From 1st January 2005 all new electrical wiring or electrical components for a house, flat or small commercial premise linked to domestic accommodation must be designed and installed in accordance with the new Part P of the Building Regulations.
Every year on average 10 people die and about 750 are seriously injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home.
New electrical works are divided into two different categories:
Non - notifiable work
That is works which are very minor as shown below. These works may be carried out by a competent person who can issue a Minor Works Certificate to the owner upon completion of works or on a DIY basis providing the works are tested upon completion by a competent person and the Minor Works Certificate issued.
Work consisting of:
- Replacing accessories such as socket outlets, control switches and ceiling roses
- Replacing the cable for a single circuit only, where damaged, i.e. by fire, rodent or impact
- Re-fixing or replacing the enclosures of existing installation components
- providing mechanical protection to existing fixed installations.
Work that is not in a kitchen or special location and does not involve a special installation and consists of:
- Adding lighting points (light fittings and switches) to an existing circuit
- Adding socket outlets and fused spurs to an existing ring or radial circuit
- Installing or upgrading main or supplementary equipotential bonding
Special locations and installations:
- Locations containing a bath tub or shower basin
- Swimming pools or paddling pools
- Hot air saunas
- Electric floor or ceiling heating systems
- Garden lighting or power installations
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) power supply systems
- Small scale generators such as micro CHP units
- Extra-low voltage lighting installations, other than pre-assembled, CE-marked lighting sets
Notifiable work
All works except those detailed above are notifiable to us and therefore need to be checked in one of two ways;
Either - arrange for the works to be inspected and tested by a person who is a member of the Competent Person Scheme.
Or - Deposit a Building Regulations Application (Full Plans or Building Notice) with the Local Authority
When depositing plans with your application, either of the following statements should be added to the drawings:
Where you are not intending to use the Competent Persons Scheme:
- All wiring and electrical work will be designed, installed, inspected and tested in accordance with the requirements of BS7671, the IEE 16th edition Wiring Guidance and Building Regulation Part P (electrical safety). On completion of the works a copy of the Installer′s Electrical Installation Test Certificate compliant with BS7671 is to be provided to the client and the Local Authority Building Control Surveyor
and
- Prior to covering all wiring/cables and on completion of the work, the applicant is to ensure that the installation is inspected by a competent person. In addition to the Installation Certificate, an additional competent person′s Electrical Installation Test Certificate compliant with BS7671 is to be provided to the client and the Local Authority Building Control Surveyor.
Alternatively, if intending to use the Competent Persons Scheme
- All wiring and electrical work will be designed, installed, inspected and tested in accordance with the requirements of BS7671, the IEE 16th edition Wiring Guidance and Building Regulation Part P (electrical safety) by a competent person registered with an electrical self-certification scheme authorised by the Secretary of State.
and
- The competent person is to send to the local authority a self-certification certificate within 30 days of the electrical works′ completion. The client must receive both a copy of the self-certification certificate and a BS7671 Electrical Installation Test Certificate.
The Competent Persons Scheme
During installation electrical works are to be inspected and upon completion tested by persons who are members of the following organisations:
BRE Certification Ltd, Bucknalls Lane, Garston, Watford, Herts WD25 9XX, Tel: 01923 664100 E-mail: enquiries@brecertificiation.co.uk Web: http://www.brecertification.co.uk/
This scheme, operated with the support of the Electrical Contractors Association and the institution of Electrical Engineers, is primarily designed for those whose main business is electrical contracting and those who wish to be ale to self-certify all types of electrical work in dwellings.
British Standards Institution, BSI Product Services, Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 4SQ Tel: 01442 278 607 E-mail: product.services@bsi-global.com Web: http://www.bsi-global.com/
This scheme, which will be known as the Kitemark Scheme for electrical installation work, is primarily designed for those whose main business is electrical contracting and those who wish to be able to self-certify all types of electrical work in dwellings. For more information on this scheme see http://www.kitemarktoday.com/
ELECSA Ltd, 44-48 Borough High Street, London SE1 1XB, Tel: 0870 749 0080 E-mail: enquiries@elecsa.org.uk Web: http://www.elecsa.org.uk/
This scheme, operated with the support of the British Board of Agreement, is primarily designed for those whose main business is electrical contracting and those who wish to be able to self-certify all types of electrical work in dwellings.
NICEIC Certification Ltd, Warwick House, Houghton Hall Park, Houghton Regis, Dunstable, Beds LU5 5ZXTel: 0800 013 0900 E-mail: enquiries@dis.niceic.org.uk Web: http://www.niceic.org.uk/
This scheme, which will be known as the Domestic Installer Scheme, is designed for those who wish to be able to self-certify all types of electrical work in dwellings either as an electrical contractor or as part of an ancillary trade activity.
NIC Certification Ltd, The Zurich Centre, 3000 Parkway, Whiteley, Fareham, Hampshire PO15 7JZ Tel: 08000 966 233 Web: http://www.zurich.co.uk
This scheme is primarily designed for those whose main business is electrical contracting and those who wish to be able to self-certify all types of electrical work in dwellings.
Qualifications required for an electrician to be deemed a competent person by the local authority
- City & Guilds 2360 Parts 1 & 2 Electrical Installation Work.
- City & Guilds 2381 16th Edition Wiring Regulations.
- City & Guilds 2391 Testing & Inspection of Electrical Installations.
These qualifications provide the route to obtaining the Joint Industry Board Grading & Identification Photocard, which is considered essential in identifying and auditing qualifications and documentation.