Specialists EICR Testing near you in Birmingham state – If you’re a residential landlord, school, a public facility, or own a business premises, regular electrical testing of the building’s electrical systems and installations are a vital part of your routine maintenance.
EICR testing for businesses, EICR testing for schools and EICR testing for landlords ensures buildings are safe for tenants, employees and anyone who might be on your premises.
Regular inspection through an Electrical Installation Condition Report provides documented proof that your electrics have been thoroughly checked and serviced.
EICR testing is a sure-fire way to gain the peace of mind, and provide the evidential proof, that you have taken measures to comply with legislation such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and The Landlords and Tenants Act 1985.
It could also be an important part of the insurance process.
Our electricians are qualified to City & Guilds 2395 Inspection and Testing level and specialise in carrying out EICR tests, as well as advising which businesses need them and how often.
EMERGENCY LIGHTING TEST OVERVIEW
Emergency Lighting is the ‘backup’ lighting that kicks in when there’s a power cut to the mains supply which would otherwise plunge a building into darkness.
It must be properly designed, installed, maintained, and tested by qualified electricians in order to meet regulations.
At Able Electric Birmingham Testing, our expert engineers take the worry out of the whole process for you by ensuring that your systems are up to date, up to standard, well maintained, and above all, provide the required level of safety for your employees and customers in the event of an emergency.
INFO REGARDING EMERGENCY LIGHTING
You can break emergency lighting down into three main categories:
EMERGENCY ESCAPE LIGHTING
When people need to leave a building in an emergency and the power has gone out, such as in the event of a fire, emergency lighting covers all escape routes. The aim is safely to guide people to their nearest exit via lit escape routes.
EMERGENCY SAFETY LIGHTING
This applies when power has failed, but it’s not an emergency situation. Emergency safety lighting is enough for people to remain in areas of a building while power is restored, but it’s not enough to carry on working.
STANDBY LIGHTING
This is backup lighting that is activated during a power cut to a level that allows work to continue. This has to be 100% of the normal lighting as a standby measure.
WHO REQUIRES EMERGENCY LIGHTING?
Almost all commercial properties, including workplaces, retail, leisure, and public buildings (and some domestic properties) need some form of emergency lighting and there are different requirements relating to different categories of buildings.
Risk assessments are usually necessary to determine what level of emergency lighting system is needed.
EMERGENCY LIGHTING TESTING PROCEDURES
All emergency lighting needs to be regularly tested by qualified electricians in accordance with safety standards. This is to ensure it is working correctly, compatible with fire safety systems, and continues to meet regulations – for example, if you’ve redesigned or refurbished your premises, the chances are your emergency lighting systems will need to be altered accordingly.
Various tests are required daily, monthly, and annually, including checks of individual luminaires and exit signs and of central battery systems.
WHAT ARE THE EMERGENCY LIGHTING RULES AND REGULATIONS?
Rules and regulations around emergency lighting have toughened up in recent years and the legal obligations for installing emergency lighting systems now carry the same importance as fire alarm systems.
Relative legislation includes the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order), the Health and Safety at Work Act, Building Regulations, and the EU Workplace Directive.
Emergency lighting regulation is covered by a variety of British Standards at each stage of the process, including general advice about the provision of emergency lighting (BS 5266-1:2016), the specified illumination (BS EN 1838: 2013), minimum requirements for the provision and testing of emergency lighting for different premises and various product standards (BE EN 50172:2004/BS 5265:2004).
