Home owners and NICEIC Electrical Safety

In November 2004, the NICEIC carried out interviews telephone interviews with a total of 500 householders, to find out their views and practices regarding electrical work and safety around the house.

The sample was taken equally from five geographical regions around the UK – Scotland, Wales, Northern England, The Midlands and Southern England, with a mixture of male and females being interviewed.

DIY Electrical Work

Initially each interviewee was questioned as to the home DIY tasks that he/she would tackle. Of the tasks listed, painting a room was the most popular (59%), followed by wallpapering a room (48%).

Looking at the electrical task listed, the most popular was changing a plug (45%), followed by changing a fuse in the fuse box (25%).

Again focussing on electrical tasks, 3% stated that they would be prepared to tackle the re-wiring of the whole house and 7% would consider installing a burglar alarm system themselves.

A total of 144 people interviewed (29% of the sample) were not prepared to tackle any of the suggested home DIY tasks, possibly because they did not feel confident or educated enough to do so. Each contact was then asked to select from the same list those tasks that they felt their partner would be prepared to tackle and the results were virtually identical.

Wallpapering and painting a room were the top two non-electrical choices, and changing a plug and a fuse in the fuse box were the top two electrical choices. The least popular electrical tasks were also the same choices.

Electric Shocks whilst doing DIY

Worryingly, 12% of those interviewed stated that they had received an electrical shock whilst conducting DIY work. 48% of those who had received a shock, had done so on more than one occasion, perhaps indicating that they had not learned from their original mistake (i.e. shock).

61% of the sample had never received a shock and a further 27% never had the opportunity as they admitted that they did not do the DIY.

Drilling / Nailing through a Hidden Mains Electric Cable

Just over 12% of the sample interviewed admitted to drilling or nailing through hidden mains electric cable either by themselves or by their partner.

Opinions towards Dangerous Home DIY

Each respondent was asked to highlight the three most dangerous types of DIY work in their opinion, from a pre-agreed list. There were obvious trends here with 87% of the sample mentioning electrical work as the most dangerous.

The next most commonly indicated dangerous task was working with gas (76%) followed by working up ladders (42%). At the bottom of the list, only 3% felt tiling and plastering were dangerous, followed by 4% wallpapering.

Feelings towards Home DIY

30% of the sample interviewed stated that they felt that they lacked knowledge whendoing DIY work around the home. 16% often wished they hadn’t started and 14% felt out of their depth.

Although it may not seem a high percentage, a worrying 6% stated that, whilst completing home DIY tasks, they were worried that they may hurt or kill someone else.

Also 7% were worried that they might have an accident or even kill themselves.

A total of 50 people (10%) mentioned one or more of the above two worries (hurt/kill themselves or others)

Feelings towards the Partner regarding DIY skills 10% of the respondents’ interviews stated that they felt stressed by their partner’s over-expectations of their DIY skills.

However, breaking down this statistic further, and eliminating those who never do any DIY or have no partner, it is actually 16% that feel stressed (looking only at those who actively do DIY and who have a partner). Each interviewee was then questioned as to whether they ever worried about the possible consequences when their partner was attempting to do DIY. Again, removing those from the sample to whom the question was not applicable, 15% stated that they did worry.

Electrical Safety Awareness – Issues Discovered on Moving into a House

The sample was questioned as to whether they had discovered any house issues on moving into a property (read from a prompted list).

The most common house ailment was rotting windows (26%, followed by leaking pipes (26%) and rising damp (22%). Looking at the electrical issues listed, 16% had discovered bare wires and 15% cracked light fittings, switches or main sockets.

Electrical House Wiring

A worryingly high 40% of the sample claimed to have no idea as to the age of the wiring within their house.

Of the remainder, 38% stated it to be 10 years old or under, 19% 10-30 years old and a final 3% over 30 years old.

When asked whether they knew how often house wiring should be checked by a qualified person, over 52% stated that they did not know. Interestingly, taking those 26 individuals who claimed their house wiring was 30 years old or more, 50% had no idea as to how often their wiring should be checked.

Five reasons were read out as to why it is important to have house wiring regularly checked. Each respondent was asked to indicate as many reasons as they wanted.

68% said that faulty wiring may start a fire, followed by 33% who said insulation materials break down over time. Interestingly 14% stated that none of the listed were reasons to have house wiring regularly checked.

Dangerous Practices – Electrical Hazards within the House

All 500 respondents sampled stated that they had one of five listed electrical hazards within their house. Not one person stated that they had none from the list (list consisted of exposed bare wires, taped up bare wires, loose electrical cables, electrical extension cables with damaged insulation, electrical extension cables joined together). This is an extremely interesting statistic.

The most common electrical hazard admitted as being in their house was electrical extension cables joined together and covered by insulation tape (25%, closely followed by exposed bare wires (22%).

272 of the interviewees had children under 9 years old in the house. Of this sample, only 35% stated that they had a plug socket cover on unused plug sockets 12% of the total sampled admitted to putting drinks on top of the microwave, 11% found themselves using a knife to get toast out of the toaster whilst it was still switched on, 11% put drinks on top of the television and 9% put a vase of flowers on top of the television.

Of the 157 who admitted to one of the four electrical “sins” above, 21 (13%) actually admitted to conducting 2 or more.

Multi-socket Extensions within the House

Within the kitchen, 63% admitted to using multi-extensions, with 38% of these using 3 or more extensions. Very interestingly one person admitted to have 13 multi-extensions and a further person stated he/she had 18.

Within their bedroom, 71% admitted to using multi-extensions, with 16% of these using 3 or more extensions. 8 was the highest amount that was admitted to be used. In the living room, a large 82% admitted to using them, with 23% of these using 3 or more extensions. 1 person stated that they had 16 multi-extensions within their living room.

In the children’s bedroom, only 28% stated that they used them, with 15% of these using 3 or more extensions. 1 person stated that they had 9 multi-extensions within their child’s bedroom.

Lastly, an extremely worrying 117 people interviewed (23%) admitted to having one or more multi-extensions within their bathroom.

It is evident that a large number of people interviewed were happy to plug electrical heaters into the multi-extensions with 38% in the living room, 32% in their bedroom, 20% in the kitchen and a worrying 15% in the bathroom.

Other Hazardous Household Electrical Practices

49% of those questioned admitted to leaving plug sockets switched on in the kitchen when not in use and 29% stated that they pulled plugs out without switching off at the socket.

20% left unconnected cables plugged in and switched on whilst 14% added water to their steam iron whilst it was plugged in and switched on.

11% changed light bulbs without switching off at the socket and a further 11% admitted to taking mains electrical appliances into the bathroom.

7% used an electric lawnmower without an RCD and 5% left plug switches on in their children’s bedrooms whilst not in use.

Not one of the 500 people interviewed stated that they did none of the above 8 hazardous practices. This is a very important statistic.

UK Homes are a minefield of electrical hazards

As a new law comes into force to prevent serious injuries and even death from faulty home electrics, research out from electrical safety body, the NICEIC, has found that the public are woefully unaware of the electrical dangers lurking in their homes.

Every householder questioned had electrical hazards in their homes including exposed bare wires, loose cables, old wiring and overloaded sockets. The research also shows a considerable level of ignorance about the condition of home electrics.

The NICEIC found that 40% of people had no idea about the age of the wiring within their house and 1 in 5 said their wiring was as much as 30 years old. More than half of those questioned did not know how often house wiring should be checked by a qualified electrician.

Under the new law, Part P of the building regulations, which came into force from January 1st 2005, most electrical work in homes now needs to be carried out by an electrician who is registered under a government approved scheme, such as the NICEIC. The alternative, for DIY’ers, is to notify a local building control body before attempting to carry out any electrical work and pay an appropriate fee

Despite this tough new law, over 70% of householders questioned still felt confident to tackle DIY electrical tasks. 17% of DIYers would tackle wiring in new plug sockets, nearly 10% would wire in an electric shower and 3% said they would even be happy re-wiring the whole house.

Jim Speirs, director general of electrical safety body, the NICEIC, said: “We feel this law was long overdue. Under the new law, homeowners will now be protected as long as their electrician gives them a certificate once they’ve completed the work.

So, if you don’t get a certificate or you do DIY electrics yourself and don’t get it checked – you may not only be sitting on an electrical time bomb – you’ll also be breaking the law.”

Amazingly, electricians have never been regulated despite faulty electrics causing an average of 12,500 house fires, 750 serious injuries and 10 deaths each year. The NICEIC welcomes the government’s decision to finally clamp down on the cowboys who cause these deaths and is advising homeowners to make sure they only employ government-approved electricians.

To be sure of your electrician, look out for the NICEIC logo and contact the NICEIC (National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting) which has a register of Approved Electrical Contractors, you can find one in your area by visiting www.niceic.org.uk or call the NICEIC on 0870 013 0381.

To read the media section of the website – go to www.niceic.org.uk then news roundup, then press releases to read one.

Green fingers not burnt fingers! - Gardeners warned to SWITCH ON to new electrical safety law

Tough new laws now effectively ban garden enthusiasts from installing their own electrics in ponds, sheds, garages and greenhouses, warns consumer electrical safety organisation the NICEIC.

From 1st January 2005 all electrical work in the garden must be carried out by a government-approved electrician, such as one registered with the NICEIC. The new law aims to reduce the rising number of deaths caused by faulty electrics.

External electrical work is particularly hazardous due to the presence of water, damp, humidity, lack of clothing, and the extremes of weather, which can make equipment deteriorate faster outdoors.

“This law will make gardens safer, and is long overdue”, say Jim Speirs director general of the NICEIC. “Gardeners with ambitious plans for their outdoor space must be aware of the new laws – and the dangers they could face”.

According to the new law, gardeners are allowed to maintain and replace equipment. However, because the risk of electric shock is far greater outside, a government approved electrician who can provide a certificate, such as one registered by the NICEIC must undertake all other work.

The alternative for DIY’ers is to notify their local building control office before starting any work. They will need to pay the appropriate fee, and building control will carry out an inspection and issue a certificate after the work is completed.

Part P applies to garden lighting, pond lighting, pond pumps, swimming pools, and saunas, along with outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and greenhouses. Local authorities can order the removal or correction of any work that does not comply and you could be fined up to £5,000.

Amazingly, electricians have never been regulated despite faulty electrics causing an average of 12,500 house fires, 750 serious injuries and 10 deaths each year. The NICEIC welcomes the government’s decision to finally clamp down on the cowboys and DIY’ers who cause these deaths and is advising gardeners and homeowners to make sure they only employ government-approved electricians