Many homeowners are DIY enthusiasts and will happily fix a broken chair or repaint the living room wall if they feel it’s looking dull and drab. If you are one of those people, you may also be tempted to fix electrical issues when something goes wrong. However, it’s important to keep in view the fact that electrical jobs aren’t for the DIYer. In fact, any electrical job, big or small should be tackled only by a licensed and insured electrician.

When you are working with electricity, safety is something you should never compromise on. It’s a fact that you would be able to handle some simple electrical jobs on your own and they may seem like a breeze, but the truth is that most people aren’t aware of the precautions they should be taking while tackling anything related to electricity.

When it comes to electrical jobs, there is no alternative to hiring an experienced and skilled professional for the job. Take a look at the 6 biggest domestic electrical mistakes novices make:

This is a very common mistake that many inexperienced people make. Every installation needs a different gauge (thickness) of wire. Using the incorrect one in a particular application can result in an overload or overheating in the wire; in turn, this can cause the circuit breaker or fuse to trip. It’s crucial that the wires be rated for the actual amperage they are going to carry.

It’s crucial that you never try to make any electrical connections outside electrical boxes. The sole purpose of these boxes is to ensure that the wires should be protected from external elements. If you do have to make an extension, use a plastic/metal box. Do not shove too many wires into one electrical box- this can lead to a short circuit.

There are times when you may not fix the switches and outlets firmly in the wall. These can be dangerous. When you attempt to fit appliances into an outlet that’s loosely fitted, the wires can come out of their terminals and can get overheated.

All the connections inside a fuse box should be correctly and tightly placed. Loose connections can cause flickering in lights and appliances. At times, it can lead to overheating of circuits too. It’s never a good idea to try to fix these yourself

Circuit breakers and fuses are the safety mechanisms that protect the wire ampacity ratings; they also control the flow of electricity to all the connected appliances. Many people are under the false impression that if a fuse blows or a circuit trips, they can simply replace it; and that the problem will be solved. In actuality, when either of these things happen repeatedly, it’s an indication that there is something wrong in the wiring connected to them. Call in a licensed electrician without delay and get the problem fixed.

This is another common electrical mistake. While many people simply buy adaptors and use them to plug in multiple appliances in at a single point, this only increases the amperage that the circuit can handle. This danger is compounded if you use more than one heavy-duty appliance at a single outlet.

Never take chances when you are dealing with electrical installations or are faced with electrical issues. Always call in a certified electrician to handle the job. For any type domestic electrical installations, call Allround Electrical at 1300 169 263. You can also drop us a line via email.

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When you’re talking about electricity, safety is always one of the most important points to be made. Protecting yourself, your home, and your electrical appliances is a big part of having a functional home here in Tampa. And in our area, one of the biggest risks that can come up is a lighting storm. Lightning arresters are a great, effective way of taming these storms, and today we’d like to talk about what they are, how they work, and what they can do for you and your home!

If you are planning on renovating or sprucing-up your kitchen, it’s probably a good idea to map out a detailed lighting plan as well. Most people find this a little strange as they feel that lighting in a kitchen isn’t something that needs too much of consideration or planning. It’s just a place where you cook and probably where you have an informal meal after all.

However, the fact is that it’s important to plan kitchen illumination well if you want to make optimal use of your kitchen spaces. Here, we would like to share some basic lighting ideas to create the right balance of functionality and aesthetics.

If you want to get a better idea about what type of lighting would work best for your kitchen, it’s vital to understand how your kitchen spaces relate to the different type of lighting. Let’s start off with understanding what type of bulbs you can use for the best effects:

These bulbs emit a yellowish light and you will now find many artistic versions of these on the market today.

These bulbs throw off a flat, cold light that has a bluish tinge, which lends a very harsh effect to the room.

These have a warm light that makes the place look very inviting and comfortable

These are the latest in light bulb technology and are available in a range of effects including white, cool daylight, warm light, yellow and a range of other colours and hues. Aside from this, LED bulbs are also 80% more energy-efficient than standard bulbs; and most property owners are now opting for these fixtures.

In addition to the types of bulbs used, the style of lighting or the lighting effects are what impact the ambience and appearance of a room. With this in view, here we discuss the different lighting effects that can be used in your kitchen:

This is one of the simplest ways to create the right lighting effect in your kitchen. This type of lighting is designed to help you move comfortably around the room. In most instances this type of lighting comes from grid-style can lighting, widely-spaced, wall and ceiling lamps, semi-translucent skylights or even the natural light that streams in through glass windows and doors. This is the base layer of any lighting plan.

In your kitchen, task lighting would be required to illuminate kitchen counters and food preparation spaces. Since you will be cooking in your kitchen every day, it’s important that the task lighting be planned and installed well. If you have only recessed lighting fixtures in your kitchen, you will feel the lack of focused light when you are cleaning, cooking or prepping in that space.

If you install one-dimensional lighting in the kitchen, it creates unsightly shadows in different areas of the room, while ceiling lighting is ineffective in illuminating spaces like sinks, under counter or cabinet areas etc. On the other hand, if you add special pendant lamps over the counters or even your kitchen island it can prove to be a more practical solution. Under-cabinet lighting can also help in illuminating the cabinets that are positioned there.

This effect doesn’t seem as necessary as ambient or task lighting does in a kitchen space, as the illumination it provides isn’t as functional as the first two. However, it can have a significant impact on the way your kitchen spaces look. If you want to enhance the appeal of your kitchen (regardless of whether you are getting it entirely renovated or are opting for a lighting upgrade), it’s important that you plan your accent lighting well.

For more information, contact the friendly team at AllRound Electrical at this number – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.You can also write to us at this email address.

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A lot of time we are asked what is the equivalent LED product to convert from Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium or Mercury Vapor. And a lot of time, we have a product in mind that works based on past experience. But how did we come up with that product, and how did we make the original decision on what was the proper replacement?

There’s a lot of science that goes into light, color, quality, and each light had it’s own characteristics. For example, it takes less LED to replace High Pressure Sodium than it takes to replace Metal Halide. And we are talking a lot more than just lumens. We are talking about color temperature, quality of light and something called photopic / scotopic lumens.

In the world of lighting, we measure foot candles with a light meter, this is called a photopic measurement. The light meter picks up everything, including spectrum’s that are invisible to us. Now, we humans see things to, and this is called scotopic lumens. Our rods and cones read and interpret light. And it does so differently than what a light meter does. So it is not uncommon when we demo a LED Light against a HPS light or Metal Halide, we first ask “Which is brighter” before we show the light meter reading. It leaves a few people scratching their heads. Well, that’s the science of of it all, and fortunately there is some handy tables called SP ratios that allow us to take the lumens of a particular light (photopic lumens) and multiply it by the S/P ratio to get the scotopic lumens equivalent.

For example, the S/P ratio for High Pressure Sodium is 0.40. The S/P ratio for LED at 5000K is 1.8. So if you take 40,000 lumens of HPS and multiply it 0.4, the effective scotopic lumens is 16,000. To get the same amount of lumens from LED, take the 16,000 and divide it by the S/P ratio and you get 8888 lumens. So the 8888 lumens of LED is the photopic measurement, the 16,000 LED lumens is the scotopic lumens measurement. So in an nutshell, you need 8,888 lumens of LED to replace 40,000 lumens of HPS from a scotopic point of view.

Here is a handy chart of common lights and ratios for you to use.

As a rule, the bottom of any hanging light should be at least 6’8″ off the ground – unless it’s over a table or island. When you have an 8′ ceiling, this doesn’t give you a whole lot of room to play. If you long for the grand impact of a decorative

A room with a single light fixture is depressing. Kick the shadows by adding multiple light sources. A few stylish flush-mount ceiling lights. Some table lamps. An accent light here or there. When you have multiple lights shining in different directions, the space will feel lighter and more open. Make sure to place ceiling lights at least 3′ from the wall, any closer and harsh shadows will make your ceiling seem lower.