Periodic Inspections

[Voltimax]

Out of curiosity, do your electrical installations in the US, (Domestic or commercial) have to be tested periodically?
Here in the UK we carry out periodic inspection and testing on existing properties and it's quite involved with a report being given at the end, listing all faults/non compliance's etc and then give an estimate for putting these things right. We can do a visual inspection, but in general, that doesn't carry very much weight here.

In domestic situations, it's not law to have such inspections, but with buildings that are open to members of the public it is (although very few business's comply).
I'm just curious about how things differ across the pond, I hope to visit someday.

 

[bphgravity]

For the most part, no. Certain health care facilities and select industrial occupancies have annual and/or regularly scheduled inspections by one organization or another, but that is about it.

Most buildings and structures don't get inspected after intial construction until they are sold / purchased and/or undergoing a remodel / rennovation.

 

[mjf]

Fire marshall does yearly inspections of businesses

 

[Strife]

Each state has different rules here in US, so I can only speak about Florida.
Yes. Any building that has an occupational license is required to have a fire marshal inspection every year. There are also electrical inspections required, not sure about their occurences, but it's not every year.
As far as residential (What I assume you call domestic), it depends if it's owner occupied or if it's a rental unit (of a certain number of). I believe more than 5 rental units is considered a commercial property (NOT commercial from the NEC standpoint) and requires to have an occupational license, hence all the inspections that come with that.

Out of curiosity, do your electrical installations in the US, (Domestic or commercial) have to be tested periodically?
Here in the UK we carry out periodic inspection and testing on existing properties and it's quite involved with a report being given at the end, listing all faults/non compliance's etc and then give an estimate for putting these things right. We can do a visual inspection, but in general, that doesn't carry very much weight here.

In domestic situations, it's not law to have such inspections, but with buildings that are open to members of the public it is (although very few business's comply).
I'm just curious about how things differ across the pond, I hope to visit someday.

 

[renosteinke]

This question pretty much underscores the difference between being a 'citizen' and a 'subject.' It also goes right to the core of our dispute with the Crown a few centuries back.

While the trend in codes / licensing / regulations has been rapidly nibbling away at the concepts, we were founded upon the principles that, among others, :

-A man could not be compelled to give evidence against himself;

-Evidence that a law had been broken had to be presented to neutral party (judge) before a government agent could even go looking for proof;

-That it was not the role of government to restrict trade or interfere with the ability of a man to enter into contracts.

While it's a wee bit beyond the scope of this forum to get into a debate regarding the meaning, wisdom, or relevance of the Founding Fathers ... it's worth keeping in mind whenever we ourselves presume to interpret, ammend, or enforce the rules.

 

[bphgravity]

Most municipalities & counties have a "property maintenance" code that is adopted by ordinance which identify how, when, or why an inspection on an existing occupancy would be required. This is also where you will find the required fire inspection requirements, restaurant & lodging inspection requirements, public housing, etc...

For the most part, local building departments play NO role in these inspections and they are not within the scope or purpose of the building codes....

 

[zog]

All we have is recommended testing and maintenence intervals per NFPA 70B. For some facilities there may be requirements for thier insurance for things like IR scans.

 

[Voltimax]

What sort of testing do you carry out over there?

We test for continuity of bonding and cpc conductors (circuit protective conductors), Insulation resistance, polarity, Earth fault loop impedance and RCD (residual current device) testing.