Understanding Your Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
A complete guide to help you understand your electrical safety report
Thank you for choosing Powertec Electrical Services to carry out your Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).
An EICR is designed to check the safety of your electrical installation and highlight any issues that may need attention.
The report contains technical information about your electrical installation, including the type of equipment you have installed and how your circuits are wired.
Your installation is assessed against current electrical regulations, and a judgement is made on whether it is satisfactory or unsatisfactory in terms of safety and suitability for continued use.
During the inspection, we record observations and assign each one a code to indicate its level of urgency.
Any codes identified for your installation can be found on Page 2 of your report, under the heading: "Observations and recommendations for actions to be taken".
There are 4 types of code: C1, C2, C3 & FI
If your installation has any C1, C2 or FI codes, it will automatically be deemed unsatisfactory and remedial work will be required.
An installation with C3 codes only will be deemed satisfactory, but remedial work is recommended to ensure ongoing compliance with safety standards.
Meaning: Immediate risk of injury
Action: Must be made safe straight away
Common examples of C1 codes include:
- Equipment that has been damaged exposing live parts (e.g. severely damaged socket outlet)
- Severe heat damage to equipment
- A cover missing from live connections
Meaning: Not immediately dangerous, but could become hazardous if left uncorrected
Action: Urgent remedial work is required
Common examples of C2 codes include:
- Circuits supplying socket outlets and bathrooms without RCD protection
- A less severely broken socket or switch
- A metal light fitting without an earth connection
- A hole in equipment (not meeting IP rating requirements)
- Connections exposed within a ceiling or floor that cannot be immediately touched
Meaning: The installation is safe to use, but does not meet current standards
Action: No immediate danger, but upgrading is advised to improve safety
Common examples of C3 codes include:
- Consumer units made of plastic instead of metal
- Absence of surge protection devices
- Cables not correctly identified
- A plastic light fitting without an earth connection
- Absence of RCD protection for cables in walls
- A wooden back box behind a light switch
Meaning: Something needs to be checked in more detail before a conclusion can be made
Action: Additional testing or inspection is required
Common examples of FI codes include:
- Low insulation resistance readings
- Incomplete ring circuits
- Metal light fittings with no earth connection to external parts found during testing
- Circuits that cannot be identified during inspection
- Tests that could not be carried out during inspection
Absence of RCD Protection
RCDs are devices within a consumer unit (fuse board) that provide extra protection against electric shock. Socket outlets should almost always have them, as well as most lighting circuits and any circuits that serve a bathroom. Often adding or upgrading RCD protection requires replacing your consumer unit.
Absence of Main Protective Bonding
Main protective bonding is an earthing cable usually required to be connected between your consumer unit and where water and gas pipework enter your property. If your property has an oil service or exposed structural steel works these may also need to be bonded.
Metal Light Fittings with No CPC Continuity
If you have light switches or light fittings made of metal they need to be connected to earth to keep you safe. If there is no earth, a metal light switch or fitting may become live. Usually an earth can be easily connected, but sometimes we may need to replace metal fittings with plastic.
Incomplete Ring Circuit
This is a common fault found on ring final circuits (ring mains). If you have this observation it likely means part of the circuit is not connected correctly. This can commonly be put down to a loose connection at a socket or switch.
Poor Insulation Resistance Readings
This test checks the physical condition of the wires within an installation. If one or more circuits has a poor reading it will need further investigation. Causes can include moisture, physical damage or age of the wiring.
Equipment Not Meeting IP Rating Requirements
IP ratings measure how water or dust tight equipment is. Different parts of an electrical installation require different ratings. Light fittings outside or in bathrooms require higher ratings. This may mean holes need sealing or equipment replacing.
Absence of Surge Protection Device
Current regulations require installations to have surge protective devices. These protect against too much voltage getting into your electrical equipment and causing damage. They are especially important where lots of electronics are connected.
Exposed Single Insulated Conductors
Most cables have two forms of insulation. The basic or single insulation should not be visible outside of enclosures. If you have basic insulation exposed it means you are more at risk of electric shock from that cable.
Exposed Connections
All electrical connections should be enclosed either as part of equipment or within a suitable enclosure (junction box). Exposed connections must be addressed and properly enclosed.
If Your Installation is Unsatisfactory:
We will issue a detailed quotation outlining any recommended remedial works. We can provide quotations to address all items listed in the report, or focus specifically on C1, C2 and FI codes which must be addressed to get a satisfactory certificate.
We are committed to offering cost effective and minimum impact options wherever possible.
If Your Installation is Satisfactory:
You don't need to do anything else. We may be able to offer a quotation to improve your installation based on C3 codes which would improve the lifespan and long term functionality. Otherwise you can relax knowing your installation is safe.
Your next recommended inspection time frame can be found at the bottom of page 1 of your EICR.
Need Help Understanding Your EICR?
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