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With holidays around the corner, it is the perfect time for school administrations to pick up on summer work and revamp the school’s systems to make it more efficient and safer.
School electrical upgrades can be a daunting task because they require careful consideration, planning, and strategy. However, with the right mindset and the right professional team, you can pull off any electrical upgrade before the kids head back to school.
From planning, phasing, safety tests, and efficiency reports, there is a lot to cover in the relatively short time window, but don’t worry, you can accomplish all tasks and get the school ready for another fault-free year.
Read on to learn about the best practices for school electrical upgrades and a 6-week upgrade plan that actually works:
Most schools put off school electrical upgrades because of how complex they can be. This is especially true for older public schools that cover a large area and have a lot of complex electrical systems.
However, upgrade-centric summer works can not only help add longevity to the school’s electrical system, but they can also significantly increase the safety for children.
Schools need to provide robust and consistent electrical infrastructure for classrooms, gyms, libraries, computer labs, science labs, security hardware, and more. Not to mention, they also must run heavy-duty heating and air conditioning systems.
With this many appliances, you can bet that the wiring and the electrical components are going to degrade and eventually start to show problems. These problems may not be immediately apparent but can happen over time.
They can show up in the form of odd flickering lights, the assembly bell going off on its own, alarms blaring and then quieting down, the PA system crackling, the air conditioning not being consistent, etc.
These are all symptoms of a failing electrical system that needs attention and repair. If left unchecked, several electrical hazards can occur in schools and put the safety and well-being of everyone on the premises in danger.
Here are some of the things that can cause electrical problems in schools:
Anything electronic is bound to the laws of depreciation. As soon as something is plugged in, it begins to depreciate at a certain rate and, depending on external factors such as power surges, the quality of the wire, etc.
With time, this equipment loses some of its functionality and even protective components. This is why old electrical wiring and equipment can pose a serious safety hazard in schools. These systems may not be able to handle the electrical load of modern devices and equipment, and may result in overheating, potentially causing electrical fires.
How many times have you noticed an overloaded extension cord in your school? Well, imagine the damage the cord takes over time. Damaged cords and sockets are one of the most common shock hazards.
Exposed wiring and damaged or broken insulation can all result in a dangerous and often fatal shock. This is why it is important to replace such components and check the insulation of the wires before they cause problems.
Schools and offices share more or less the same equipment. You will find several of the same appliances as computers, printers, copiers, and more in schools. When these appliances deteriorate or become damaged with constant use, they will likely become a serious hazard for school staff and even kids.
All of the above reasons are why school administration should never put off summer works and work with professional electrical companies, such as Calder Electrical, to help them revamp the system and have it regularly inspected for problems.
In most of England & Wales, schools can get roughly 6–7 weeks for major school electrical upgrades. This means that school administration will need to plan, procure, and execute everything before the kids are back in classrooms.
Well, this is where professional electrical installation companies come in. Companies like Calder Electrical are well-versed with the layout of commercial spaces, such as schools, and can help schools revamp their electrical systems – all before the end of the holiday period.
The school administration, with all stakeholders, must decide on a unified objective for the summer work. This can be as simple as “delivering essential school electrical upgrades safely and efficiently across the school premises without disrupting the term”.
This objective covers several goals and can help the installation company lock in the scope and plan the upgrades effectively.
In most cases, your goal should be on the following four things:
Here is a 6-week plan that can help you get your school to full efficiency:
Week 0 is the pre-holiday term time when everything is winding down for the holiday season. This is when you will need to finalise designs, conduct risk assessments, define the contractor strategy, lock in a reasonable budget, and relay all information to stakeholders.
Week 0 can be any time before the holidays. When upgrading large schools, it is important to take time to lock in every detail before the actual holidays. This way, the school administrators can have every detail about the plan, and things can work out without hindrance since everyone will be on the same page.
During this phase, the school administration will also have to hire a professional installation company like Calder Electrical, which can send out technicians to help conduct risk assessments and provide valuable feedback on how to go about the upgrades.
The stakeholders can then work with the team to lock in the scope, manage expectations, and finalise the budget of the project.
This is when the project will actually begin. This phase will involve putting up site fencing, setting up access controls for the technicians, installing temporary lighting and signage for work in progress, and all pre-work safety checks.
The electrical team will go over the entire school premises and prepare the school for an overhaul by systemically shutting down sections as needed. The school will likely be divided into various sections, and each team will be assigned a section to cover.
The second week will cover all the main distribution upgrades, such as switchboard replacements, cable tray installations, and containment routing. By starting with the mains, the team can address high-level problems in the system first.
If they encounter an issue, the team can conduct a risk assessment and prioritise the problem accordingly. If the problem is easily fixable, it will be dealt with immediately. If it requires considerable work, then the technicians might decide to bifurcate the team so that they can address the problem and work on other tasks.
This strategy can allow the team to work consistently and upgrade everything according to the decided schedule.
During this phase, the team will set shutdown windows for main works, panel hook-ups, and MCB/RCD upgrades. The shutdown is timed to avoid a complete outage and allow other team members to finish their tasks in their sections.
During this week, the team will finally be getting into the classrooms and upgrading the circuits, comm rooms, fire alarm power supplies, emergency light repairs/upgrades, and, if needed, integrating the UPS system.
After the systemic upgrades across the school, the team will begin the testing phase. During this phase, the team will focus on full testing, which involves testing continuity of circuits, the insulation of wires, the polarity of the current, RCD testing, thermal imaging checks, and emergency backup tests.
A report will be generated, and everything will be logged as it happens. If the team faces a problem during the test, the source of the issue will be identified, and a team will be assigned to fix the issue while the tests resume.
Once everything has been revised, another set of tests will be done to ensure that everything is working properly.
Finally, after all the installation and tests, the team will clear the site of any equipment or debris left during installation, clean the premises, and hand over the completion documentation to the stakeholders.
This documentation will include certificates of completion, operations manuals, training for facilities and staff, especially if new or upgraded components were installed, and a friendly meeting to discuss all the project deliverables.
If everything went well, and it will so long as you go with professional installers, you will have the school back at the end of week 6 or 7, and the staff and kids can continue as normal.
However, these upgrades must be constantly monitored through a maintenance contract if you want to get the most out of your investment.
Like everything in life, electrical equipment is bound to the laws of physics and will wear out and depreciate with the passage of time. The difference is that with a maintenance contract at hand, you can significantly increase the life of the electrical system and cut down on the chances of faults and even shocks.
This will not only increase the safety of the school but will also ensure that all that summer work is not wasted due to negligence. The good news is that you can opt for a maintenance contract from the same company that did the installation.
This way, the team will know the entire layout of the electrical system of the school, and they will be able to conduct maintenance functions more effectively, thereby reducing the chances of any downtime.
Even if the team faces problems, they can quickly locate the source of the problem through circuit diagrams and even by bringing in the same team that did the upgradations.
By keeping up with the maintenance, you can significantly increase the efficiency of the school, boost safety, and perhaps even cut down on electrical bills thanks to an optimised and upgraded system.
Testing and inspections are the backbone of a highly optimised and longevity-focused system that works flawlessly and operates safely. Ideally, school administrators must ensure that maintenance activities take place at least every 6 months, which is also in accordance with the building and electrical safety regulations in the UK.
However, the frequency of tests depends on several factors such as the age and condition of the electrical system, the type of school, and the regulations in place.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the electrical installations must be tested and inspected at least every 5 years. This is to ensure that the system is safe to use and serves its purpose well.
The HSE recommends that schools carry out an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) by a qualified electrician to identify any defects and issues with the electrical system.
As mentioned above, in addition to the EICR, schools must also carry out regular visual inspections of the electrical system, which can be done by a member of the school’s staff trained in electrical safety. If the school does not have an in-house electrical department, then they can outsource the activity or bring in a technician from the installation company.
In addition to the fixed wiring and portable appliances, the emergency lighting systems must also be tested every 6 months. Emergency lights are extremely important in the event of power outages as they provide a source of light to safely evacuate the building.
We have been providing electrical services to residential, commercial, and industrial properties for over 40 years and are specialists in all aspects of electrical installations, maintenance, and testing.
All our work is fully insured, and we work to meet the standards set by the NICEIC to make sure all your electrical installations meet the current regulations and all the notifiable work is signed off by the local authorities.
If you have unplanned issues within your home or business, we can provide a call-out service to rectify and solve any problems, such as circuits tripping, loss of power, broken items that need repairing, or to check if you feel something is unsafe or a potential hazard.
Our team can generate a Visual Inspection Report (VIR) to identify anything visual that does not comply with the standards or looks unsafe, as well as a full Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) where we will identify and test each circuit to make sure they are not deteriorating and are safe for use within the current standards and regulations set by the BS 7671.
We can also provide PAT testing of appliances to make sure that any items such as kettles, computers, and microwaves are safe for use in the home and workplace.
Contact us here or call us at 0800 612 3001 to get in touch with our professional electricians for more information on school electrical upgrades and testing.
Photo by Rebecca Campbell on Unsplash
