Who Do I Need?
For people outside of the electrical trade, the different classes of qualifications can be confusing.
This article will compare the roles of an electrician and an electrical inspector and explain when each person is required.
The main difference is what each class can sign off as electrically compliant. A basic overview is as follows.
Electrician
From a basic point of view, the electrician will be the one you get around to your home to complete your electrical work.
Electricians will be licensed and must issue a Certificate of Compliance (CoC) for the majority of their work. The CoC is to indicate the work completed is tested, electrically safe and follows the New Zealand electrical safety standards and codes.
For some maintenance work such as replacing a PowerPoint or light fitting where no new cabling is needed, a CoC Is not required.
Electrical Inspector
An electrical inspector is required for certain electrical work. They will carry out a higher level of inspection and testing when the work involves the main power feed to the house.
This generally would be work on the main switchboard, the main cable, and the main earth. These are all work that will require an electrical inspector to check.
There are a few exceptions with mains work where an electrical inspector is not required. If you are repairing or replacing fittings on existing mains work because they have been damaged or are faulty, then although this is defined as mains work, it is classed as low-risk and does not require an inspection. This is because the work is done for maintenance or repair reasons.
A few examples would be:
- Replacing the box at the mains entry point.
- The main switch or fuse being replaced.
Do I need to organise both?
In short no, the electrician will know if an inspector will be required for the work being carried out.
The electrician you employ is responsible for arranging for a licensed electrical inspector to carry out the inspection.
Like the electricians CoC’s an inspector will supply a compliance certificate showing the testing results and information on his inspection, it is best to keep the inspection report with your CoC’s.
If you as the homeowner have concerns about your home being electrically safe, have it checked by a licensed electrical inspector.
Contact
If you would like information or a quote regarding any electrical work, Lite Energy would be more than happy to help you out.
Feel free to check out our service pages on general electrical, heat pumps and ventilation on our website to see what other help we can provide you with.
To contact us with questions or to organise work:
Send us an email at office@liteenergy.co.nz or give us a call on 0800 LITE NRG (548 3674)
