Looking for a PAT Testing Electrician?

1) PAT Testing in Brighton & Hove

I did a Portable appliance test (PAT) for an office in Brighton a few weeks back, 120 appliances across the whole building. Extension leads, computers, monitors, kettles, phone chargers, the lot. Most passed fine. But we pulled out a couple of extension leads that had damaged sleeves at the plug end, a kettle with a frayed cable near the base, and three plug tops with the wrong fuse fitted. None of it would have been obvious to anyone using those appliances day to day. That's the whole point, by the time something looks obviously wrong, it's usually already a problem.

If you're a landlord or a business owner looking for PAT testing near me, here's how we work.

2) What the Testing Actually Involves

Every appliance gets two things: a visual inspection and an electrical test. The visual check is more involved than people expect. I'm looking at the cable condition along its full length, the plug top, the casing, the strain relief where the cable enters the appliance. The electrical test checks insulation resistance and earth continuity — essentially confirming the appliance is safe to keep using.

The plug top check is worth mentioning specifically because it's something that gets skipped when testing is rushed. A lot of appliances — lamps, TVs, anything below about 700 watts — should have a 3A fuse, not a 13A. The wrong fuse fitted means there's no proper overcurrent protection on that circuit. It's a genuinely common fault. I see it regularly on office jobs.

Everything gets logged individually. At the end you get PAT certification covering every item tested, with pass or fail recorded against each one. That's your documentation for insurance, compliance, or tenancy records — whichever applies.

3) How Long It Takes

That  varies depending on the number of items and how spread out they are across the building. The Brighton office job with 120 items took a whole day including documentation. But if you let us know how many items need testing we can let you know.

4) How to Book

We try to make it as straightforward as possible

Get in touch by phone or via the contact form and let me know roughly how many items need testing and where they're based. 

I'll send you a quote - pricing is tiered depending on volume, so the per-unit cost comes down as the number of items goes up.

If you're happy to go ahead, I'll get you booked in as quickly as I can. We carry out the testing, log everything, and issue your certification on the day.

You'll get appointment reminders before we arrive. I know that sounds like a small thing but I hear regularly from landlords and office managers that previous contractors just didn't show up when expected, or gave a three-hour window and turned up at the end of it. We don't do that.

5) Where PAT Testing Goes Wrong

The problem with PAT testing is that a rushed job and a thorough one produce identical-looking paperwork. The certificate doesn't tell you how carefully each item was checked. That matters because the whole purpose is to catch faults — not just to generate a document.

Rushed testing is the most common issue. A proper test on each appliance takes a few minutes when you factor in visual inspection, plug check, running the tester, and logging the result. If someone's working through a hundred items in under an hour, corners are being cut somewhere. I've been called in by businesses whose previous PAT records showed everything passing, then we've found obvious faults on items that should have been flagged last time round.

Incorrect fuses in plug tops, as mentioned above, is the specific fault that gets missed most often on jobs that aren't done properly. It's a visual check — it takes seconds — but it doesn't happen if someone's rushing.

The other scenario I see occasionally is faulty appliances continuing in use because they weren't properly tested or the customer wasn't clearly told what to do with a failed item. A fail means the appliance shouldn't be used until it's repaired or replaced. That needs to be communicated clearly, not buried in paperwork.

6) Pricing

It depends on the number of items. I'll give you a clear price before anything is booked, and that's the price — nothing gets added on the day. A rough count of appliances by room or floor is usually enough to work from if you haven't done a full inventory. Get in touch with your numbers and I'll come back to you with a straight figure.

7) Why Landlords and Businesses in Brighton & Hove Use Us

We're NAPIT registered. We've got over 90 five-star Google reviews, most of them from landlords, letting agents, and businesses — people who needed the job done properly and came back when they needed it done again. Transparent pricing upfront, reminders so you know when we're arriving, and certification you can actually rely on.

8) Ready to book or want a quote? 

Give me a call or fill in the contact form with your item count and I'll get back to you with a price.