Portable Appliance Testing

What is a PAT Test?

Portable Appliance Testing  (PAT) is a legal requirement for all UK landlords and businesses and involves routine safety checks on electrical appliances which are used by tenants or employees.

The Health & Safety Act regulates that all “portable” electrical equipment, such as kettles, microwaves and computers, must be deemed safe for use and checked for wear and tear to avoid cause of injury to people using them.

The guidelines are created to guarantee that electrical equipment is kept protected and is preserved through periodic maintenance and inspection.  It is of high importance that employers and landlords follow the legal requirements to help reduce risk of injury and avoid liability.

An ‘EPC For You’ assessor looks at all sorts of things that will affect the energy rating of a property including heating, lighting, how energy is kept in the property, the construction of the property itself and its dimensions. Energy savers or users such as loft insulation, water heaters including hot water tanks and domestic boilers, radiators, and windows are all things that will need to be assessed when producing an accurate energy survey.

The EPC survey is based entirely on observation unlike a building survey, which may involve invasive procedures.  The time taken for an EPC survey depends on the size of the property and whether it is domestic or commercial, but ‘EPC For You’ can give you an estimate of how long an energy survey will take once an appointment is booked.

‘EPC For You’ will arrange for a friendly and professional energy assessor to conduct the assessment and he/she will need access to every room in the property. As lighting also uses up energy and produces heat it is important in producing an assessment, and the number and type of fixed lighting will be noted. Any handbooks for a particular model of boiler for the property may also be helpful to the energy assessor, although they are not essential. Any room thermostats and thermostatic radiator valves fitted as well as any other form of heating that may not be part of a central heating system will also be relevant for the energy survey, for example, in domestic properties this could include open fires.

So as to ensure accuracy, photographs of various parts of the property as well as outside the property may be required – this will help your assessor if they need to consider whether to override certain assumptions in relation to insulation values that the property would normally have, even though your property may benefit from a more recent improvement. The assessor will also take measurements of the property and note any constructional changes.

Having taken all of these observations, the ‘EPC For You’ energy assessor places all of his/her data into a government-approved software program in order to produce an energy efficiency calculation. Based on this information, the EPC will show how good or bad your property’s energy efficiency is. It rates your property’s energy efficiency from A to G, with A as ‘Very Efficient’ and G as ‘Very Inefficient’. The energy survey can also make recommendations for potential improvements. The EPC is valid for 10 years and will be unique to the property address. If you need further advice on it, ‘EPC For You’ can talk you through the scores and recommendation.