Residential electrical installations can be completely secured, reducing the risk of fires from electrical sources or electrocution to an absolute minimum. Ensuring this level of safety requires best practices in design, installation and inspection. However, the majority of countries around the world do not have the right mix of standards, regulations and education to achieve this. The Electrical Safety Barometer measures the gap between reality and best practice and then provides advice to policy makers on how they can improve the situation in their country. It is an initiative launched by Copper Alliance / ECI, which has over twenty years of experience in defense of residential electrical safety.
The barometer uses 13 essential criteria to define the level of residential electrical safety. Each criterion is assigned a weighting factor which is then used to calculate an overall score. These criteria represent a chain of practices at different levels and range from device standards to manufacturer engagement, inspection practices and installer qualification, to an adequate regulatory framework. The final score of the barometer shows how far a country’s situation is from best practices. It also serves as a benchmark for comparing the situation with other countries. With the help of local experts, we are applying the barometer in a growing number of countries. The results are published on this website and are available to the public.