are specifically assessed to carry out an electrical safety check on a property… if you have any queries, please give us a call.

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