The electrocution of a fat rat in an electric substation caused a three hour power outage in Stockholm’s central railway station. The rat had sneaked into a secondary substation and came into contact with parts that caused it to short circuit. The short circuit was so forceful that the rat actually burst. Time after time we attend to power failures and find that rodents such as rats and geckos are a main cause for the loss of power. These animals shelter in switchboards for dry and warmth a... Read More

Legislation has been passed that by mid 2011 the production of electric hot water units will stop. Your alternative options will be gas, heat pump or solar hot water systems for the generation of hot water within your home or business. There are currently attractive rebates in place for consumers to install sustainable heating devices. The more efficient and economical option is to go with solar generation as the main source of energy is freely at our disposal and has zero impact on natural r... Read More

Many lives are lost every year due to fires in the home. Alternatively many lives are saved where home owners have taken the initiative to have smoke alarms installed. There a quite strict regulations around the necessity to have smoke alarms installed in dwellings. It is compulsory to have smoke alarms fitted to all rental properties and new homes. There are many forms of detectors such as battery only, 240 volt hard wired units, lithium battery backup, ionized and non ionized alarms and inf... Read More

Before the weather starts to heat up you should have your air conditioning system serviced. Inefficient systems will not only put a strain on the units operation but also the electricity grid. By cleaning or replacing the filters and clearing out the evaporator the efficiency of the system will dramatically improve and keep running cost down. Remember to keep the operating temperature at 25 degrees and keep windows and coverings closed.... Read More

Most of us current find that we have our hot water units on a controlled tariff either on tariff 31 or 33, but have you considered putting your pool pump onto the same system. For every hour that you reduce the use of your pool pump, you save over $80.00 and half a tonne of greenhouse gas emissions per month. To economically place your pool pump onto a controlled tariff an independent power circuit needs to be in place or installed. If the financial outlay cannot justify the savings to be had... Read More

We are fortunate in Queensland with our weather and we are in remarkable position to harness the energy from the sun. Solar hot water heating will save you up to 90% on your current hot water bill which calculates approximately around $350 per annum on an average family consumption with a 305 liter system. With the constantly increasing electricity prices now is a good time to have solar installed on your home and take advantage of the current rebate structure. There are currently a number of... Read More

A CFL is a compact fluorescent light. We more commonly refer to CFL’s as energy efficient or long life lights. A CFL provides the same amount of light for about one-quarter of the power compared with incandescent lighting. Low- voltage halogen lights are often mistaken as energy efficient. In fact, because they are recessed, they can use more energy for room lighting than incandescent bulbs, and they use from four to 20 times the amount of energy as CFL’s. ... Read More

All electrical portable devices should be tagged and tested by a qualified electrician especially in the work place where many different people can come into contact with electrical devices. Construction/ Demolitions Areas electrical equipment should be tagged and tested every 3-12 months dependant on the type of equipment. Service Areas electrical equipment should be tagged and tested every 3-12 months dependant on the type of equipment. Office Work Areas electrical equipment should be tag... Read More

A power surge is a rapid increase in voltage, which can be caused by lightning strikes, power disruptions or major electricity users such as factories or shopping centre’s switching large loads on or off. Power surges can even be caused by switching certain household appliances on or off. A power surge can have damage, beyond repair, many electrical devices ranging from radios to wide screen plasma televisions to major electronic machinery. There are very few insurance companies that will i... Read More

A safety switch is designed to save the lives of yourself and your family. Every home in Queensland should have a functioning safety switch. You as the house owner need to test your safety switch. This can be done by pressing the TEST button on the safety switch. When the test button is pressed and earth fault is put across the internal coil of the safety device which should in turn trip out the device. If this doesn’t occur you may have a non functional device and you will need to have it ... Read More