Is your house safe from electrical hazards? To ensure that your property is free from electrical hazards you must do electrical inspections in Geelong.
Electrical hazards can lead to severe damages including house fires, electrocutions and even death. Therefore it is crucial to ensure that your property is up to the recommended electrical standards and free from electrical threats.
What is an electrical inspection? How important is it to do an electrical inspection? Keep reading this article to get a brief insight into electrical inspections and learn more about electrical inspections.
What is an electrical inspection?
As you know, identifying and fixing shortcomings in your property’s electrical system is crucial to ensure your safety. This is where the electrical inspections come into play.
Electrical inspections will provide a comprehensive checkup and review of your property’s electrical installations and wiring. Electrical inspections will help to ensure that the wiring and the electrical systems are up to legal safety standards.
What is done in an electrical inspection?
Now you know what an electrical inspection is, but do you know what is done in an electrical inspection? Once a registered electrical contractor or an electrician performs a job, they should issue a certificate.
This certificate is a proof that the electrical installation is done by a licensed electrician. It also ensures that the inspection is up to the specified standards. This certificate is known as the Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES).
Your licensed electrician will fill out the COES, and a licensed inspector should sign it after an inspection. An inspector will visit the premises and check whether the new electrical installation meets legal standards.
During the inspection, the inspector will check for insecure wiring, test power points and lights. They will also check smoke alarms, safety switches, inspect switchboard and electrical equipment, etc. The inspector will detect these errors and inform you or the electrician to take corrective actions.
The inspector will not sign the COES until the corrective actions are taken, and the installation is up to legal standards.
When do you need an electrical inspection?
The need for an inspection will depend on the nature of the electrical work. According to Energy Safe Victoria, there are two types ofelectrical works. They are commonly known as prescribed and non-prescribed electrical works.
Prescribed electrical work
These are the electrical work which should be performed under low voltages such as wiring and changing the switch panel etc. To get a clear picture of the prescribed electrical work, consider the following situations:
Changing and installing the mains and earthing the system.
Installing a new switchboard or changing the old one.
Electrical wiring.
Motor generator installations.
Changing or installing a new renewable energy generation system (solar systems).
A licensed inspector should do the electrical inspections for these electrical works. They should also confirm that it is up to the state’s legal standards. You cannot switch on or send power to these installations until an inspector approves it.
Non-prescribed electrical work
These are the non-risky electrical installations that do not fall into the category of prescribed electrical works. The non-prescribed electrical works include installations such as lighting, air conditioning, plug points, hot water service, etc.
A licensed electrician will fill out the COES for these installations. However, you don’t have to get the approval of an electrical inspector. You can switch on or send power to these installations without the approval of an inspector.
Inspections without electrical installations
Further, you can do an electrical inspection in the following situations to ensure that your electrical system is safe:
If you live in a very old house – The switches, plug sockets, and earthing could be outdated in an old house. These outdated units could lead to electrical hazards. Therefore it is better to inspect these once in a while to ensure your safety.
If the wiring in your home is old – Old wiring could also lead to electrical hazards. Therefore if the wiring is more than 25 years old, you should probably do an inspection.
Before renting or buying a house – It is mandatory to do an electrical inspection within two years before renting a house.
Before or after a storm – Storms could damage the wiring in your house. Therefore inspections after a storm can save you from electrical hazards. Further, inspections before a storm can help to ensure that your electrical system is safe to face a storm.
As a regular electrical maintenance and inspection routine.
Who can do electrical inspections
Now you know how important it is to do an electrical inspection. But can anyone do an electrical inspection in Geelong?
The main authority governing and regulating electrical safety in Victoria is Energy Safe. Energy Safe Victoria is issuing various licenses to ensure that only skilled and qualified individuals will engage in electrical work.
Likewise, Energy Safe Victoria will also issue licenses to qualified electrical inspectors. This is commonly known asElectrical Inspectors License. There are various categories or classes of inspector licenses, each specifying different areas of inspection.
These license categories are:
Class G – Low-voltage installations.
Class H – Installations of electrical equipment in hazardous zones.
Class M – Fixed electrical equipment in patient areas.
Class V – High voltage installations.
Your licensed electrician will introduce a suitable licensed inspector for the inspections. Therefore you don’t need to worry about finding an inspector with a suitable license to attend to your needs. However, you can request to see their licenses before attending to your electrical installations.
Some people might confuse independent electrical inspections with the ESV audit. The licensed inspectors are independent parties who are qualified to check an installation. However, ESV will visit the place and audit the electrical work once they receive a copy of the COES.
Once the job is complete, a copy of the COES will be submitted to the ESV by the electrician.
How much does an electrical inspection cost
An electrical inspector would charge by the hour, typically around $50 to $100 per hour. Therefore, the cost of an electrical inspection will be different from one job to another.
A normal inspection would go on for two to four hours. The total inspector’s fee would be around $100 to $500. These values are rough estimates and could differ from time to time. The best way to find your inspection cost is to get quotations from several inspectors for the job.
Once your electrician completes the job, seek their advice to find an affordable inspector for the job. They have been in the market for a long time, and therefore they know the best available inspectors.
Is an electrical inspection a legal requirement for landlords
The landlords or the rental providers should ensure that their property is safe from electrical hazards. This is a legal requirement in the state of Victoria.
Therefore, the rental providers should ensure that all the electrical installations in the property are checked by a licensed electrician. This needs to be done every two years. The rental provider is bound to assure the tenant in writing that the electrical inspections were done, not exceeding two years.
If the rental provider rents a place that has not been inspected for two years, an electrical inspection is warranted. Therefore electrical inspections are a legal requirement for landlords.
Electrical inspections are crucial to ensure electrical safety. Independent but ESV-licensed inspectors will do the electrical inspections in Geelong.
The need for electrical inspections will depend on the nature of the electrical installation. However, you still can arrange an inspection without an installation to ensure the safety of your home. Further, if you are a rental provider, you should do electrical inspections every two years.
The cost of electrical inspections will differ from one job to another. So the best way to determine the cost would be to obtain several quotations from electrical inspectors.
Are you planning to do an electrical inspection in Geelong? If yes, then Mr. Electric can help you.
We have served the Geelong community for over three decades. We also hold the necessary licenses and certificates to help you with theinspections. Feel free to contact us for a free in-house quotation.
It’s frustrating that you have to go outside to a charging station to charge your vehicle. You might even have to spend hours there until your vehicle gets fully charged. But what if you install an EV charger at your home?
This article is for all of you who own an EV or planning to buy one in the future. This article will give you some essential tips that you must consider before installing an EV charger at your home.
What is a switchboard?
Before jumping to the rest of the article, do you have a basic idea of what a switchboard does? You all have seen that panel with various breaker switches. That is a switchboard.
A switchboard controls the electricity received from the main supply and distributes it to the rest of the house or the property.
To further simplify it, when you switch on an electrical appliance, the switchboard is the one that sends electricity to it.
Therefore, the switchboard does a tremendous job in handling the electrical power and controlling it so that the electrical appliances work without interference.
What is done in a switchboard upgrade?
With the rising use of electrical appliances, you should also take actions to increase the switchboard capacity.
Upgrading a switchboard would involve various activities. You might have to rewire, replace the old fuses with the modern ones, install new breakers, etc.
All of this is done to enhance the capacity of the switchboard and allow more electricity to flow through the system. It is crucial to cope with the rising demand for electricity due to modern appliances.
Why should you upgrade the switchboard?
As mentioned earlier, the main reason why you should upgrade your switchboard is to ensure your safety. If there is a fault or malfunction in the board, it can lead to life-threatening electrical hazards.
Apart from ensuring your safety, there are various other reasons to upgrade your old switchboard. These reasons are:
Installing solar panels: With the world moving towards green energy, solar power has become more popular among many households. However, old switchboards cannot support solar power systems. Therefore you should change your old switchboard to a new one.
Rules and regulations: There are variousrules and regulations that you must comply with when implementing an electrical system. These rules have changed over time to increase electrical safety. As a result, your old switchboard might not comply with the current rules and regulations.
Old fuses: Do you still have old ceramic fuses? They are not designed to handle an overload. These ceramic fuses have zero protection against electric shocks. Therefore they must be replaced immediately.
New safety switches: Did you know that most new switchboards have built-in safety switches? This improves safety against electrical shocks and fire hazards.
Smart metres: If you are keen on tracking your energy consumption and saving more energy, you should consider installing smart metres. However, these new smart metres require new switchboards to work.
Overload: With the rising use of electrical devices, your switchboard needs more capacity to handle electrical needs. The older boards don’t have sufficient capacity. Therefore, they tend to overload. This can even lead to a fire.
Tripping: When your switchboard cannot handle the load, it trips constantly. This will interrupt the power supply. In such situations, you should upgrade your switchboard.
Your switchboard should function efficiently to supply the electricity smoothly and avoid electrical hazards. Therefore keep your switchboard upgraded to avoid unnecessary power outages and electrical hazards.
How to know when your switchboard needs upgradation
Upgrading the switchboard when necessary is crucial to ensure electrical safety. The question is, how can you know when you should upgrade it?
There are a couple of signs and factors that you must consider to decide whether you should upgrade your switchboard.
Age: When did you upgrade your wiring and the switchboard last? If you can’t remember, it could be long ago. If it is more than 20 years, you should probably consider upgrading the switchboard as soon as possible.
Check the power outlets: You should check the power outlets in your house or property. Have they discoloured (burnt-like), or are there any burn marks on them? If so, that could be a sign of power overload. It should be checked immediately.
Weird smell: Do you often smell something burning? Especially the burning smell of rubber or plastic? Then it can also be due to power overloading.
Blown fuses: When the fuses cannot handle the electrical load, they will blow out. You should probably upgrade the switchboard if your fuses are blowing frequently.
Flickering lights: If there are any flickering lights, that could mean that your electrical system and the switchboard are insufficient to handle the house’s electrical needs. It could also be due to loose wiring.
Buzzing noises: Electricity doesn’t generally generate any noise. If you hear a buzzing or a sizzling sound, then that could be a sign of a faulty switchboard.
Tripping Appliances: If your appliances are dull and tripping constantly, it is time to upgrade.
Sparks: If there are any sparks when plugging into an electrical outlet, then it could be a sign of a faulty switchboard.
Electrical shocks: Are you experiencing a mild electrical shock when plugging equipment? Then it could be a sign of malfunction in the switchboard. However, it should probably be checked by a licensed electrician.
Overheated wires: If the wiring in the house gets overheated, it could be a sign of power overload.
These signs can also occur due to various other reasons. Therefore if you see them, don’t jump to conclusions immediately. Instead, call your electrician at your earliest convenience. They will check and let you know the reasons and possible solutions.
Is a switchboard upgrade expensive?
Well, this is quite a complex question. The cost of upgrading a switchboard can differ from one job to another.
This is because the cost will depend on various factors. These factors are:
The capacity of the switchboard.
Does your house need rewiring?
The size of the switchboard.
Does your house need new cabling?
The phase of the switchboard.
The labour cost.
These factors will entirely depend on the nature and size of the job, and all of these factors can affect the project’s final cost.
Therefore the best way to find the final cost of the project is to obtain a quotation from a licensed electrician. It is ideal to obtain at least three different quotations in detail from three different electricians.
Finding the final cost is crucial to match your budget. However, you should never consider this as a cost, but consider this as an investment to ensure your safety.
Whom should you hire to upgrade switchboards in Geelong
Are you wondering whom to hire to upgrade your switchboard in Geelong? Then you should consider hiring a qualified electrician with the relevant licences and years of experience. They can understand your situation well and provide the best solutions.
If you are looking for such an electrician, consider contacting Mr. Electric. We have served the Geelong community for a long time, and all our electricians are highly skilled and experienced.
We will provide free in-house quotations and even workmanship guarantees. Don’t forget the 24/7 emergency service we provide for our clients. Your safety is of utmost importance to us.
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