Domestic Customers

Competent, professional work in your home

It’s vitally important that the electrical work you need is carried out by a competent electrician who is committed to reliability, safety and customer care. ECA Members are technically assessed by an external certification body to ensure they:
- are electrically competent;
- meet all the relevant technical and safety standards and industry codes of practice.

The ECA Guarantee

To help give you peace of mind, ECA also provides a Guarantee (at no charge to you) that electrical work carried out by an ECA Member - and the materials they use - will meet all the necessary electrical installation standards. In addition to your general legal rights, the ECA Guarantee of Work automatically applies to work with a value on completion between £250 and £50,000.  When the work is completed, ask your ECA Member business for a copy of the Guarantee certificate which also shows the terms and conditions (also at: www.eca.co.uk/guarantee).

ECA Code of Fair Trading

ECA Members are also required to follow the ECA Code of Fair Trading. This includes carrying out work in a professional manner, and communicating clearly with you about the key aspects of the work. The Code also covers estimates before starting work, and emergency work. ECA Members must also have Public Liability Insurance of at least £2million. Further information is at: www.eca.co.uk/eca-code-of-fair-trading

Help is at hand!

When you are looking for a business to carry out notifiable electrical installation in your home, we recommend an ECA Member who is Registered with a ‘Competent Person Scheme’ that meets the requirements of the Building Regulations. An ECA Member who is Registered with a Competent Person Scheme can notify, on your behalf, that electrical work has been carried out in accordance with the Building Regulations, so you don’t have to notify the work yourself.

Your ECA Member electrician will also provide you with the necessary completion certificates when the work is finished. These can be very important indeed when insuring, or even letting or selling, your home.

Useful background: 'Part-P' & 'notifiable' installation

‘Part P’ of the Building Regulations was introduced by the government in 2005 to protect people from fire and electrical hazards. To confirm that electrical work in your home meets the necessary safety standards, ‘notifiable’ work must either:

1. be signed off by an electrician registered with a ‘Competent Person Scheme’; or
2. notified directly to your Local Building Control Department.

Electrical work that is notifiable to Local Building Control includes:

- installing a new circuit
- replacing a consumer unit (e.g. fuse box) or
- altering circuits in some ‘special locations’ (e.g. a bathroom - where water might otherwise contact electrical installations, increasing the risk of electric shock).

Electrical testing and inspection are examples of work that is not usually notifiable.

To find out more about ‘Part P’ of the Building Regulations, which applies in England and Wales, visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-approved-document-p