We need Electrician in Somerset House. Are your electricians fully qualified?

Yes, all of our electricians are fully qualified. We employ fully qualified and experienced electricians with City and Guilds Parts 1 and 2 as a minimum qualification. We continue the education of our electricians by encouraging them to take further course to improve the skills and knowledge and to keep them abreast of new regulations. We also employ young people as apprentices, where they spend time training at college as well as on-site.

What is the NICEIC?

The NICEIC is the electrical contracting industry’s independent regulatory body for electrical installation safety matter throughout the UK? It maintains and publishes registers of electrical contractors that have been assessed against requirements such as the National Electrical Safety Standards BS 7671, the IEE Wiring Regulations. This applies to electrical installations in Somerset House.

Which Electrical Industry Associations you belong to?

• National Inspection Council for Electrical Installations Contracting (NICEIC)
• Accredited by UKAS standards

Can I get a quote for a job I need doing in Somerset House without incurring any costs?

Yes, we can try and give you a quote over the phone. This is normally possible for small jobs and minor works. For major works we prefer to meet you on site to discuss works, before giving you a free of charge written estimate.

Why do I need to have my wiring in Somerset House tested?

Electricity will always find the easiest path to earth. Any faults or weaknesses within your electrical installation or portable appliances can go undetected. In the event of another fault developing, this could lead to serious risk of fire, electrocution or death. For example, a 13-amp ring-main without earth continuity could render all metal parts of appliances plugged into it 'LIVE' if one item on the ring developed a fault to earth. Fixed wiring testing will accurately identify faults, their locations and usually the recommended solution.

Will testing cause a lot of disruption to the power?

A short power outage can be expected on each circuit within the system. But because most of the testing is carried out whilst the system is still live, these outages can be planned around your daily activities.

Is electrical installation testing a legal requirement in Somerset House?

The law does not require electrical testing to be carried out. However, the law does require that you keep your entire electrical system safe at all times. The only effective means to that end is to have periodic testing and inspection carried out, together with action to remedy any faults found as a result of testing.

If an accident or fire does occur where electricity is suspected to have been the cause, then the duty is yours to prove that you did your best to avoid that accident. Test data results together with preventative maintenance records will provide your best proof and defence.

Is an Electrical testing certificate for my property in Somerset House represent a requirement of my insurance company?

Increasingly, insurers are insisting that inspection and testing be carried out on a regular basis. If you suffer an avoidable accident, then under law if found guilty you will be deemed to have committed a criminal offence. Insurers will not pay fines or compensation suffered resulting from a criminal offence.

My insurers have recently carried out a site survey and they didn't ask me to have electrical testing carried out.

A visiting inspector will not necessarily identify the need to maintain electrical safety at every inspection he makes, especially if there are other issues to be addressed. Because testing has not been specifically demanded does not mean that the legal requirements to comply with electrical safety do not apply.

Why have I not needed to have testing carried out before?

There has always been a requirement to satisfy Health & Safety legislation. In 1989 The Electricity at Work Regulations came into force, which clarifies the need to maintain electrical systems safely. So there has always been the need and test data results will form a major part of your defence should an accident occur which leads to prosecution.

My business operates 24 hours a day; how can you carry out testing without power shut down?

We have a great deal of experience in working within the constraints of three-shift manufacturing environments. Because the majority of the testing involves carrying out live tests, we can schedule dead testing around pre-arranged windows of opportunity, be these during holidays, breakdowns, process changes, cleaning or maintenance stoppages, shift changes or weekends.

I rent my business premises in Somerset House: is testing my landlord's responsibility or mine?

You are responsible to make sure that you and your staff comply with Health & Safety legislation. However, it is usually dependent on the terms of your lease as to whether you or your landlord pays for testing to be carried out on the electrical installation. Usually, if you are on a full repairing lease then the cost will fall to you. Portable Appliance testing will always be at your expense.

I have been told that I only need to have a percentage of the system tested in order to comply.

As per the IEE Regulations, you can only rely on sample testing if you hold previous full system records, the installation is considered to be in excellent condition, no faults are found during sample testing and no undocumented alterations have been carried out since the system was new or last tested. This does not hold true for the vast majority, for which full inspection and testing should be undertaken.

Others have quoted me for testing on the basis of the square footage of my premises. Why do you only quote on the basis of circuit numbers or Distribution Boards?

Because there is no real correlation between square feet and circuit numbers: it is a meaningless benchmark. It is not an accurate reflection of the amount of work involved, and therefore, the cost.

Can I carry out portable appliance testing in-house?

Yes, provided you have the right test equipment and suitably competent and trained staff who can carry out the work. In practice, experience has shown that even with suitably competent staff, in practice time is an issue and PAT testing often gets left at the back of the 'to-do' list.

It is usually also not cost-efficient to undertake PAT testing in-house when you consider the cost of contracting out versus the cost of utilising in-house staff who are often pulled off such tasks to attend breakdowns. Do the sums.

What will happen if I don't have testing carried out?

Unless and until you suffer an accident then probably nothing will happen. However, remember that maintenance of a safe electrical system is a legal requirement. Therefore a preventable accident could lead to prosecution, for which there will be no insurance cover. You may also find that an insurance loss adjuster could make much of the fact that you may not have maintained the system adequately which could have led to the claim. Again, this could lead to an unsuccessful claim and a costly experience.

I run a small business in Somerset House. Do I need to have my portable appliances tested?

The Electricity at Work Regulations apply to all businesses from multi-nationals to sole traders. So you still need to comply.

I am afraid that my electrical installation is quite old; won't testing open a can of worms in terms of remedial work costs?

Because we accurately identify any faults found, the cost of remedy in most cases is not too great. The majority of problems found involve earthing deficiencies, which although potentially very dangerous, are not usually hugely expensive to remedy.

How often should my portable appliances be tested?

The results of previous tests should be considered in a programme of risk assessment. In the absence of such history then the following intervals may be considered as a guide. But remember other factors such as the ability of site staff to identify any potential faults or damage and take suitable action. Mechanical damage and abuse must also be taken into consideration.

• Low-risk: 24-monthly or more
• Medium risk: 12-monthly
• High risk (i.e. workshop equipment): 6-monthly
• Very high risk (i.e. site equipment): 3-monthly

How will I know when my next test is due?

We hold records of all clients, together with re-test dates on our database and remind clients when re-tests are due.

Do you have a call out charge to come to Somerset House?

The Answer is YES and NO.

In an attempt to be as fair as possible, and to avoid increasing our running costs (making our charges to other customers higher), Capital Electrical and Building Contractors DO have an emergency day time call-out charge which is £60.00. Call out charge at evenings and before 7:00AM is £100.00.

In some cases the call-out charge is waived and in nearly all other cases a substantial discount will be given provided the charge is paid within 14 days.

Why your automated Estimating system has been removed?

Our web site was designed to automatically give free estimates, but unfortunately, because many users have abused this service, we therefore decided to go back to the manual system since in some days we were making more estimates than actually doing any actual jobs.

Please contact us in order to book for a free estimate.

Do you charge cancellation fee?

Capital Electrical and Building Contractors, reserve the right to imply or waive charges at their discretion and provided no invoice for charge has been issued. We do our best to be as fair as possible but, please remember that running costs must be covered and staff must be paid.

What is 'ADS' protective measures against electric shock?

ADS means 'Automatic Disconnection of Supply' where all exposed conductive parts of current using electrical equipments are bonded together. An example will be such as a catering unit where the supply is a small generator set situated outside the unit, supplying a consumer unit inside the catering unit with the main switch being a 30mA RCD. The main protective bonding conductor is connected between the vehicle chassis and the main earth bar in the consumer unit, which is then connected to the star point of the generator.

How to choose an Electrician or Electrical Contractor?

One of the best places to start looking is the NIEIC web site which lists professionals from all over the U.K. Always make sure the electrical contractor you hire is registered. If it's not an emergency, consider at least three estimates from three different contractors before choosing one. This is the recommended approach when choosing any property professional or contractor.

Is your work guaranteed?

Yes. We guarantee all our work for a period of 12 months and we give this in writing.

Are you fully insured?

Yes. We carry an indemnity insurance for £2,000,000.

Does your estimate include the complete project?

Any estimate we give out will be done in writing and shows the exact details of the proposed work. Once the client accept the estimate, we will ask for a written confirmation. If the client decides to add or remove items from the agreed estimate, we will adjust the price accordingly. We do not have hidden costs. You will pay for what you get and we give you a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Does my house in Somerset House need re-wiring?

The consumer unit in my house is quite old and has black rubber wires going into it. Do I need rewiring?

If your house has black coloured cables entering the consumer unit or lead sheathed cables and your sockets or lights are round pin plugs then your house needs re-wiring at the earliest opportunity. Modern Cables are normally either grey or white in colour on the outside and have black and red cores or brown and blue cores inside. Black rubber cables and lead sheathed cables are obsolete and can be quite dangerous in most cases.