INSPECTION AND TESTING OF ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS

Inspection involves the measurements, tests, and gauges applied to certain characteristics in
regard to an object or activity. The results are usually compared to specified requirements and
standards for determining whether the item or activity is in line with these targets, often with a
Standard Inspection Procedure in place to ensure consistent checking.

Over the years the way electrical installations are dealt with has changed dramatically, of course
due to experience and availability of qualified personnel. Apart from the use of modern materials
and methods of installation, there is also an improvement in legislation to ensure that all
installations are inspected properly and regularly.

Testing routines must take account of the dangers and be arranged to prevent them. Prominent
notices should be displayed to indicate that no attempt should be made to use the installation
whilst testing is in progress.

The precautions to be taken by the tester should include the following:

i. make sure that all safety precautions are observed

ii. have a clear understanding of the installation, how it is designed and how it has been
installed
iii. make sure that the instruments to be used for the tests are to the necessary standards and
have been recently recalibrated to ensure their accuracy
iv. check that the test leads to be used are in good order, with no cracked or broken insulation
or connectors, and are fused where necessary.
v. be aware of the dangers associated with the use of high voltages for insulation testing. For
example, cables or capacitors connected in a circuit which has been insulation tested may
have become charged to a high potential and may hold it for a significant time.

Testing of an installation is required when there has been:

 a new installation
 an alteration
 an addition to an existing installation.
 Periodically as stipulated by regulations

A new installation could be a completely new or rewired installation. An alteration could be a

change of consumer’s unit or the installation of an RCD or new protective device. In reality in
most cases an alteration would be pretty much anything which resulted in a change of protection
device without a change to the circuit conductors, although there will of course be the odd
exception. An addition would be where a new circuit or circuits are added to an existing
installation.

New installation testing:

During the initial verification, each circuit must be tested. This will require the use of the correct
type of testing equipment. For safety reasons, it is important that the testing procedure is carried
out in the correct sequence.
Why is correct sequence important?

Testing can be hazardous, both to the tester and to others who are within the area of the
installation during the test. The danger is compounded if tests are not carried out in the correct
sequence.

For example, it is of great importance that the continuity, and hence the effectiveness, of
protective conductors is confirmed before the insulation resistance test is carried out. The high
voltage used for insulation testing could appear on all extraneous metalwork associated with the
installation in the event of an open-circuit protective conductor if insulation resistance is very
low.

Again, an earth-fault loop impedance test cannot be conducted before an installation is connected
to the supply, and the danger associated with such a connection before verifying polarity,
protective system effectiveness and insulation resistance will be obvious.

Any test which fails to produce an acceptable result must be repeated after remedial action has
been taken. Any other tests, whose results may have been influenced by the fault concerned,
must also be repeated.

Periodic Inspection

A periodic Inspection is a test and inspection to ascertain the condition of existing electrical
installations, to identify (in order of priority) any deficiencies.
Periodic inspection would be carried out for many reasons such as.
● The recommended due date, Change of occupancy, Change of use, Change of ownership,
financial requirements (banks, insurance), Before additions or alterations, After damage, Client
request etc.

Periodic inspection involves both visual inspections and carrying out actual tests to be able to
ascertain the actual state of an existing installation.

In general terms visual inspections are carried out with regards to:
● Safety, Age, Deterioration, Corrosion, Overload, Wear and tear,

Visual inspections for some common circuits:

Cooker circuit
● any evidence of damage?
● Is the switch within 2 metres of the cooker or hob?
● Has the cooker switch got a 13 amp socket outlet?
● Has green and yellow earth sleeving been fitted?
● If it is a metal faceplate has it got an earth tail fitted between the plate and the metal mounting
box?
● Is the cable the correct size for the protective device?
● Are there any signs of overloading?
● Is the cooker outlet too close to the sink? Building regulations require that any electrical outlet
should be at least 300mm from the sink.

Socket outlets
● Are there any signs of damage or overload?
● Are all socket outlets secure?
● Is there correct coordination between protective devices and conductors?
● Do any metal socket outlets have an earth tail between the box and the metal faceplate?
● Are the cables throughout the circuit the same size?
● Are outside socket outlets watertight? It is always a good idea to have a good visual inspection
of these.
● Are there any outlets within 300mm of a sink?

Lighting circuits
● Is there correct coordination between the protective device and the live conductors?
● How many points are there on the circuit? A minimum rating of 100 watts must be allowed for
each outlet. Shaver points, clock points and bell transformers may be neglected for load
calculation. As a general rule a domestic installation should have no more than 10 lighting points
per circuit, this is because a single lamp fitting can be changed for a three lamp fitting with little
effort, and it does not take many of these types of exchanges to overload a circuit.
● A commercial installation generally consists of known loads such as fluorescent fittings or
discharge lamps, for this type of circuit the load can be calculated just as any other circuit would
be.
● Are all switch returns color identified at each end?
● Are the ceiling roses suitable for the mass hanging from them?
● Only one flexible cord is permitted to be connected to each ceiling rose, unless they are
designed for multiple cords.
● Light fittings in bathrooms must be suitable for the zones in which they are fitted.
● Are luminaires appropriate for the location?
● Are luminaires suitable for the surface to which they are fixed?
● Is the line conductor to an ES lamp holder connected to the centre

Three phase circuits/systems

These circuits must be inspected for the same defects that you could find in other circuits. In
addition to this:
● Are warning labels fitted where the voltage will be higher than expected? For example, a
lighting circuit with more than one phase in it, or perhaps where socket outlets which are close to
each other are on different phases.
● Are the conductors in the same sequence right through the installation?
● Remember when measuring Ipf the value recorded should be double the measured line to
neutral current.
● Occasionally other types of installations or circuits will be found. In these cases the same
common sense approach to inspection should be applied. Always remember that all you are
doing is
checking to ensure that the installation is safe for continued use.

Following a visual appraisal and verification of the entire electrical installation, the following
test procedures are applied where appropriate, in order to ascertain the safety of electrical
installation:
• Continuity - to ascertain that the earthing is continuous throughout the circuit.
• Bonding Conductors Continuity - to ensure bonding is in place and effective.
• Ring Circuit Continuity - ascertains whether or not the ring is complete.
• Insulation Resistance - to test whether there has been any breakdown in insulation to the
installation.
• Polarity - to check that the installation is correctly wired.
• Earth Fault Loop Impedance - to ascertain the Zs of the installation.
• Earth Electrode Resistance - applies to TT systems only, to test the earthing rods.
● Prospective fault current (Ipf)
● Phase sequence in case of three phase installations
 Earth fault loop impedance (Ze)(Zs)
• RCD testing - to check that Residual Current Device disconnects the supply in the event of a

Functional testing
All equipment must be tested to ensure that it operates correctly.
All switches, isolators and circuit breakers must be manually operated to ensure that they
function correctly, and also that they have been correctly installed and adjusted where adjustment
is required.

Assignment 2

How the different tests listed above are carried out:

Name of the test
Objective of carrying out the test
Equipment used
Procedure of carrying out the test
Schematic diagrams if any
Interpretation of results
Duration: Two weeks from the date of issue!
Calculations:

1. Insulation resistance:
A consumer’s unit has six circuits which when measured for Insulation resistance between live
conductors and earth.
Circuit 1 is 140MΩ
Circuit 2 is 70MΩ
Circuit 3 is 10MΩ
Circuit 4 is 8MΩ
Circuit 5 is 200MΩ
Circuit 6 is 45MΩ
We now need to carry out a calculation to check that the
insulation resistance value of the total installation;

This value is satisfactory since its greater than 1Mega Ohm.

2. Earth Electrode resistance test: