by Dean Mance | Jan 15, 2016 | Common Repairs, Keep Your Family Safe, Reduce Your Power Bill
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.
Replace your old unsafe down lights with new LEDs. Save money and reduce the risk of fire in your home. Phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.
by Dean Mance | Oct 10, 2015 | Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money
How Easy Is It To Change From Electric To Gas Hot Water?
Hot water accounts for up to 30% of the average household power bill, so it’s a major cost for most people.
With an electric storage cylinder you are paying to heat 160 litres of water day and night, whether it is needed or not. A much more efficient way is to just heat the water as you need it.
Gas is the best way to achieve this. Gas can provide the heat necessary to quickly heat cold water to a suitable temperature for showers, washing up etc. But how easy is it to change? And is gas the best alternative?
Electric instant hot water heaters are available but they don’t work very well in Tasmania. The water we are trying to heat often starts off very cold so an electric system struggles to lift the temperature to a usable level. Gas is the way to go.
Most of the work involved in changing from an electric to a gas hot water system is plumbing work. The old cylinder is disconnected and the pipes re-run to the instant hot water unit and bottled or town gas is connected.
The electrical work needed could be quite simple. All that’s needed is a weatherproof power point. Often the old wiring from the hot water cylinder can be used, but sometimes that wiring is the wrong size and a new circuit will need to be run.
Regulations require that all new power points be protected by an earth-leakage circuit breaker (safety switch) so some modifications to your switchboard may be required.
Sometimes major modifications could be required, if you have an old fuse board where it is not possible to to install a safety switch. For this reason it’s a good idea to talk to your electrician before any work commences to find out the extent of electrical work required.
You wouldn’t want to disconnect and remove your old hot water cylinder, get the new gas system installed and then find out it cannot be used without first replacing your switchboard.
In the worst case scenario a switchboard replacement could involve new mains cables, relocating your power meters and replacing some of your wiring. Talk to your electrician first to avoid nasty surprises.
Gas hot water is cheaper to run and you have the added advantage that it never runs out of hot water as long as you still have gas.
Do some research, get a couple of quotes and involve your electrician in the project before you begin and you’ll enjoy a smooth transition from electric to gas hot water.
Need a new power point for your gas hot water system? Phone Mance Electrical Launceston on 6331 4711
by Dean Mance | Jul 20, 2015 | Reduce Your Power Bill, Solar Power
1,366,380 Solar Panels, 102 Megawatts of Power
Enough To Power 33,000 Homes For A Year
The statistics are amazing, the scale is huge. AGL have just completed their biggest ever solar project at Nyngan in western New South Wales.
The last panel was installed in April 2015 and a ceremony to mark the event was attended by the CEOs of AGL and First Solar and ministers from the NSW state government – but not the federal government.
By the end of July the plant is expected to be fully connected and producing at full capacity. The more than 1.36 million panels cover 240 hectares and will provide enough energy to power 33,000 homes for an entire year.
Despite the federal government’s attack on the solar power industry, the installation of panels continues all across the country. Australians love solar power and will not be deterred from accessing this abundant, clean and cost effective source of energy.
For more information on how you can get your power free from the sun, including an on-site inspection, customised installation plan, system performance estimate and a free, no obligation quotation, phone your Launceston solar experts, Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.
by Dean Mance | Jul 19, 2015 | Common Repairs, Keep Your Family Safe, Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money
Traditional exit lights with fluorescent tubes require a lot of maintenance to ensure they will operate correctly in an emergency.
With the new range of LED exit lights now available it’s usually cheaper to replace a faulty older exit light than it is to repair it.
LED exit lights have many advantages over the older style lights. They require much less maintenance, are cheaper to purchase, have more reliable batteries and chargers and use much less power.
Power consumption is an important consideration as many exit lights are required to run 24 hours a day. There are big savings to be made on running costs alone. The cost savings from lower maintenance requirements are on-going for the life of the fitting, which is considerably longer than for a fluorescent style exit light.
Each new lights come with a range of “running man” style graphics all in the one box. There is no need to purchase a specific left or right arrow diffuser for each location. The one fitting can be adapted to suit all situations.
If your commercial property has exit lights they are required to be checked every six months, with a log book on site to record the testing date and any repairs carried out.
For all exit and emergency light installation, testing, repair and replacement in Launceston and surrounding areas, phone Mance Electrical on 6331 4711
by Dean Mance | Mar 9, 2015 | Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money, Uncategorized
Have you ever had a nasty shock when they received your power bill?
Maybe your first reaction was “How could it be so high? Surely there must be some mistake!”
There are unusual situations that could lead to a high power bill, however 99% of high power bills are due to high power usage.
We’ve done many investigations for clients who have received an unusually high power bill. Sometimes we find there has been an error with the meter reading.
Occasionally we’ve found instances where one person has been paying for someone else’s power. These are rare occasions, and always occur in multi- tenancy buildings.
The most common thing that catches people out is excessive use of electric heaters.
Most people underestimate the amount they run their heaters, and they aren’t aware of the running costs.
We have seen clients with quarterly power bills of more than $2,000 simply because they didn’t understand the cost of running their appliances.
It’s easy for costs to escalate quickly if you don’t know the best ways to manage your power use.
Very soon, Mance Electrical will be releasing a free guide to help you identify how much power your various appliances are using, so you can manage your power consumption to get the lowest possible power bill.
In the mean time, click here to download our free report which has 43 different ways to reduce you power bill, including many low cost and no cost ideas.
www.savepowersavemoney.com.au
by Dean Mance | Mar 9, 2015 | Common Repairs, Reduce Your Power Bill, Save Money
LED lights have come a long way in the last couple of years.
The technology and build quality has advanced to the point where there is a good LED replacement for almost every type of light.
Flood lights are now available in sizes to suit all applications from sports stadiums to street lights, to your own back yard.
Typical power savings are more than 80% which makes LED lights an attractive alternative.
The smallest LED flood light available is the 10 watt model, pictured above. Their light output is sufficient to light a typical front or back porch, or the area outside your garage.
They could be used in place of the traditional 150w halogen flood light.
LED flood lights have other advantages besides low power consumption. They also have a much longer life span than older types of lamps. This makes them ideal to replace lights in hard to access areas, such as pole tops and similar locations.
Longer life means lower maintenance costs, and a good quality LED flood light should come with a 2 or 3 year replacement warranty.
Some existing floodlights cannot restart immediately once they are switched off. Commonly used fittings such as sodium vapour and metal-halide floodlights will not restart until the lamp has cooled down. This means you could be without lights for a period of time if the power flickered or someone accidentally switched off the light.
LED lights can restart instantly if switched off. With LEDs there is no warm up period. The lights are at full brightness as soon as they are switched on.
Another advantage of LED flood lights is that they generate a lot less heat than other types of lights. This means LEDs can be used in areas where excessive heat could be a problem. Click here to see an example.
The qualities of LED flood lights make them ideal for use in areas where lights are left on for long periods of time. The power savings and lower maintenance cost means you can quickly recover the cost of buying the fitting.
For advice and free quotations or any information about LED flood lighting, please give us a call on 6331 4711.
