EH1 Electrical Services Edinburgh's Electrician

Alternating Current (AC) and Direct Current (DC) have slightly different effects on the human body, but both are dangerous above a certain voltage. The risk of injury changes according to the frequency of the AC, and it is common for DC to have an AC component (called ripple). Someone with special equipment can measure this, but the effect on a particular person is very difficult to predict as it depends upon a large number of factors. As a consequence you should always avoid contact with high voltage electrical conductors, regardless of the type of electrical current they are carrying.

You can find out if your electrical equipment is safe by having suitable checks carried out, such as inspection and/or testing. The level of inspection and/or testing should depend upon the risks. A simple visual inspection is likely to be sufficient for equipment used in a clean dry environment. In addition, equipment that is more likely to become damaged or is operated in a harsh environment, is likely to require more demanding electrical tests.

Checks should be carried out often enough that there is little chance the equipment will become unsafe before the next check. It is good practice to make a decision on how often each piece of equipment should be checked, write down the decision, make sure the check is carried out, and write down the results. You should change how often you carry out checks according to the number and severity of faults found.

The best way to find out if specialised equipment is safe, is to have it inspected and tested by EH1 Electrical who have the specific competence on the type of equipment. We are a reputable servicing company that deals with all types of equipment and are competent to check its safety.

The best way to find out if your electrical installation is safe is to have it inspected and tested by a competent person. EH1 Electrical's electricians are on hand to visit your home or business to do this for you.

It is possible to do simple checks on your installation using an electrical socket tester. This is a device that can be plugged into a socket outlet, and can identify if there is a wiring fault. However, be aware that many types of socket tester cannot detect certain types of fault, and could indicate the socket is safe when it is not. Read the information provided by Health and Safety Executive on Electrical Socket Testers.

A person can demonstrate competence to perform electrical work if he or she has successfully completed an assessed training course that has included the type of work being considered, run by an accredited training organisation, and has been able to demonstrate an ability to understand electrical theory and put this into practice.

All of our electricians have successfully completed an electrical apprenticeship, and each have decades of post apprenticeship experience and more specialised work such as maintenance of high voltage switchgear or control system modification.

You can do your own electrical work if you are competent to do so. Simple tasks such as wiring a plug are within the grasp of many people, but more complex tasks such as modifying an electrical installation may not be.

It is particularly important that anyone who undertakes electrical work is able to satisfy the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

For work on electrical installations below 1000 volts ac you should be able to work within the guidelines set out in BS7671 ‘Requirements for electrical installations. IEE Wiring Regulations. Seventeenth edition’. Other work should be carried out according to the guidelines set out in the relevant industry standard.

Those who wish to undertake electrical testing work would normally be expected to have more knowledge and to be able to demonstrate competence through the successful completion of a suitable training course.

More complex electrical tasks such as motor repair or maintenance of radio frequency heating equipment should only be carried out by someone who has been trained to do them.

It is advisable to use a residual current device (RCD) whenever possible but particularly in wet or damp locations such as outdoors. An RCD rated at no more than 30mA limits the energy in a particular type of electric shock and can save your life. However, an RCD cannot protect you from every type of electric shock, so you should still make sure that circuits are securely isolated before you work on them.

It is best to use an RCD that is incorporated into the consumer unit of your installation. This means that all circuits fed from that RCD are protected by the RCD. An RCD that is incorporated into an ordinary mains socket, or plugged into it, will protect anything that is attached to that socket, but it is possible that equipment may be plugged into another, unprotected, socket.

RCDs should be regularly tested by pressing the ‘test’ button, and by making sure that the RCD trips. Faulty or inoperative RCDs should be removed from use.

RCDs rated above 30mA provide very limited protection against harm from an electric shock.

If you are using electrical equipment in particularly harsh conditions it is worth selecting lower voltage equipment powered by a transformer with an output centre tapped to earth, or powered by a battery. Additional precautions may also be required depending on the specific location, BS7671:2001 Requirements for electrical installations, IEE Wiring Regulations, Seventeenth edition, Section 7, offers guidance on this.

Electrical equipment should be visually checked to spot early signs of damage or deterioration. Equipment should be more thoroughly tested by a competent person often enough that there is little chance that the equipment will become dangerous between tests. Equipment that is used in a harsh environment should be tested more frequently than equipment that is less likely to become damaged or unsafe.

It is good practice to assess how often equipment being used for work purposes should be tested, write down your findings, make sure the testing is carried out, and write down the results of the tests.

Electrical installations should be tested often enough that there is little chance of deterioration leading to danger. Any part of an installation that has become obviously defective between tests should be de-energised until the fault can be fixed.

You should have your electrical installation inspected and tested by a person who has the competence to do so, such as EH1 Electrical's electricians. Feel free to call us for advice.

In the first instance a competent electrical contractor such as EH1 Electrical should be able to give advice on electrical safety, and should also be able to direct you to a suitable electrical engineer for advice about specialist areas if they are not covered in-house. If you cannot get satisfactory answers, the Health and Safety Executive can be contacted in a number of ways.

You should report any work related accident that comes under the requirements of the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995.

In general, an electrical accident is reportable if:

• a person dies as a result of their injuries, OR
• a person suffers a major injury, OR
• as a result of the injury the person is away from work for more than 3 days, or cannot undertake their full range of normal duties for more than 3 days, OR
• a person receives an electric shock or burn where the person loses consciousness, or requires resuscitation, or admission to hospital for more than 24 hours, OR
• plant or equipment came into contact with overhead power lines, OR
• there is an electrical short circuit or overload that causes a fire or explosion.

For more information, click here to visit the specific HSE website.

If you think someone is working unsafely you should ask him or her to stop immediately and tell a manager. If you are still unhappy about how someone is working, you should contact HSE. Click here to find out all multilingual contact details of HSE.

A wide range of voltages can be dangerous for different reasons. A very low voltage (such as that produced by a single torch battery) can produce a spark powerful enough to ignite an explosive atmosphere. Batteries (such as those in motor vehicles) can also overheat or explode if they are shorted.

If a person comes into contact with a voltage above about 50 volts, they can receive a range of injuries including those directly resulting from the electrical shock (stopped breathing, heart, etc), and indirect effects resulting from loss of control (such as falling from a height or coming into contact with moving machinery). The chance of being injured by an electric shock increases where it is damp or where there is a lot of metalwork.

Electrical or thermal burns can also occur from the flow of electrical current or hot surfaces.

It is never absolutely safe to work on live electrical equipment. There are few circumstances where it is necessary to work live, and this must only be done after it has been determined that it is unreasonable for the work to be done dead. Even if working live can be justified, many precautions are needed to make sure that the risk is reduced ‘so far as is reasonably practicable’.

You can be reasonably sure that your electrical equipment is safe to work on if all sources of energy (electrical, mechanical, gas, pneumatic, hydraulic, pressure etc) have been securely isolated and any stored energy has been released from the equipment. You should always follow the procedure for doing this described in the instructions provided by the manufacturer of the equipment, and any local safety rules. If you cannot find the instructions, contact the manufacturer and get them to send you instructions before you start work.

Equipment containing dangerous chemicals or other substances may have to be decontaminated before it is safe to work on. You should ask a competent person what to do.

It is important that there is no chance that a source of energy can be deliberately or inadvertently re-connected to the equipment whilst it is being worked on. This can be achieved by applying a lock to each isolation device, and the person doing the maintenance should have all the keys to these locks in his or her possession. Warning notices should be posted at the points of isolation.

If work is to be carried out on, or near, exposed conductors, the conductors should be proven dead, using appropriate test equipment, before work commences.

If you think you have an unsafe electrical installation you should first warn everyone to stay away from it, and, if it is safe to do so, switch it off.

You should then contact a competent person such as an EH1 Electrical or another Electrician or Electrical Contractor.

If the installation you think is unsafe is not owned by you or under your control, you should attempt to find out who does own it, and contact them. Electrical distribution poles, pylons and equipment should have a contact telephone number attached to them.

If you cannot find out who owns or controls an electrical installation you think is unsafe, you should contact your local authority or HSE.