Doing Your Own Electrical Work Is Dumb, Dangerous and Illegal.
The photo above shows one of four lights installed in a Launceston property by a home handyman.
You can see that the red wire – the live wire – is connected directly to the metal body of the light.
If you were to touch the metal part of the light while changing a blown globe you would receive a potentially fatal electric shock. (more…)
Electrical connections can become loose for a variety of reasons. A tightly made connection can become loose over time due to the tiny expansion and contraction that occurs as the cable warms up during use and cools down when not energised. Perhaps the last tradesman to work on the installation didn’t do them up tight enough, or maybe the connecting parts have worn out and don’t make good contact anymore.
Occasionally we find connections that have never been tightened up at all. The wire has been pushed into the terminal and the screw never tightened. This can happen even in new homes and installations. It’s a sign that the tradesman didn’t do a final check by pulling on each wire to make sure it’s solidly connected.
Sometime the connectors or terminals are faulty so even though the screw is done up tight it’s not actually clamping the cable enough. Once again, a simple check by tugging on the wire will alert the tradesman to that type of fault.
Every electrical connection has the potential to get hot. With increased heat comes increased electrical resistance, which in turns causes things to get even hotter. Depending on the location of the connection this heat could potentially start a fire.
Common locations for loose electrical connections include switchboard connections of fuses and circuit breakers, connections to stove elements and hotplates and connections to power points.
The more load being drawn through the loose connection the more likely it is to fail. For example a loose connection to a power point is more likely to be a problem if a heater is plugged in to the heater as compared to a phone charger or some other low wattage device.
Signs that could indicate a loose electrical connection include flickering lights, intermittent power fluctuations, buzzing noises and burning smells. If you do find any of these problems you should have an electrician check it out as soon as possible.
Lately we have seen a couple of instances where home automation systems have been a nightmare for the home owners.
But what is home automation?
The term refers to computerised control systems installed to remotely operate electrical items in your home, such as lights, power points, heaters and other appliances.
In some ways it’s difficult to explain exactly what home automation is, because it can be almost anything you want.
Typically these systems will have pre-programmed modes for common situations. For example you can hit a “goodbye button” as you leave the house, which could lower the heating thermostat, turn on the outside lights, open the garage door and set the security alarm.
You can also make your own programs to suit your particular circumstances. For example you might create a mode for when you watch a movie on TV. The lights in the room could dim to a certain level, the automatic curtains close and the surround sound system turns on.
Problems with old systems
There are many fun and convenient things you can do with home automation, but when things go wrong with an older system, it’s definitely not fun.
One popular home automation system that was reasonable widely installed a few years ago now seems to have disappeared completely. Googling the product name brings very few results. The manufacturer’s website has no mention of the product.
Good luck with finding parts and someone who is familiar with that system if repairs are required.
Another well known supplier of home automation products is still around and still selling the product, but the components can be quite expensive.
What could possibly go wrong?
One of our clients reported their lights coming on by themselves and flickering. We suspect a fault in the dimmer module that controls the lights, however the client will now need a specialist technician to confirm the fault. The cost of new parts is likely to be over $1,000.
Another client their went away on holiday for a few weeks. While they were gone the home automation system turned on the garden sprinkler system and never turned it off. Two neighbouring properties were flooded.
Specialist wiring
Most home automation systems require specific power wiring and data cabling. So even if you decide to pull out the home automation system, it probably won’t be cheap or easy to revert to a normal wiring system.
If you are thinking about buying a property with a home automation system installed, do a bit of research to find out if spare parts and local technicians are available when the inevitable repairs are required.
Be aware that problems with a home automation system could be expensive and difficult to fix.
The future
There is a new generation of home automation devices that don’t require specialist cabling or highly trained technicians. In fact, the control modules are wireless and can just be plugged into an existing power point. Stay tuned for a future blog post where we’ll explore this cheaper and easier alternative in more depth.
In the mean time if you have any electrical problems at you home, including with a home automation system, please call your Launceston electrician, Mance Electrical on 6331 4711.
One of our clients had this dangerous power point in their garage.
The switch mechanism was knocked with a piece of steel pipe and had fallen out, exposing live parts.
Anyone touching the power point could have received an electric shock.
We have seen power points where the switch mechanism has cracked down the middle and half fallen out. We have seen switches where the switch rocker has been pushed back inside the switch, or popped out completely.
Sometimes it is caused by physical damage, sometimes the parts are just worn out.
Broken switches can be especially dangerous because you are often entering a dark room, feeling around for the switch and not able to see what you are about to touch.
In this case the home’s switchboard had an earth-leakage circuit breaker (safety switch) fitted which should cut the power in less than 30 milliseconds if someone had accidentally touched the contacts inside.
Safety switches are great and have saved many people from injury and death, but just like any electrical or mechanical device, they do have a failure rate.
You should not be relying on a safety switch to protect you from dodgy electrical equipment. If your switch or power point is damaged, you should get it replaced immediately.
While waiting for your electrician to attend you can cut power to the damaged item by pulling out the appropriate fuse or turning off the appropriate circuit breaker.
If you’d like your damaged power point or switch fixed in a hurry call Mance Electrical on 6331 4711. We have staff available every day for small repair jobs like this.
It may be a small job, but ignoring it could have serious consequences.
When it comes to cooking pots, a flat bottom works best.
A client called us recently to complain that their hotplates were slow to heat up and that it took a long time to cook anything on the stove top.
We did the usual tests of the elements and simmerstat controls and checked for heat damaged wiring under the hob.
Everything seemed to be in good order and working correctly so the client offered to give us a demonstration. A pot was filled with water and the hotplate was turned up high.
The water did take quite a while to heat up yet the hotplate tested fine again. Our technician then noticed that the bottom of the pot was quite curved, so that most of the base of the pot was not actually touching the hotplate.
Further investigation found that a couple more of the client’s pots had a similar curve of the base.
If the bottom of the pot is not flat and not touching the hotplate then the heat does not transfer well from the hotplate to the pot.
A curved pot will still work but it takes longer to heat up and may not get as hot as it could.
This also means a higher cost of using the hotplates as they will always be running longer in order to achieve the desired result.
In this case, the client opted for a new set of pots and the problem was solved.
Using a pot that is too large and hangs over the side of the hotplate element can also give slow cooking times. Always use the appropriate sized pot for each element.
If you have the opposite problem with a hotplate that is just too hot, to click here see our previous blog post on how to fix that problem.
If you need your hotplates repaired in a hurry, or some free advice on how one to deal with an electrical problem of any kind, phone Mance Electrical Launceston on 6331 4711.
