Don’t Be Tempted By The Promise Of DIY Tutorials
From PAT testing to preventing house fires, hiring a professional electrician with current qualifications is the only way to go.
In an age of YouTube tutorials, where you can learn everything from how to wire a plug, to installing a fuse board from scratch, it can be tempting to go the DIY route and carry out your own electrical work. Unfortunately, this approach is unlikely to save you money and carries the very real potential to make severe mistakes that a professional electrician will subsequently need to fix. Worse still, electricity isn’t something for novices to practice with and even a small error could cause you injury, or even death. If you’re not yet convinced of the need to call on professional electricians, then here are 5 key benefits!
Protecting Your Appliances
Electricians can carry out PAT testing for you to provide you with peace of mind that your appliances are safe to use. IDV Electrical states that portable appliance testing should be booked in on a routine basis, usually once a year in low risk environments. A full PAT test carried out by a qualified electrician incorporates a visual inspection as well as the use of specialist testing equipment to check for insulation resistance, lead polarity and earth continuity for example.
Don’t Need Specialist Kit
Another reason to book an appointment with an electrician instead of going DIY, is that a professional will have top-of-the-range and fully maintained equipment. Kit for detailed testing such as Electrical Condition Installation Reports would set you back a small fortune if you were to invest in the tools yourself; by booking a professional, the cost of all necessary equipment will be included as part of the call-out charge.
Improving Your Electrical Efficiency
If you notice some tell-tale signs such as discoloured switches, frequently tripped breakers and blown fuses, or even if you experience regular electric shocks, then it’s highly likely that your home is suffering from defective wiring. Your local electrician should be your first port of call to confirm the condition of your wiring. If they recommend a rewiring, then this may require an expensive outlay of money, but in the long term you could save thousands as your electrical efficiency will improve.
Protect Yourself And Others
Hiring a qualified professional electrician in favour of relying on your own limited skills is the ultimate step in protecting yourself, your family or your employees from the dangers of electricity. Even if you have previously had some electrical training, it’s essential that any electrical work is carried out using the most current guidance and practices, which will be the case with any electrical contractors who are NICEIC approved.
Prevent Fires
15% of all domestic fires in England and Wales are the result of electrical faults such as substandard appliances or broken cables. This equates to approximately 8,000 electrical fires per year, causing 4,000 injuries and a shocking 30 deaths. These alarming statistics highlight the need for homeowners, landlords and commercial premises owners to take electrical safety seriously by using professionals for routine safety checks and to carry out electrical upgrade work.
If it’s been a while since your circuits and appliances were checked, then electrical safety shouldn’t be something you put off until later. Be proactive and hire a professional electrician now to give you peace of mind.