Earthing and bonding usage and safety
Earthing and bonding are two distinct methods to prevent electric shock and ensure the safe operation of electrical systems.
What is earthing?
If there is a fault in your electrical installation you could get an electric shock if you touch a live metal part. This is because the electricity may use your body as a path from the live part to the earth part.
Earthing protects you from an electric shock by providing a path (called a protective conductor) for a fault current to flow to earth. It also ensures whatever is in place as a protective device (either a fuse, circuit-breaker, or RCD) switches off the electric current to the circuit with the fault.
For example, if a cooker has a fault, the fault current flows to earth through the protective (earthing) conductors. A protective device (a fuse, circuit-breaker, or RCD) in the consumer unit (fusebox) switches off the electrical supply to the cooker. The cooker is now safe and won’t give an electric shock to anyone who touches it.
What is bonding?
Bonding reduces the risk of an electric shock to anyone who touches two separate metal parts when there is a fault somewhere in the supply of electrical installation. By connecting bonding conductors, it reduces the voltage there might have been.
The types of bonding generally used are main bonding and supplementary bonding.
Why are earthing and bonding important?
If you are having any electrical work done, your electrician must check that the earthing and bonding arrangements you have are up to the required standard.
This is because the safety of any new work you have done (however small) will depend on these earthing and bonding arrangements.
Why use a registered electrician?
A registered electrician can advise if your earthing or bonding needs to be improved for safety reasons.
We strongly recommend using a registered electrician to carry out any electrical installation work you need doing.
Stay safe with electrical products
Check plugs and sockets
Don't ignore burn marks, ‘arcing’ (buzzing or crackling) sounds, fuses blowing, circuit-breakers tripping, or if it feels hot to touch.
Unplug and contact the retailer, manufacturer, or a qualified repair technician.
Protect with an RCD
An RCD (residual current device) in your consumer unit (fusebox) protects you from electric shocks if a product is faulty.
If you don’t have RCD protection, use an RCD plug on the socket where the product is plugged in.
Fit smoke and heat alarms
Ensure there is at least one smoke or heat alarm per floor in your property. Fit enough alarms to cover all areas where a fire could start.
Test alarms at least once a month. Replace them every ten years or when the replace by date is reached.
Selected FAQs
Answers to commonly-asked questions we receive about electrical safety.
First, you need to find out whether the electrician you used is actually registered. To do this, contact the operator of the scheme they have claimed to be part of, and they will tell you whether this is the case. If they are registered, the scheme operator can guide you through their complaints procedure.
If you find out the electrician misled you and is not registered, you should report this to your local Trading Standards Department as they are breaking the law. We would also recommend that you get an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) carried out on your home; this will assess any work that has been undertaken and will act as sufficient documentation to certify that work. This needs to be carried out by a registered electrician and unfortunately will be an added cost for you.
We recommend that you get at least three quotes from different electricians before you go ahead with any major electrical work in your home. We also advise that you always use a registered electrician as if you’re not happy with their work you can complain to their scheme operator, who will in turn ask them to rectify any mistakes.
When an electrical installation is rewired, it is good practice to remove redundant wiring. If this is not possible, any redundant wiring must be permanently disconnected from any electrical supply so that it doesn’t present a risk.
It depends on its condition rather than its age, if it has been tested and is in good condition and everything is working effectively there is no requirement to rewire. However, you may wish to consider adding RCDs to enhance the safety of the installation.
A qualified electrician will say if your home needs rewiring and what can be achieved within a specific budget.
You can find an electrician local to you here.
Electrical products are recalled more regularly than you might think, but the response rate to a recall is often worryingly low. This means there are potentially millions of recalled electrical items still in UK homes.
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