PAT testing
PAT testing
Portable appliance testing for businesses, landlords and holiday lets, labelled and logged.
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Who needs it
There is no single law that says "you must PAT test annually". What the law does require is that electrical equipment provided for use at work is maintained in a safe condition.
- Employers — any business with electrical equipment used by staff
- Landlords — for appliances you supply with a tenancy
- Holiday lets and B&Bs — very common around Cheddar, Wells and Glastonbury, and frequently required by insurers and booking platforms
- Village halls, clubs and community buildings — usually an insurance condition
What it involves
Each item gets a visual inspection — which catches the majority of real faults — followed by electrical testing appropriate to its class: earth continuity, insulation resistance and, where relevant, lead polarity. Items pass or fail, get labelled and dated, and go onto a register.
How often
Frequency is risk-based rather than fixed: a power tool on a building site needs testing far more often than a desk lamp in an office. We'll suggest a sensible interval for your equipment and setting rather than applying a blanket annual rule to everything you own.
Recent work
The standard we work to.
Questions we get asked
Before you call.
Is PAT testing a legal requirement?
Not as a named requirement. The law requires electrical equipment at work to be maintained in a safe condition — PAT testing is the standard way of showing you've met that duty, and insurers frequently ask for it.
How often should appliances be tested?
It depends on the equipment and environment. Construction tools need frequent testing; low-risk office equipment much less.
Do holiday lets need PAT testing?
It's not universally mandated, but insurers and booking platforms very commonly require it for appliances supplied to guests. It's routine work for us around Cheddar and Wells.
What happens to items that fail?
They're labelled as failed and taken out of use. Where a simple repair makes sense — a plug or fuse — we can often deal with it on the spot.
Somerset Sparks
Domestic • Commercial • Industrial
Electrical Installations • EICRs & Electrical Testing • Consumer Units & Rewires • Fire Alarms & CCTV • Emergency Call-Outs
“Explained what he was doing, gave honest advice and didn’t make the job bigger than it needed to be. Proper reliable service.”
★★★★★ — Somerset Sparks customerSame-day replies, most days · 24hr emergency cover
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