So you've got instances of where 4mm is needed for a final ring - or 2.5mm for a lighting circuit in an average house? Of course you may need to do calcs if running a high power feed to an external workshop, etc, but in general the published tables for cable ratings are fine.
I got called to a 'Fire Job ' many years ago [too many]. Fireman Sam was there stating that the cause was "without doubt an electrical fault...". Upon asking what thought path had brought him to this conclusion I was rather smuggly told to ...'look at that cable, it is all burnt!...Having been in a fire I considered this to be a statement of the obvious, but I let him carry on, hoping to glean some knowledge. Alas no. I pointed out that the burnt wire in question was actually a TV Co-Ax. Reply? still an electrical fault!! I then pointed out that the electrical service to the house had been chopped off in the road some 4 weeks prior to the fire and that there was no supply to the property. [due for demolition] I asked how many electrical fires he may have possibly and inadvertantly diagnosed incorrectly...Answer NONE. Makes you wonder.
A politician uses statistics in the same way as a drunk usese a lamp post...more for the support than the illumination
When I was trying to gather figures together for the Part P consultation response, I came across a reference by someone trying to estimate chip pan fires that some chip pan fires were being recorded as electrical fires because they happened on an electric hob, resulting in misleading figures.
So what? Safety has never been about what the decent companies did, it's what the cowboys do.
Part P is based around the status of "head office", not the skill of the people actually doing the work. As there is more work around than electricians can handle at present, there's a great incentive for unscrupulous firms who do have the relevant NICEIC members for the organisation to employ less than fully skilled sparkies to work on the jobs themselves.
It is no particular secret that many fires of unknown origin get labelled "electrical fault". Similarly it isn't rare for a fire caused by someone leaving a cigarette somewhere to be called an "electrical fault" if the fire crew feel they have already suffered enough without having hassle from an insurance company.
...and the more unusual cases can be looked up from the OSG.
And when was the last time you got a 'deliberate' electric shock ? Surely you don't do what I do and brush a finger across the live just to make sure everythng is switched off !
Rob
I got an interesting statement from my brother the other day that Part P doesn't apply in Scotland - is this true ?
Rob
Surprisingly - Scotland is not part of England -&-Wales. Scottish Law, Polis, Education, Procurators Fiscal, Sheriffs etc. etc does not apply in England & Wales. Similarly the efforts of ODPM over control of Building Regulations doesn't apply in Scotland - but; they've got their own standards.
Different building regs in Scotland, and in particular, the Part letters are different.
Scotland already did its Part P equivalent before England/Wales Part P. It is similar in principle (conformance to BS7671 required to conform, etc), but without all the stupid bureaucracy which is wrapped around the England/Wales version. If I understand correctly, electrical work by itself isn't notifiable, but it is if it's part of other work which is notifiable (such as an extension). It is up to the BCO to decide on competence for signing off too -- often they will judge a particular DIYer to be competent in the context of the work which was undertaken, and they can also judge a particular electrician to be incompetent. However, it's a few years since I looked at it, and I might have misremembered some of the detail.
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