The Dangers In Old Fluorescent Light Fittings

by | Sep 1, 2016 | Lighting & Ventilation

There Could Be A Nasty Surprise Lurking In Your Old Fluorescent Lights.

Fluorescent light fittings manufactured before 1980 may contain a dangerous chemical called Polychlorinated Biphenyls or PCBs.

PCBs are known to cause a number of serious health effects including cancer and are now banned in many countries, including Australia.

The PCBs are sealed inside the capacitors and ballasts inside many older fluorescent light fittings. Over time these components can deteriorate allowing the PCBs to leak out.

If you see a dark oily substance leaking from an old light fitting don’t touch it – call an electrician as soon as possible to have the light fitting removed.

There are regulations governing the disposal of PCBs. Due to these regulations and the toxic nature of the chemicals you should not attempt to deal with this problem yourself.

Not sure if your old fluorescents contain PCBs? Give us a call and we’ll check your lights and dispose of any problem fittings if required.

Wall and Window Exhaust Fans

by | Feb 15, 2016 | Lighting & Ventilation

What to do when you can’t install a ceiling fan.
There are times when it’s just not possible to install a ceiling mounted exhaust fan.  Maybe you have a downstairs bathroom with no ceiling space, only the floor above.

Maybe you have a flat roof with only a few inches clearance between the ceiling and the roofing material and you don’t want to risk cutting a hole for a vent.  Cutting holes in flat roofs can cause water leak problems so it’s best avoided if possible.

Wall and window exhaust fans can be installed in places where it is not possible to install a ceiling fan.

The wall or window exhaust fan option can overcome the problems of no roof space, but there are other potential difficulties.

Obviously the fan will need to be installed in an outside wall.  Most rooms have only one outside wall, so you need to find a suitable location on that wall.

Any window will have to be a suitable size to take the fan with enough glass left around that fan after the hole is cut.  You must have a fixed pane of glass.  You can’t fit a fan to an opening window.

There are also safety regulations that restrict the type of glass that can be installed in bathrooms.

Even if you have a suitably sized and located window you cannot just cut a hole and fit a fan.  Usually, the entire window pane will need to be replaced with Grade A Safety Glass, unless it is more than 2 metres off the floor.

There are substantial costs involved in supplying and fitting a sheet of safety glass with a pre-cut hole to suit a window fan.  Installing an exhaust fan in a window is likely to be the most expensive of all your options.

The wall and window exhaust fans are considerably more expensive than a standard ceiling mounted exhaust fan.  In fact they can cost up to 10 times more.

There can also be difficulties with installing wall fans, depending on the construction of the wall and the location of wiring or plumbing pipes inside the wall, and downpipes or other attachments on the outside of the wall.

Double brick walls take the most time and effort for installation and it can be difficult to achieve a neat finish at the outside vent on a weatherboard wall.

There are various types and sizes of fans available and there will be two main options to consider. The first option is switching.  Some fans will have a remote switch on the wall, just like a light switch.  Other fans will have a pull cord switch on the fan itself.

Depending on where the fan will be located you may need to consider which type of switching will be most suitable.  If it will be difficult to install switch wires from the fan position to the desired switch position then a pull switch should be considered.

If the fan will be mounted out of easy reach then a wall switch will be required.

The second option is to do with shutters.  Some fans have no shutters, and they allow drafts to blow through the open fan duct.  We recommend that you only purchase a fan with shutters.

Some fans have automatic shutters that will open only after the fan is switched on and others have shutters that are operated by the pull cord for the switch.  Generally speaking the more expensive fans have more reliable and robust shutter systems.

Ceiling fans are always cheaper and easier to install.  Click here to see our article about ceiling mounted exhaust fans.

Even though window and wall exhaust fans are more expensive, they can sometimes the only alternative for adequate ventilation of ventilate bathrooms and kitchens.

Exhaust Fan Facts

by | Feb 9, 2016 | Lighting & Ventilation

Ceiling mounted exhaust fans are a cheap and effective way to remove steam from bathrooms or cooking odours from a kitchen, provided they are done properly.
Without a working exhaust fan in place bathrooms quickly become mouldy and full of condensation and kitchens build up a greasy film on cupboards and surfaces near the hotplates.

The most common problem with exhaust fan installations is a lack of roof space above the fan to disperse the steam.   You need somewhere for the steam to go to.  It’s no good trying to pump hundreds of litres of steamy air into a space where the roof is just a couple of inches above the exhaust fan.

When there is not enough air space or the ceiling is very low above the fan the steam that is extracted condenses on the underside of the roof and drips back down through the fan.

The usual problem areas are flat roofs and lower floors in a multi storey building.

In these cases it may be possible to vent the fan out to the eaves or an outside wall.  This is usually much easier in a new building than an already constructed building.

Regulations now require exhaust fans, Tastics and rangehoods to be vented to outside when installed in a newly constructed building.

If you are simply replacing an existing fitting that is not vented then the replacement usually doesn’t need to be vented.

Venting your exhaust fan is a good idea if it can be done, however some brands of vented fans are quite restricted in their airflow and don’t seem to perform as well as an unvented fan.

The other option is to cut a vent into the roof directly above the fan to direct the steam outside.  These are typically a short tube with a “Chinaman’s Hat” style cap on top.  These vents work well, but there is always a risk of future problems with water leaks whenever you cut a hole in your roof.

In some cases the only option may be a wall or window fan.  Wall and window fans come with their own set of challenges.  Click here to read our article and find out more about the benefits and problems of wall and window mounted exhaust fans.

The Dangers Of Halogen Downlights

by | Jan 16, 2016 | Lighting & Ventilation

Incorrectly Installed Downlights Are A Fire Hazard
Across Australia, hundreds of homes have been damaged or even completely destroyed by fire caused by old style halogen downlights.

There are millions of the lights still in use across the country and many of them are just a disaster waiting to happen.

The problem with these lights is the heat they generate during normal operation.  The lamps can burn at over 300 degrees C which is plenty hot enough to start a fire in your ceiling.

Due to the potential problems there are strict regulations for installing these lights.  But as so often happens in our industry these regulations are ignored to cut costs or just because the installer doesn’t know what they are doing.

The old style downlights must be installed at the correct distance from flammable building materials such as timber joists, and they must be protected to prevent them being covered by insulation.

We have seen plenty of cases where a wooden beam or ceiling truss has been partly cut away to allow the installation of a downlight fitting, and the timber black and charred as a result of the lamp being so close.

 

Downlights that are covered by insulation are particularly dangerous as the lamp heat is trapped and concentrated in the one area.  Insulation installers generally don’t have a good reputation for dealing correctly with halogen downlights, and once again cost cutting is probably a major factor.

The insulation installer is on a fixed price and many of the workers have no training in the correct safety procedures.

Even where metal insulation rings are installed as required, we have seem pump-in insulation and batts totally covering lights and creating a dangerous fire hazard.

Even if the lights are installed correctly they can still be the cause of a fire.  Birds, mice or rats nesting in your roof space can carry in grass and paper and other flammable materials and build their nest over your lights.  Rats especially like nesting near downlights due to the warmth they generate.

It is possible to purchase fire guarded downlight fittings or guards that you can retrofit to an existing light, but these days they are not the best solution.

Replacing your old halogen downlights with new LED downlights is definitely the way to go.

LED downlights are now very reasonably priced, they use up to 80% less energy, run very cool in comparison and can be installed close to flammable materials and even covered by insulation in some cases.

Click Here to see our post on the advantages of LED downlights

If you have old halogen downlights in your home, you should consider replacing these potentially dangerous fittings, or at least get them checked to make sure you’re not about to have a serious problem to have a problem.

New LED Down Lights

by | Jan 15, 2016 | Lighting & Ventilation

Getting Cheaper And Better All The Time
 

  • Cheaper To Run
  • Cheaper To Maintain
  • Safer To Operate
  • Easy To Install

LED down lights have greatly improved over the last year or so.  There are many new brands on the market and prices have dropped by around 50%.

The new lights on offer are more compact, with the LED drivers built in to the light fitting instead of having a separate driver that plugs into the light.  This makes them easier to install, especially in confined spaces.

Some new LED downlights can even be completely covered by insulation without causing overheating problems.

Overheating is a big safety issue with the old style down lights.  The dichroic lamps burn at up to 300 degrees and there are restrictions on clearances to timber and flammable materials.

The safety regulations were often ignored and a large number of homes have been damaged by fire as a result.

Click Here to read our in-depth article on The Dangers Of Old Style Down Lights

LED down lights solve all the safety problems caused by old downlights as they run very cool in comparison.

LED down lights are also much cheaper to run and have much lower maintenance costs as well.

The quality of light output has improved dramatically, with fittings available from 8 watts to 15 watts, with a choice of warm white, neutral or cool white output, so it’s easy to find a suitable down light for your situation.

Many fittings are dimmable too, which gives you even more options.  The only proviso is you must match the correct dimmer to your light fitting to ensure the best result and avoid flickering or a limited dimming range.

 

There is also a choice in style and colour of the fittings themselves.  LED downlights are available in either white, brushed chrome or brass finish.  The diffuser on the front face can be slightly recessed or flush with the trim ring

LED down lights are available in sizes that will directly replace the common sizes of old style downlights so swapping over to new fittings is usually a straight forward job.

Switching to LED lights will save you at least 80% on running costs.  Depending on the amount you use the lights, the pay back time could be less than a year.  The more you use the lights, the more money you will save.

Christmas Lights Survival Guide

by | Dec 3, 2015 | Lighting & Ventilation

The Unexpected Dangers Of Christmas Lights
It seems that every year the bar is raised higher and higher in the neighbourhood Christmas lights competition.

Displays are bigger and brighter, with more and more lights added each successive year. Home owners go to a lot of trouble and some of the displays look quite impressive, but did you know there is a dark side to those festive lights?

There are a number of injuries and even deaths each year directly attributed to Christmas lights.  Electrocution, fire and falling off roofs can make the quest for festive lighting a hazardous endeavour.

The major source of problems are old and poorly maintained light strings.

That old set of Christmas tree lights you’ve been dragging out every December for a couple of decades should probably be replaced.  Any lights that operate with 240 volts at the lamp have the potential to cause electric shock or start a fire.

Old Christmas lights can also cause overloaded circuits, a problem that has been solved by new LED lights.

LEDs are ideal for Christmas lights due to their low power consumption, low voltage power supplies and the range of colours that can be produced.  Even with new LED lights there are safety issues you need to to be aware of.

You should only buy your Christmas lights from a reputable local retailer to ensure they are safe and approved for use in Australia.

If you buy online make sure your lights are sent from an Australian based distributor and not sent direct to you from overseas.  It doesn’t guarantee the safety of the lights but it does give you an opportunity to seek redress in the event of a problem.

If you import any electrical product direct from overseas you assume all the responsibilities of an importer and will be personally liable for any problems the lights cause.

If some one is injured by non-compliant lights you will be responsible.  If you home is damaged by fire due to faulty Christmas lights your insurance company may not pay if the lights that caused the damage were not approved for use in Australia.

The usual commonsense safety measures still apply to low voltage or LED lights.

Don’t use lights that have damaged cords, broken lamps or damaged power supplies.

Don’t mix old and new light strings, they are probably not compatible.

Do keep power packs and extension cord connections out of the weather.

Do use a proper ladder for accessing your roof and make sure it is footed correctly and secured at the top if possible.

Do ensure that any lights you buy are approved for use in Australia.

While a good display of Christmas lights can look amazing, some people go just a little too far.

Last year a Townsville man disconnected the street light outside his home in order to make his lighting display stand out more effectively. He removed the cover from the base of the pole and pulled apart the live wiring connections, which disabled the  street light but created a very dangerous situation.

Enjoy your festive lighting display but make sure you keep your family safe as well.

Call Now Button