Month: February 2019

A Guide to Fire Alarm Safety Certification

Whether you’re the owner of an office complex or private residence, potential fire outbreaks are a valid concern if not properly addressed. This is achieved by getting a mandatory fire safety certificate London.

Protecting your property against potential threats such as fires is a mandatory requirement for buildings in the UK. The damage that a fire outbreak can cause to a region can be devastating if not checked in time. To ensure such safety measures are maintained to the highest standards, the government has made professional fire safety alarm inspection mandatory for both commercial buildings and domestic residences. This guideline follows the standards set by BS5839 part 1 section 6.

What is a Fire Alarm Safety Certificate?
A fire safety certificate London is an official document proving the worthiness of your fire alarm system after it has undergone a professional inspection. British standard regulations state that a fire alarm should be checked once a week by the owner, with a professional inspection taking place every six months. This certificate guarantees the safety of people who enter your building or residence against any potential fire threat.

Types of Fire Alarm Systems
For the sake of these inspection purposes, fire alarms are generally categorized into two primary groups, namely:

Grade D Fire Alarms
These are the most common systems available in the market and are mostly found in homes and small offices. They offer a simplified means of prevention by providing smoke and heat alarms. Though they are more affordable than their counterparts, they are not suitable for large buildings – thus they don’t offer much commercial value.

Grade A Fire Alarms
These are more complex systems as they feature a range of features in their makeup, including smoke and heat detectors, sounders, manual call points, and a central control panel. The integration of these different systems ensures that a building is adequately covered against any potential fire outbreak. These alarms are mostly found in commercial buildings with multiple floors.

Both fire alarm system grades have to be tested by a certified professional before you can receive your fire alarm safety certificate. It’s crucial that the company chosen to provide these solutions have the needed expertise and experience to conduct a thorough inspection of your alarm. You should also ensure that the person giving you the certificate is authorized to perform such a task.

The Fire Alarm Testing Process
Knowing what is supposed to happen during various stages of your fire alarm certification ensures that you’re not cheated out of your money’s worth. It also allows you to make any adequate preparations needed since you know what to expect.

The three main criteria that will be tested during this certification process include:
* The batteries, accessible cable joints, and fire panels will be tested to gauge their functionality and integrity.
* The smoke and heat alarms will be tested to ensure that they function properly.
* All bells and sounders are rung to ensure that the volume produced is high enough to be clearly heard by all concerned.
Once these tests are performed, the activities shall be filled out in a log book which you shall keep for further use. Any suggestions or recommendations about your system will also be offered at this point.

Why You Need to Carry Out Electrical Safety Check as the Landlord?

The landlords are responsible for the electrical safety of the tenants. Read more to find out why an electrical inspection should be carried out.

As a landlord, your legal duty is to make sure that the property you are letting out is safe and electrical equipment inside that house is safe. The Landlord and Tenants Act of 1985 provides for this provision. You will be required to carry out regular electrical checks in the property. You will be required to pay the landlord electrical safety certificate cost. In this article, we will examine some of the electrical checks you should be carrying out on your property.

Carrying Out the Electrical Check
If you will not be using a registered electrician, always make sure you inform the building control of your local authority. However, as a way of making sure you have complied with the law, it is always advisable to hire registered electrician.

The electrical installation certificate should always be obtained after every electric installation. In most cases, the law provides that the certification should be carried out by a third independent party and not the person who carried out the installation.

If the installation is checked and certified, you need to have it tested periodically after every five years and no more than five years. Depending on the condition of the electrical installation, the electrician providing the Electrical Condition Report can inform you to carry out the testing sooner or later. The date will be specified on the Electrical Condition Report.

In some cases, the local authority can request you to give them the evidence of your electrical certification if your property has multiple locations. When you receive such a request in writing, make sure you supply them with the ECR within a period of 7 days.

Electrical Equipment in the Property
If there is any electrical equipment in the property such as fridges, kettle or lamps, always make sure you have kept them in a safe condition. Even though there is no legal obligation about the electrical equipment in the property, always make sure you carry out Portable Alliance Test (PAT) either annually or any time of the year.

Electrical Safety First recommends that any of the equipment which you do provide to the tenants should bear the British Standard Kitemark which is an indication that it has been approved by British Electrotechnical Approvals Board.

It should first have the CE mark which is put by the manufacturer indicating that the equipment meets the EU legislation. If there are any instruction manuals about the electrical equipment in the house, issue it to the tenants so that they will handle the equipment properly.

Changing Tenancies
When it comes to the change of tenancies, as the landlord, there are different roles you should carry out. Make sure you carry out an inspection on the property to make sure it is safe to let.

When carrying out the inspection, check out for any broken sockets and make sure there are no live parts which are accessible. The cable plugs and the electrical appliances within the house should not have sustained any damages.

The landlord electrical safety certificate cost is lower in most of the countries. Getting an electrician to carry out the test should take the shortest time possible.

What you need to know about Emergency Lighting

An emergency lighting certificate is a requirement for large commercial buildings according to regulations based on BS 5266-1 2005. Emergency lighting is crucial to any reliable escape route, meaning its maintenance can directly impact the safety of your residents.

One of the more vital roles of running a commercial building is ensuring that there are reliable escape routes available in case of emergencies. An important point of this responsibility is the amount of light available during such times. Emergency lighting is basically a set of lights strategically placed within a building to help people find their way out during emergencies.

Darkness can prove to be a formidable obstacle when people are close to panic, so the importance of emergency lighting cannot be downplayed in the least. The system should be connected to an independent power source, as it’s designed as a backup option when the main lights go out. Once it has been installed, an official inspection by an authorised company is then required before you can get your emergency lighting certificate.

Types of Emergency Lights

You can choose between two primary options when considering the installation of emergency lighting in your premises. These alternatives are categorised according to their source of power and include:

Self-Contained or Single-Point Emergency Lighting
A self-contained emergency lighting system contains all of its vital parts (including the battery, charging system, and ballast) within its body. This makes it self-reliant, meaning it does not depend on an external source of energy. This option is usually presented as a standalone unit and can be combined with luminous directional and exit signs to serve their purpose.
Single-point systems are a preference for small offices that don’t have multiple areas to cover. Choosing this option for a multi-storey building can prove costly, as you would have to purchase a significant number of units to ensure every section has been adequately covered.

Central Battery Emergency Lighting
As the name suggests, a central battery system is connected to a principle independent power source that is located at a different location within the building. In this case, the lighting mechanism (that is, the bulb or lamp) is the only thing that is inside the illuminated boards. The other vital parts of the system are based within the centralised point containing the battery.

These systems are popular with large complexes containing multiple exits on different floor levels. Its centralised system also makes the task of maintenance and inspection easier to handle as there is only one location involved.

Areas that should be covered by Emergency Lighting
The strategic placement of emergency lights is also essential to acquiring your emergency lighting certificate. The lights should be placed at convenient points that can help people locate the exits easily. Some of the areas that should be covered by an emergency lighting system include:

  • All exit doors and designated escape routes
  • All stairways
  • Corridors and their intersections
  • Over any emergency equipment such as firefighting tools
  • Lifts
  • Every emergency call point
  • Directly outside every emergency exit, as well as on any exterior escape routes such as Fire Escapes
  • In all windowless rooms and toilets larger than 8m2
  • Over any equipment that would need to be shut down in an emergency

Getting a Gas Safety Inspection Certificate London

Residential properties to let in the UK are required by law to get a gas safety certificate for their places each year. Knowing the various aspects of this procedure, such as the landlord gas safety certificate cost can help you make any needed preparations. Failure to get this certificate could result in severe fines.

If you’re renting residential property in the UK, you’re required by law to provide a gas safety inspection certificate on an annual basis other than that you are also required to provide a valid energy performance certificate in London. This accreditation is given after the inspection of all gas appliances within the premises, to ensure they are in working condition. The law was set in place to ensure all domestic residences upheld the safety standards in the gas sector. The certificate also allows your tenant to know they are living in a safe and secure environment.

How much gas safety check cost?

Obtaining information about what to expect during these inspections can help the process go much faster. It can also help you ensure all your appliances maintain the required operational standards, as instructed by the guidelines in this sector. You can find out about elements such as the landlord gas safety certificate cost, the various processes and procedures involved, and any additional requirements during the inspection. This information can be retrieved by either contacting your gas servicing provider or researching the topic online.

We price based upon the number of gas appliances in the property and our simple list is below:
1. Gas Appliance £49
2. Gas Appliances £59
3. Gas Appliances £69
Note – Gas appliances are cooker, boiler, hob and fireplace

Some of the elements you should consider when getting a gas safety inspection certificate include:

What is inspected during the Certification Process?

During the inspection, you will be responsible for any gas appliances that come with your premises, such as boilers and hot water cylinders. You’re not responsible for the inspection of any devices belonging to your tenants, such as stoves and cookers. All the items inspected should also be located within the residential area of a compound. So if you have a gas appliance situated in a section that is designated as non-residential, then it doesn’t necessarily have to be inspected. However, it’s recommendable to check all devices during the evaluation to ensure everything is okay.

Who can carry out these Inspections?

For you to receive a certificate, the inspection must be conducted by a gas safe registered engineer to hold any official format. Your engineer can provide you with a card detailing his name, company, and capable skills. Checking to ensure that the certification firm you choose is actually registered with gas safety can be done online. It’s your responsibility to ensure that your preferred candidate is officially registered with gas safety.

What Happens if an Appliance Fails the Inspection?

If any device is found to be below the required standards, it will be immediately disconnected from the gas supply line. This is done to maintain the safety levels of the house. Once this has been done, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the appliance is appropriately fixed before reinstallation. Failure to see to this duty could lead to serious fines and potential jail time.

What can I do to help?

One of the ways you can aid the inspection process is by providing easy access to all the various gas appliances to be inspected. Children and pets should also not be allowed close to these areas when during the process.