Anyone who lets residential accommodation as a business activity is required by law to ensure the equipment they supply as part of the tenancy is safe.

The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 requires that all mains electrical equipment (cookers, washing machines, kettles, etc), new or second-hand, supplied with the accommodation must be safe. Landlords therefore need to regularly maintain the electrical equipment they supply to ensure it is safe.

The supply of goods occurs at the time of the tenancy contract. It is, therefore, essential that property is checked prior to the tenancy to ensure that all goods supplied are in a safe condition. A record should be made of the goods supplied as part of the tenancy agreement and of checks made on those goods. The record should indicate who carried out the checks and when they did it.

It is strongly advisable to have the equipment checked before the start of each let. It would be good practice to have the equipment checked at regular intervals thereafter.

Electrical tests

Electrical testing of portable equipment will include the following:

Earth bond continuity test ,Insulation resistance testing and Functional checks.

Earth Bond Test (Class 1 equipment only)

Readings should show less than 0.1+R Ohms (where R is the resistance of the lead)
Tested at a current of 1.5 times the rating of the fuse and no greater than 25A for a period of between 5 and 20 seconds or with a short-circuit test current within the range 20mA to 200mA.

Insulation Resistance Test

The applied test voltage should be approximately 500 Vdc

Class 1 heating equipment < 3kW 0.3M Ohms ,Class 1 All other equipment 1M Ohms,Class 2 Equipment 2M Ohms , Class 3 Equipment 250k Ohms.

Optional Tests

Flash Test: No flashover or breakdown shall occur

Operation/Load test: Compare reading with stated details on nameplate

Earth Leakage Test.

The 17th Edition Wiring Regulations BS7671 – 2008 is the latest edition of the IEE British Standard publications.We at Heat24seven only use electricians who have been trained to the IEE regulations and attended refresher courses to bring their expertise up to the latest 2008 edition.
To carry out Periodic Electrical inspections in the UK, the engineers require, alongside the BS7671, to have also passed a City and Guilds Level 3 certificate in inspection, testing and certification of electrical installations (2391).  This provides the engineer with the relevant  information and procedures regarding an initial visual inspection, verification and certification.  This includes collecting data of correct types of cable, fuses – MCBs etc, the presence and correct operation of an RCD trip switch to prevent harm to property and  lives from fire and electric shock.  The presence and correct size of earthing conductors into the property; to the mains gas and water supply; to any exposed metal parts that may need earth bonding.

The test includes an instrumental verification test using the following instruments:

• Voltage tester to measure Volts
• Continuity tester to measure ohms
• Insulation resistance to measure M ohms
• Earth loop impendence tester to measure ohms
• RCD tester to measure mS

A full test on the supply of your home/business to BS7671 IEE Wiring Regulations including fuse board, earthing arrangements, wiring, fixtures and fittings (i.e. lights, sockets, switches). Installation methods, loose connections etc.

The following tests are carried out:

• Continuity of earth conductors
• Continuity of ring final conductors
• Polarity
• Installation resistance – to check for any arcing or moisture between phase – phase earth
• Earth loop impedance – to verify path of earth
• RCD test to check tripping times and mA settings

The test involves testing circuits at the consumer unit and various points around the property and includes a visual inspection as well as an instrumental test.

Also the supplies characteristics are tested to ensure a good earth and path of fault current is present. These tests are called Ze and PSC (Prospective Short Circuit).

These tests verify a circuit has continued earth path to each fitting and that the RCD operates within the specified time and current.