The Need for a Fixed Wire Test on Your Premises

EICR testing actually stands for an Electrical Installation Condition Report and is also known as fixed wire testing, hard wire testing, and electrical testing. It covers all the fixed wires that lead to your lighting, power sockets, radiators, hard wired smoke detectors, fire alarms, emergency lighting, and so on. It is similar to a PAT test but does not cover equipment. Instead it covers everything that supplies the power to that equipment. Assuming that all is in good order when inspected by a fully qualified engineer, you will then be issued with an EICR Certificate.

It is necessary to have a fixed wire test on a regular basis in order to ensure that your business complies with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. However, in common with PAT testing, those regulations do not state how often you should have a fixed wire test, but there are recommendations.

In domestic installations, it is sufficient to have a test carried out every ten years. Commercial installations should be tested every five years, while industrial installations should have a test carried out every three years. In addition to this, a test should always be carried out when there is any change of occupancy. 

If an inspector finds that there are faults, then he will not issue an EICR Certificate and those faults will be issued with a code. The Code C1 means that there is an item where there is danger present, for example an exposed live part. The inspector will warn the client of this immediately so that action can be taken straight away. Code C2 is for a condition which is potentially dangerous but requires another event to take place. An example of this is an unearthed Class I light fitting which is not immediately dangerous, but a live conductor touching the metal casing would make it dangerous, as that part would be live, and the circuit protection would not operate.

Code C3 means that improvement is recommended. This could be something as simple as missing warning labels. There is also FI which means “Further Investigation” and shows that the inspector cannot come to a satisfactory conclusion without further investigation or information.

The issue of a C1, C2, or FI on a report means that the EICR is unsatisfactory.