BUILD Q4 2026 Unlike many other safety risks, electricity is a ubiquitous hazard capable of causing fatal injury without warning. Electricity is the leading cause of accidental domestic fires, accounting for 20,000 housefires a year, while approximately 1,000 electricityrelated workplace accidents are reported each year. UK-based organisation Electrical Safety First is on a mission to ensure that everyone in the UK can use electricity safely, working with the media, government, businesses, and electrical industry to spread its message across the country. We heard more from Marketing and Communications Manager Nick Capeling below, as Electrical Safety First is named in the Design and Build Awards 2026. “We are the UK’s recognised expert voice in electrical safety.” Electrical Safety First is a UK charity dedicated to reducing deaths and injuries caused by electrical accidents. As a campaigning charity, it works in close collaboration with the government, the electrical industry, manufacturers, retailers, media, and other consumer safety organisations to ensure that every household across the UK is educated, equipped, and empowered to use electricity safely. To achieve this mission, Electrical Safety First communicates with the public about electrical risks and how to prevent them; works with industry, government, and various other stakeholders to minimise risk through changes in policy and practice; and underpins its work with solid evidence based on research and data. Its team draws upon a wealth of technical and campaigning excellence, alongside its robust evidence base, to ensure measurable and positive change. In September 2026, Electrical Safety First published a major report entitled Electrical Safety in Future Homes. The UK has some of Europe’s oldest housing stock; in England alone, around one in three homes were built before 1945 and more than half were built before 1965. Despite this, the condition and capacity of domestic wiring is not routinely assessed, which means that many homes are not adequately prepared for the technologies being installed within them. “The UK is transitioning to net zero, and this is making heat pumps, solar panels, battery storage, electric vehicles, and smart technologies part of everyday life. But they all depend on one thing: safe electrical installation,” Nick told us. “As with the foundations beneath a house, a home’s electrical installation is largely invisible, but everything built upon it depends on it. And many of the UK’s homes being asked to support new technologies were never designed with modern electrification in mind.” Electrical Safety First’s research highlights three important insights. First, most households have no obvious way of knowing whether their home is electrically ready for new low-carbon technologies, and many had never heard of an Electrical Installation Condition Report. Similar to an MOT for a car, or a gas check for a boiler, an Electrical Installation Condition Report is an in-depth check for the home’s electrical safety, and is integral to understanding the risk levels of any property. Secondly, Electrical Safety First learned that four in five households recognise the value of electrical safety checks, demonstrating strong public support for ways of preventing problems before they occur. Finally, the organisation reported that seven in ten households said they would act if a trusted professional recommended an electrical safety check, highlighting the vital role of competent, qualified installers in helping households make safe decisions. Electrical Safety First has also produced a report, alongside consumer guidance, into the electrical safety issues related to plug-in solar panels, which are now available to buy in the UK. Not every home is currently suitable for plug-in solar and, given there are unresolved concerns about the potential impact of plug-in solar panels on certain RCDs, the team recommends that households have at least a Type A bidirectional RCD protecting circuits intended for use with plug-in solar panels. Electrical Safety First’s website is one of the UK’s largest free resources for electrical safety information and advice, helping consumers understand electrical risks and take practical steps to keep themselves, their families and their homes safe. At present, Electrical Safety First is working on its largest campaign yet: Battery Breakdown, which addresses the alarming rise in deaths and injuries resulting from fires and explosions caused by substandard e-scooter and e-bike batteries. This campaign has already earned the support of more than 500 local councils and almost 100 organisations, including prominent voices such as the National Fire Chiefs Council, Which?, and Zurich. With a number of high-impact campaigns in the pipeline and ongoing collaboration with the UK government to improve national electrical safety standards, Electrical Safety First is working hard to create a safe future for households across the UK. We at BUILD Magazine are proud to recognise Electrical Safety First as the UK’s Best Electrical Safety Awareness Organisation 2026. Contact: Nick Capeling Company: Electrical Safety First Web Address: www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk Electrical Safety First: Powering Change to Save Lives
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