Why Use a Qualified Electrician?

Most of us love a bit of DIY, enjoying the satisfaction when we do something ourselves that we aren’t really trained for and it works out well. But there are some jobs around the house that even the most proficient DIY-er should not consider undertaking and one of these involves the electricity supply. This is when using a qualified electrician is of paramount importance.

Safety first

We all know about electricity and water not mixing and lots of other snippets of information of this nature. However, this doesn’t really tell the full story – working with the electrics in your home can be dangerous and this is one of the top reasons why you should use a qualified electrician.   The other main reason is that there are legal requirements as a homeowner to have a range of jobs done by an electrician to ensure they are done correctly and remains safe for long term use.

Jobs such as installing a new shower circuit or wiring in a new cooker are examples of jobs that look simple but can be dangerous and fall under the legal guidelines that require an electrician to attend. In fact, any job you consider that you are uncertain if you should be doing, it is best to call in a professional.

Killer mistakes

The electricity around the house may seem innocuous but there is enough voltage in a home system to kill someone. This is because our bodies use electricity to control our organs, making our hearts beat or our lungs operate. Adding extra electricity can interrupt these signals or send them haywire and this can result in death. Over 30 people each year die due to electrocutions and electrical burns and another 350,000 receive a serious injury. An average of 46 children die each year as a result of electricity.

Another cause of fatalities associated with electricity comes from faulty or poor workmanship and resulting electrical fires. Wiring has to comply with building regulations and a qualified electrician will know what these are and ensure everything is compliant. If you do the work yourself, you will likely not know this.   And even worse, if something does happen through work you’ve done yourself, your insurance company may not pay out for any resulting damages.

Qualifications

So how do you know that someone is a qualified electrician in compliance with the laws? A Part P qualified electrician is someone that can sign off their own work on a domestic property. Any electrician who isn’t Part P qualified needs someone from the local authority to come out and inspect the work and sign off it is okay.   Therefore, when looking for an electrician, a Part P qualified one could get the job done quicker than one who isn’t.

Another area to check out is the company’s website and their customer feedback. Good quality electricians will proudly display the work they have done and details of the projects they are qualified to work for.   Pairing good customer feedback with the right qualifications is a great way to find the perfect electrician for the job.