Are you a private Landlord in London?

Did you know that it is your responsibility as a private landlord to maintain electrical safety within your rental properties? Did you also know that you can be fined to failing to ensure the electrical safety of tenants within your properties? If you know about these fines, you are in amongst only 1 fifth of landlords who are aware of them. Fines to maintain appropriate electrical safety can reach up to £20,000 as well as invalidating insurance on your property. Research into UK private landlords carried out recently by the Guardian revealed that 300,000 (21%) were unaware of such fines.

This is not all, just last week, a select committee of MPs made a recommendation that Electrical Safety Checks on privately rented properties are made compulsory and are to be carried out every 5 years. This is great news within the electrical industry. Organisations such as the Electrical Safety Council have long campaigned for Electrical Safety Checks to be brought in line with gas safety checks by making them compulsory. It makes perfect sense as electrical accidents kill 1 person every week and contribute to over half of all house fires in the UK. People who rent their homes are more likely to experience a house fire caused by electrical safety failings than people who own their home.

What Needs to be done to protect your tenants and your property

Currently 40% of landlords admit to not knowing what needs to be done when it comes to ensuring their properties are electrically safe with 17% of the UK's estimated 1.7 million private tenants complaining that their landlords have acted too slowly or not at all when problems with the property electrics has been reported to them.

The most effective way of ensuring your property is electrically safe is by having an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) carried out by an approved qualified electrician. Many landlords have an EICR carried out as this is the easiest way to prove that you have kept in proper working order the electrical installation within the property to ensure the safety of your tenants. Here at Fulcher Edwards we inspect the electrical installations in London properties on behalf of private landlords on a regular basis. Our NICEIC electrician in London will carry out 100% testing on your properties where possible.  What we mean by this, is that we will carry out testing in areas we can access.  For example, if there is a big unit in front of a socket, we would not move the unit if it was too heavy, however you can move any furniture beforehand to improve access.  Many electricians only test small areas, but here at Fulcher Edwards we pride ourselves on being thorough and like to give out customers the opportunity of obtaining 100% testing of their electrical installation.  We carry out all testing  when it is convenient to you and your tenants. Once the testing is complete you will be issued with a certificate which is your proof of the condition of your electrical installation within the property. Should any element of the testing fail, we will issue a recommendation sheet along with a no obligation quote which you can compare to other London electrical services.

What else you can do as a landlord

Encourage your tenants to take an active role in their own electrical safety. If they use their own electrical appliances, tell them about the importance of inspecting cords and keeping the appliance in good working order. Also educate tenants on the dangers of overloading extension leads and ensuring the use of correct fuses.

You may also want to consider electrical testing in your London properties by having PAT testing carried out on appliances that you supply. Although not a legal requirement, it is another effective and easy way to ensure your tenants well being. Supplying the original instruction manuals with every electrical appliance and ensuring your tenants knows about them is also a great move.

Encouraging your tenants to report any kind of electrical problem no matter how minor promptly can also save a lot of hassle further down the line.

Conducting visual checks of the property regularly to check for broken or cracked sockets or exposed wires is recommended and can be done by anyone – they don't need to be a qualified electrician. A good way to ensure the visual check happens is to combine it with quarterly home inspections.

If you still need advice

If you are still not sure there are places you can go to which provide up to the minute information. The worst thing you can do as a landlord is ignore your tenants problem. Your local authority will be happy to give you advice on electrical matters and the Electrical Safety Council also has lots of useful advice which you can check out straight away on their dedicated website.

How to Avoid an Electrical Fire

Electrical fires are one of the main reasons fire starts in the home and very often the fire is caused by something that could have been fixed easily by the home owners.

It's not just home holders that need to avoid electrical fire, it is business owners too. The same electrical recommendations apply whether in the home or work place.

There are two main components to electricity – that is the wiring itself in the property and electrical appliances. If either (or both) of these are defective, then the risk of fire is of course far greater.

To keep yourself, family and colleagues safe you need to look out for a few simple indicators that all is not well as well as well as follow a few common sense procedures to avoid electrical fire.

Wiring

If you notice any of the following problems, then consult a qualified electrician at the earliest opportunity. Fulcher Edwards are the main electrical contractors in London who have vast experience in dealing with fire safety and not only do we offer a wide range of electrical services in London, we can also advise on fire safety both in the home and business.

• Hot plugs and sockets
• Lights that flicker
• Scorch marks on sockets, fuse boxes and switches
• Fuses that blow for no obvious reason

Electrical Appliances

Some of these recommendation may seem obvious but it is not uncommon for us to visit properties and business premises and find electric heaters in bathrooms, towels covering electric heaters and multiple adapters in plug sockets. Quite often, the householder is aware of the risk they are taking and because they haven't yet experienced a fire assume that all is safe. It can take some time for a fire to occur, it doesn't have to happen straight away.

• Turn off and unplug all electrical appliances when you are not using them except those that are meant to be permanently switched on (like the fridge or DVD recorder).

• Make sure plugs have the correct fuse for the appliance being used. If in doubt, refer to the manufacturers instructions
• Use only one plug in each socket.
• If you have to use an adapter, use a fused ‘in line’ type. 
• Avoid multi-way adapters and overloading electric sockets by using several adapters as they may overheat.
• Don't run leads or cables under carpets or rugs – you won't be able to see if they become damaged.
• Check for signs of loose wiring and faulty plugs or sockets (such as scorch marks or flickering lights) and have any problems you find fixed by an electrician.
• Replace worn, damaged or taped up leads and cables.
• Find out if your electrical products are on trading standards product recall list, a list of items which have been recalled by the manufacturers. (See related links).
• Always use a proper ironing board and turn off the iron after use. Make sure the iron is left to cool on a heat resistant surface away from curtains, carpets and anything else that may catch fire.
• Always switch off hair straighteners/curling tongs after use and leave to cool on a heat resistant surface away from curtains, carpets and anything else that can catch fire.

Checking regularly for faults with wiring and electrical appliances can help avoid an electrical fire. Electrical fires have caused devastation to homes and businesses across London as well as claimed lives. Taking a few minutes on a daily basis could save your life.

Finding Electrical Services in London

Have you ever been caught out on a Saturday night and need a service urgently? Whether it be a Doctor, plumber, electrician or even a computer repairer, it can suddenly turn into a complete nightmare when you are left high and dry on a night when traditionally everyone should be having fun.  It always feels like a kick in the teeth when you have been a loyal customer to a business and they are not there when you need them the most.

Look around in any local publication and there are no shortage of adverts which on the face of it seem to be the answer to all your 'hair tearing' moments – 24 hour call out, quick service, no job too small and then there are the specialisms that seem to be the perfect answer to your emergency – electrical services,  fire alarm systems, leaking pipe experts, promises to fix problems within an hour....the list goes on – well it all seems good until that emergency occurs....and then often the promises become excuses – that is when you know who you can really rely upon (or not) – and when it is time to search for a business that is more reliable.  At Fulcher Edwards our Fire Alarm customers have a special number they can call at any time for a fast response, meaning our clients have the peace of mind that we are taking care of their needs.  Does your fire alarm service provider offer this service? 

Here at Fulcher Edwards, we offer a full range of electrical services. Whether you are after an NICEIC electrician in London, fire alarm maintenance in London or just an electrician in south east London we are the people to help you. We won't let you down and our team of NICEIC qualified electricians offer a special pre-arranged service for our long standing clients giving you the help when you most need it. Yes we will be there on a rainy Saturday night when you have no power - we're taking care of the needs of our most loyal customers. Never be afraid to call us about your electrical problem, we have been established for over 30 years so we have seen and heard of practically every scenario whether your electrical problem is in the home or in your business. Whether you need a commercial, industrial or domestic electrician in London our team of electricians will be with you when we say we will. There are no false promises here at Fulcher Edwards.

So why else do you need to consider Fulcher Edwards to carry out electrical work in London?

We have built up our business which addresses the needs of our clients.  So rather than us telling you what we feel you need from an electrical contractor in London, we listen to your needs and manage our services around you, our client. It's the small things that matter and sometimes it can be so difficult finding an electrician in south east London to come to you and during those stressful times you don't want to find that you paid far more than what you needed to do for an inferior service. Part of our standard service is not to charge for call outs, nor do we charge for parking and the CC zone. All work is carried out to current British standards and our workmanship is fully guaranteed and insured.

Keep our number handy....

….as you never know when you might need our services. Fulcher Edwards are your local electricians for south east London. However, we do cover most of London and areas within the M25. We are also among the electrical companies in London of choice for many well known businesses such as Eurostar, film sets and property management clients.

We are also well known for dealing with crisis – professional, re-assuring and punctual are some of the words we are very used to hearing when carrying out our electrical services in and around London.

So next time you are in need of electrical services in London you know which electricians you can rely on in both good times and also the very worse times too.

What is a Professional Electrician?

Here at Fulcher Edwards we visit our clients homes and businesses all across London providing quotes and carrying out electrical work. One of the main scenarios we come across with our customers whether they are home owners or business owners is the worry of finding an electrician who is professional. With programmes such as cowboy builders on the television, it comes as no surprise to us that many clients are rightfully concerned about getting a professional electrician to carry out their electrical work but of course don't want to pay more than necessary for the job.

With home owners and business owners often feeling more stressed than usual when it comes to having work carried out on their properties, we have devised a handy check list to help avoid hiring the wrong electrician and to hopefully clear up the uncertainty when finding a professional electrician.

Know what to look for

* Getting in touch - At Fulcher Edwards we understand how frustrating it is to find the right electrician and one of our undermining values within our company is to ensure we return emails and calls when necessary. We always ensure a prompt service but many of our clients tell us that they call electricians asking them to quote a job and never hear back. We believe this is poor service and one of our customer promises is to always return contact and arrange quotation appointments in a professional manner – we won't call you up out of the blue to ask if we can come round to quote a job.

* Turning up for quotes - Excellent service and quality management is very important to us so when you contact us about a quotation we will arrange to see you at a time to suit you. We are very passionate about the work that we do and offering a friendly, reliable, professional and competitive service to each and every job or quotation visit is very important to us. We will not expect you to drop everything to suit us. We have heard of instances where a customer has contacted an electrician and they have expected to come round the same day to provide the quotation. Here at Fulcher Edwards, we arrange a mutually convenient time to come and see you – and essentially we always turn up on time!

* First Impressions - When we come to see you, we listen carefully to your needs and respond in a professional and courteous manner. We don't expect you to understand technical issues, so our quotation visits are very thorough. We wear works uniform and drive company vans so you know exactly who is turning up at your door. If we can save you money or we feel you would benefit more by doing the job differently we will tell you so. We don't simply quote for the job you ask us for, we provide you with options that could save you money. Our knowledge, presentation and professionalism is well known throughout London and many of our clients are long standing and call us up whenever they are in need of an electrician.

* Price - Due to the thorough nature of our quotations, we hope to eliminate the need to exceed the quotation price you are given. When we come to your property we assess what other works may be necessary in order to carry out the job. In some cases, the electrical work required may be necessary in order to meet the current electricity regulations. We will always advice you of the nature of the work and cost. In other cases we may recommend certain electrical work is carried out beforehand to avoid any potential problems in the future. Whatever our recommendations, we always advice our clients to obtain at least 3 quotes before proceeding with any works. This way, it will give you as our customer a good guideline as to the expected costs of the work you would like done. Generally out of 3 quotes, 2 will be roughly the same. The other one may be either more expensive or cheap. In all cases always check what is included in the quote. Remember material quality varies hugely, always ensure you understand what you are getting. Dependant on budget, we find clients either want something making good or want it to last many years. If a quote is very cheap, is it matching your requirements, similarly if a quote seems expensive, do you need such a hi-spec finish?

* Payment - When it comes to payment, we advice not to pay until the job is complete. Some electricians will ask for material money in advance on very large jobs. However, we strongly recommend you don't pay for the actual job until it is complete. Negotiating staged payments is fine if the job is on-going, where you pay for parts of the job as they are completed. Always make sure you know how long the job is expected to take if you opt for staged payments. When making the payment, most electricians are happy to accept payment directly into their bank account. A growing number of electricians are now also able to take payments by card. If you are paying by cash, always make sure you obtain a receipt. You should not feel forced into making payments by a certain method, professional electricians are happy to take payment by a number of methods and indeed many electricians are still happy to take a cheque which you don't see very often any more.

What is something goes wrong?

At no point should you ever feel intimidated or be on the receiving end of angry outbursts. If a problem does occur, we recommend speaking to the electrician at the first opportunity. Often it is a misunderstanding that can be easily rectified. At Fulcher Edwards, customer satisfaction is our number 1 priority, we consider ourselves as fast, efficient and pleasant at all times. We also charge reasonable rates in order that we remain competitive and fair to all our customers at all times.

Electricians need to play a bigger part in Energy Efficiency

Despite public campaigns via energy companies and the government, many homes in the UK are still without energy saving features in their home.

In a recent survey carried out by the Rexel Foundation and Opinion Way, 9 out of 10 respondents to the survey believe that fuel poverty will continue to rise in the UK due to lack the of energy efficiency being adapted within homes.

Of the survey respondents who cited concern about fuel poverty, 68% had some type of energy saving features within their homes already. Giving their reasons why they had chosen to become more energy efficient, 4 out of 5 said it was to save money on their energy bills, with only 27% of respondents doing so because of environmental concern.

This means that almost 32% of homes surveyed who have concerns about fuel poverty do not have any form of energy efficiency measures within their home. The main reason given for not participating in energy saving was purely financial - from lack of disposable income, to the cost of installation. People living in rented accommodation feel that installing energy saving measures wouldn't be worth their while (24%) with a further 21% feeling overwhelmed by the choice of energy measures available to house holders.

The results of this survey comes as no surprise to electricians with a staggering 91% of electricians agreeing fully with the answers given by the respondents and echoing the need for more financing options for energy efficiency products and certainly here at Fulcher Edwards we advise our customers on a daily basis about how to save money and energy in their homes. Ultimately our customers are looking at the bottom line and we have seen in recent times that there is increasing reluctance to spend money where it is not deemed necessary.

Brian Smithers, strategic development director for Rexel Northern European Zone, commented: “It’s worrying to hear that cost concerns are still putting consumers off investing in energy efficiency measures especially in view of the launch of incentives such as the Green Deal, which allows home owners to access funding for energy efficiency at no upfront cost. However, this survey makes it clear that there is little awareness of the options available.
“While the government and the energy companies have an important role to play here, it’s crucial that the UK’s army of trusted electricians are able to educate their customers about the support available. Soft skills are as valuable here as technical ones; the future of energy efficiency in the UK depends on the ability to better communicate financial incentives, ROI and long term cost savings. Rexel is committed to providing the tools and know how needed to help electricians drive greater adoption of energy efficiency through training and by raising awareness and understanding of the most effective energy efficient technologies and products available.”

New research published yesterday by the Department of Energy and Climate change (DECC) states that properties which are making use of energy efficiency measures could see the value of the property increase by an average of 14%. With 46% of properties in the UK only achieving an EPC Band D in energy efficiency, it shows that there is still much work to be done with regards to energy efficiency. An average UK property which moves up 2 bands i.e. from a G to an E or from a D to B could see up to £16,000 added to the value of their property.

With this knowledge in mind and the advantages given through the Green Deal incentive, home owners can start to make these much needed changes, decrease their energy bills and add value to their home.

Why it is a good idea to have an RCD in your home

A Residual Current Device (RCD) is a safety device that forms part of your electrical installation. If a fault or accident occurs with either the wiring or the electrical appliance you are using, the power will be cut in a fraction of a second. It has been a requirement to fit an RCD in homes since 2008 with new consumerunits/fuse boards having dual RCD protection which give you and loved ones electrical protection all over your home. If you don't currently have RCD protection in your home and you are not planning to upgrade your consumer unit, there are other methods of obtaining RCD protection by using RCD sockets or a portable RCD. However, there is nothing to match the protection obtained by having RCD protection via your consumer unit.

Of course new consumer units will need to be installed by a qualified electrician who will ensure the RCD is installed correctly and is working. One of the common questions we get asked here at FulcherEdwards about RCD protection is “what is the difference between a fuse and an RCD?” Many customers feel they are sufficiently protected by ensuring they are using the correct fuse in electrical appliances. Unfortunately, as important as a fuse is, they are limited in their capabilities and should not be used as life saving devices. An RCD is a life saving device, if you were to accidentally touch a live cable in your home for example the RCD would activate. If you were reliant on a fuse then this would not activate and you would receive an electric shock which may cost you your life.

An RCD is activated automatically, it activates so quickly that you would not be aware of what had happened until the realisation of what could have happened has sunk in. RCD protection in homes has saved lives and avoided many cases of serious electrical injury in homes since they became compulsory to fit on new consumer units in 2008. Unfortunately there are still 13 million homes without or inadequate RCD protection. A recent government report indicated that up to 4,000 house fires could be prevented if more homes had RCD protection.

Once installed, much like a smoke alarm, an RCD will need to tested at regular intervals, at least quarterly, to ensure it is working. To test an RCD, simply go to your consumer unit and find the button which is marked T (for test) by pressing this button, you will cut out the electrical supply to the areas of the home it protects, simply press the button on again and the supply will switch back on. It is important to get advice from a qualified electrician if the RCD does not switch the electrical supply off when it is tested.

Here at Fulcher Edwards we would recommend to all London home owners to consider upgrading their consumer unit if they do not have RCD protection. Alternatively obtaining some RCD protection in your home is better than none at all. A portable RCD will cost around £10 and we would recommend using a portable RCD for outdoor jobs such as mowing the lawn. This way, you will be protected if you make a mistake and chop through the cable for example. It is worth bearing in mind though that only the appliance in use will offer RCD protection and no internal wiring in your home will be protected.

Remember an RCD will provide protection that fuses and circuit breakers are unable to provide. If there was one electrical job we here at Fulcher Edwards would recommend you do in your home this year, we would always recommend the installation a dual RCD consumer unit – it will protect you and your family as well as your home for years to come.

Test-It Tuesday

Did you know that if you have a working smoke alarm, you are half as likely to die in a house fire? Unfortunately many of those who have a smoke alarm don't test it very often if at all.

The recommendation is to test your smoke alarm on a weekly basis and try and build the testing into your routine so that you don't forget. We have called our blog today 'test it Tuesday' as Tuesdays are fast becoming a good day to test your smoke alarm thanks to growing publicity surrounding the catchy name. It is very simple to test a smoke alarm, simply press the 'test' button for a few seconds and the smoke alarm will emit a high pitched beep. This means all is OK and the smoke alarm should alert you in the event of a fire in your home. If you do not hear a beep then, this normally means the batteries need replacing or in the case of a mains powered smoke alarm, it will need a qualified electrician to come and take a look at it. It is better to discover a problem during testing than to risk the alarm not alerting you in the event of a house fire.

If the smoke alarm is located too far out of reach, rather than stand on a chair, use a broom handle to test it, this is much safer. Never be tempted to take the batteries out of a smoke alarm to stop it from beeping during cooking or if steam from your shower gets in the way or for any other reason. Many people who do this forget to replace the batteries afterwards and this leaves them with no way of being alerted in the event of a fire. If your smoke alarm is beeping when carrying out routine household tasks such as cooking the dinner, this normally means your smoke alarm is not situated in the best place in your home. At Fulcher Edwards we offer a design, installation and testing service for smoke detectors. This means that not only do we ensure your smoke alarms are situated in the best locations within your home, they will also comply with current British standards. We offer these services to both householders and businesses large and small in and around London.

There are two types of smoke alarm, either battery or mains powered. Mains powered smoke detector systems are far more complex and need to be installed by a qualified electrician, battery powered smoke alarms are a cheaper option, however the importance to test weekly is paramount as the battery is the only source of power the alarm will have to alert you of a fire. Most newer fire alarm models now have a 10 year life with an in built battery meaning it is not possible to remove the battery this is why it is importance to choose the right location in your home for your fire alarms. Your local fire service may be able to assist with locating your battery powered smoke alarms.

It is important to keep fire alarms free of dust in order for them to work to their best. A simple hoover nozzle used to clean the vents is normally sufficient every few weeks.

It is also a good idea to talk to your family and discuss what the best route from your home would be in the event of a fire blocking the main entrances to your home (i.e. front and back door.) Ideally a way of leaving the house via an upstairs window is a good plan to have and is often known as the 'Plan B Route.' This would be an upstairs window which opens out full length to enable an easy exit perhaps onto a roof further below such as a porch or conservatory roof. Always remember to leave a window key in the same room. Many householders don't consider of alternative ways to leave their home in a fire, however it is important to know what to do should the situation occur.

So remember Test-it Tuesday, and don't forget to test your smoke alarms in your home and business today.