Introducing Electricians

An electrician is a tradesperson that specialises in electrical wiring of equipment and buildings; they may be employed in the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure, or in the installation of new electrical components.

In the UK, all electricians who carry out domestic installation work must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations and should have documentation to this effect. The list below describes typical examples of locations and electrical installation work that require advance notification to the local authority's Building Control department.

Locations

• Dwelling house
• Flat
• Shared areas of block of flats, such as laundries
• Common area of block of flats
• Detached shed, garage or greenhouse
• Building sharing supply with dwelling
• Kitchen
• Any room containing bath or shower, swimming pool, paddling pool, sauna
• Garden

Work Type

• New installation, rewire or partial rewire
• Heating (central heating/room heating/hot water/boiler/controls)
• One or more new circuits
• New consumer unit
• Telephone or control wiring in a room such as a bathroom or shower room
• Modifying a circuit in a kitchen or bathroom
• A new socket-outlet on an outside wall
• New outdoor wiring, such as power installations or garden lighting
• Electric floor/ceiling heating, outdoor lighting/power, ELV lighting; generators, Solar photovoltaic systems

However, the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has authorised a scheme where work can be certified as complying with the building regulations without prior notification to the local authority building control; this is known as the Competent Persons Scheme (CPS). All of the certified Competent Persons registered to carry out electrical work are registered in schemes run by the following scheme providers.

• BSI (British Standards Institution)
• ELECSA (EC Certification Ltd)
• NAPIT (Napit Registration Ltd.)
• NICEIC (NICEIC Group Ltd)