Know the real condition
Measured results across every circuit tell you the actual state of the installation instead of an assumption based on the age of the board.
Derby · EICR, PAT testing and fault finding
EICRs And ElectricalTesting In Derby, ReportedIn Plain English
Condition reports, PAT testing and fault finding, carried out by a NAPIT Full Scope contractor. We explain the findings so you know what's urgent, what's advisory and what can wait.
NAPIT Full Scope registered · £10m public liability and £1m professional indemnity · Reports explained in person
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16+ years
Domestic, commercial and industrial experience
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Full Scope
NAPIT registered for all aspects of electrical work
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6-year
NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee on qualifying installs
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£10m
Public and employers' liability cover
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Free
Initial consultation, no obligation
The service
A condition report is only useful if you understand what it's telling you
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a structured inspection and test of a fixed electrical installation: the consumer unit, earthing and bonding, every circuit, and a sample of accessories. It produces a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory outcome and a list of coded observations describing what was found and how serious each item is.
The codes are what matter. C1 means danger present, and it needs immediate action. C2 means potentially dangerous, and it needs remedial work. C3 is an improvement recommendation and doesn't make a report unsatisfactory on its own. FI means further investigation is required. Plenty of people get a report full of C3 items and assume the worst. Plenty of others miss a single C2 buried in a long list.
We also carry out PAT testing on portable appliances for offices, rental properties and commercial premises, and fault finding where something's tripping, dimming or failing on and off and nobody's got to the bottom of it. Either way, you get a clear report and a conversation about what it actually means for you.
Who this is for
- Landlords needing a compliant EICR for a rented property in Derby or Derbyshire
- Buyers and sellers where a survey has raised questions about the electrical installation
- Homeowners who've never had the installation inspected and want to know its condition
- Businesses needing periodic inspection of commercial premises and PAT testing of equipment
- Anyone with a breaker that trips intermittently and no explanation for it
What it costs to leave it
The faults that matter are usually the ones you can't see
Electrical deterioration happens where you can't see it. Insulation resistance falling on a circuit under a floor. A loose connection heating a terminal inside a socket. An earth path compromised years ago by plumbing work carried out by someone who didn't consider it. None of these announce themselves until they cause a trip, a fire or a shock.
For landlords the consequences are legal as well as financial. Rented properties in England need a satisfactory EICR at least every five years, with copies given to tenants and the local authority on request. Non-compliance carries penalties, and an unsatisfactory report found mid-tenancy has to be fixed to a deadline.
The other common cost is delay. Buyers pull out or renegotiate when an installation gets flagged late in a sale. Insurers ask about condition after an incident. Intermittent faults left alone tend to get patched over and over by whoever's available, which usually costs more in total than one proper fault-finding visit that actually finds the cause.
Mistakes we get called out to fix
- Assuming a recently replaced consumer unit means the whole installation is sound
- Treating every C3 observation as urgent, or ignoring a C2 buried in a long list
- Booking an EICR only when a sale or tenancy has already been agreed
- Resetting a repeatedly tripping breaker instead of finding what's causing it
- Accepting a report with no explanation and no clear list of remedial priorities
- Assuming PAT testing covers the fixed installation, or that an EICR covers appliances
How the job runs
A fixed sequence, so nothing
gets decided on the fly
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01
Book and scope
We confirm what the report needs to cover, the extent of sampling, access requirements and how long we'll need on site, so there are no surprises on the day.
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02
Visual inspection
Board, earthing, bonding, accessories and visible cabling inspected for damage, deterioration, unsuitable modifications and non-compliance before any testing begins.
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03
Dead and live testing
Continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation measured and recorded circuit by circuit against expected values.
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04
Report and coding
Every observation coded C1, C2, C3 or FI, with the overall outcome stated and each item described so you can see what was found and where.
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05
Explain and remedy
We talk you through the findings, quote separately for any remedial work, and re-test and re-certify once it's completed.
What you actually get
Measurable outcomes, not adjectives
Priorities you can act on
Findings are split into urgent, remedial and advisory, so you can budget sensibly instead of treating the whole list as one emergency.
Compliance evidence for letting
A compliant report and certificate to provide to tenants, agents and the local authority, with remedial work and re-testing available from the same contractor.
Faults found, not patched
We isolate the installation step by step until we've found the actual cause of an intermittent trip.
Protection verified
RCD trip times and earth loop impedance are measured directly, confirming the safety devices will actually operate when a fault occurs.
Insured and registered
NAPIT Full Scope registration, £10m public liability, £10m employers' liability and £1m professional indemnity behind every report.
In detail
What is tested, how codes work and what applies to landlords
Testing is a defined procedure with defined outputs. Knowing what's covered, and what isn't, helps you book the right inspection and make sense of the results afterwards.
What an EICR covers
The report examines the fixed installation: the supply arrangement, the consumer unit, protective devices, earthing and bonding, and every circuit, with accessories inspected on a sampling basis agreed at the outset.
- Supply characteristics, earthing arrangement and main protective bonding
- Consumer unit condition, protective device suitability and circuit identification
- Continuity of protective conductors and ring final circuit continuity
- Insulation resistance testing on every circuit to identify deterioration
- Earth fault loop impedance and prospective fault current measurement
- RCD and RCBO trip time verification against required limits
Understanding the codes
The coding is the part clients most often misread. An Unsatisfactory outcome is driven by C1, C2 or FI items; C3 items are recommendations and don't by themselves make a report unsatisfactory.
- C1: danger present, requires immediate action and is made safe on the day where possible
- C2: potentially dangerous, requires remedial work for a satisfactory outcome
- C3: improvement recommended, does not affect the overall outcome
- FI: further investigation required without delay
Landlords and commercial premises
Rented residential property in England requires a satisfactory EICR at intervals of no more than five years, with copies to tenants and the local authority on request. Commercial premises follow inspection intervals appropriate to the environment and use.
- Five-yearly EICRs for rented residential property, or at change of tenancy
- Reports issued to landlords, agents and tenants with remedial quotes attached
- Commercial and industrial periodic inspection scheduled around operating hours
- PAT testing of portable appliances with asset registers and labelling
Fault finding
Fault finding is diagnostic work. Intermittent faults are isolated by dividing the installation and testing systematically until the cause is proved.
- Nuisance RCD tripping traced to the specific circuit and cause
- Insulation faults located by progressive isolation, avoiding wholesale replacement
- Overheating terminations and loose connections identified during inspection
- Findings reported in writing with a clear remedial recommendation and quotation
Before you enquire
Testing & inspection questions,
answered straight
How much does an EICR cost in Derby?
It depends on the size of the installation and the number of circuits, so we quote per property instead of publishing a headline price. Tell us the property size and circuit count and we'll give you a firm figure.
How long does an EICR take?
A typical domestic property usually takes a few hours, depending on circuit count and access to the board and accessories. Larger and commercial installations take proportionally longer and are scheduled around your operating hours.
How often do I need one?
Rented residential property in England requires an EICR at least every five years. For owner-occupied homes, around ten years is the general recommendation, and commercial premises depend on the environment and usage.
Will the power be off during testing?
Circuits are isolated one at a time for dead testing, so there are only short interruptions. Tell us in advance about anything that must not lose power and we'll plan around it.
What happens if my report is unsatisfactory?
We explain each C1, C2 and FI item, quote separately for the remedial work, and re-test and re-certify once it's complete. You're free to have the remedial work carried out by someone else if you prefer.
Does an EICR cover my appliances?
No. An EICR covers the fixed installation. Portable appliances are covered by PAT testing, which we carry out separately and can schedule at the same visit.
Can you find a fault that keeps tripping the breaker?
Yes. Intermittent tripping is one of the most common call-outs. We isolate the installation systematically to prove the cause.
Do you cover urgent or out-of-hours testing?
It's available on request. We don't sell it as a standard guaranteed service, but call us and we'll tell you plainly what we can do.
Are remedial works guaranteed?
Qualifying installation work carries a 6-year NAPIT-backed workmanship guarantee, with a minimum one year on other work.
Which areas do you cover?
Derby, Duffield, Belper, Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Ripley, Ashbourne, Matlock, Burton upon Trent, Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield and the surrounding East Midlands.
Related services
Where we work
Derby · Nottingham · Duffield · Belper · Burton upon Trent · Sheffield · Ilkeston · Long Eaton and the wider East Midlands. See areas covered, read more about the company or return to the homepage.
Find out what condition
the installation is really in
Book an inspection and you'll get measured results, clearly coded findings, and a straight conversation about what needs doing first.
NAPIT Full Scope · Official Loxone Partner · 6-year workmanship guarantee on qualifying installations · £10m public liability