If you are a business owner or facilities manager in Bristol, Bath or the South West, you will be aware of both EICRs and PAT testing.

EICR or PAT Testing

Both help you to ensure your electrical system is compliant with regulations and demonstrate your commitment to keeping your employees and service users safe.

EICR and PAT Testing – What’s the difference?

EICRs and PAT testing are complementary electrical tests that help you to maintain a safe electrical environment at your Bristol premises. As a business owner or facilities manager, you are the responsible person for the premises. This means keeping your premises electrically safe is legally your responsibility and any failure to do so leaves you liable to prosecution. By employing an electrician to carry out an EICR or PAT testing, you are demonstrating your compliance with regulations and meeting your responsibilities to provide an electrically safe environment.

Let’s take a look at what each test entails:

EICR

EICR is short for Electrical Installation Condition Report. It is a thorough inspection of the fixed electrical installation at your premises and is a legal requirement. During an EICR, an electrician will be looking for any damage, defects and potential areas of risk in your system. They will do this with a combination of diagnostic testing and visual inspection techniques. They will look at your wiring, switches, sockets, distribution board and hard-wired machinery. Most commercial premises will require an EICR inspection to be carried out every 5 years.

PAT Testing

PAT Testing is short for Portable Appliance Testing. It is carried out on electrical appliances that can be plugged in including kettles, printers, fridges and electric tools. A PAT test looks for any defects with the appliance that could cause harm to the user. Regular PAT Testing helps you to meet the requirements of The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 which stipulate that any electrical equipment is maintained in a safe condition. While PAT Testing is not a legal requirement, it is highly recommended to maintain the safety of both your staff and service users. PAT testing recommend intervals will vary depending on your business type and kinds of appliances that are to be tested.

Does an EICR include PAT Testing?

An EICR does not include PAT Testing. These are considered to be separate tests and different equipment is used to carry out each one. PAT testing is also often recommended to be carried out more regularly than an EICR is required. However, many business owners and facilities managers in Bristol will schedule the two tests to be carried out together. Here at EMC Electrical Group Bristol, our team of electricians will be happy to carry out both tests simultaneously, keeping disruption and potential downtime to a minimum.