Electrical evidence: what to photograph and label

Electrical photographs are collected so the installer can see the existing arrangement before design and installation planning. They are a visual record, not an electrical inspection, test certificate or confirmation that an installation is suitable.

1) What to photograph (where applicable)

• Electricity meter, including a wider view that shows its position
• Cut-out or service-head area, with labels visible where they can be photographed safely
• Consumer unit exterior, circuit schedule and surrounding working space
• Existing generation, storage or relevant isolators included in the brief

2) How to capture it

• Take a wide shot for location, followed by close-ups of readable labels
• Check focus and glare before moving on
• Do not remove sealed covers or expose live parts for a photograph
• Record anything hidden, inaccessible or unsafe to capture

3) How to label it in the report

• Use consistent categories such as meter, cut-out and consumer unit
• Keep the observation beside the photograph it describes
• Distinguish a visible label from an assumption or a value supplied by somebody else
• Refer anything requiring inspection or testing to a suitably qualified person

What the office should be able to check

A complete record should let the installer identify the photographed equipment, understand where it sits in the property and decide whether a qualified electrical check is needed. It should never imply that a photograph alone proves capacity, condition or compliance.