At this time of the year, the weather in most parts of Australia is perfect to spend time in the outdoor spaces of your home. You can spend leisurely hours lounging around by the pool, or have BBQ parties in your outdoor kitchen, on the patio or deck. In short, you can make good use of these areas in the daytime as well as after dark.

This also means you will end up using some or the other electrical equipment and appliances there and this brings with it a specific set of challenges. In some cases, the falling dry leaves can also prove to be an electrical hazard in the outdoor areas of your home. The best way to avoid problems is to follow these basic outdoor electrical safety tips:

Just as you get the indoor electrical equipment and installations audited regularly, you should also hire an electrician to conduct a semi-annual audit of your garden and yard’s outdoor electrical fixtures. It’s best to get these checks done some time between Winter & Spring.

The next audit should be conducted between Summer & Fall. This helps reduce the chances of electrical problems surfacing out of the blue due and to temperature and weather fluctuations. While it’s best to call in a licensed and experienced electrician to handle the job, it’s also a good idea to keep an eye out for signs of electrical problems including:

When the electrical audit is being conducted, ensure that all your outdoor electrical equipment is stored & functioning properly.

Damaged or loose electrical wiring can prove to be a major electrical hazard and can be the cause of an electrical fire in your home; this is especially true if the wiring comes in contact with dry leaves or firewood that’s been piled up in the yard. Once the electrician gives you a complete report of the condition of the wiring, you should also make it a point to replace any wiring that’s loose or damaged.

Any water pooling in the landscaped areas of your home can prove to be an electrical hazard and can put your home and other outdoor features on your property at risk. The best way to prevent this from happening is to ensure that all the electrical switches, cords and connections are stored away and that they are in weather-proof casing; this ensures they don’t come in contact with any water sources.

Every pool and spa tub installation has some electrical wiring and fixtures such as pumps, underwater lights and power points etc. Ensure your electrician checks all these fixtures and that the electrical safety requirements have been met.

It’s a good idea to opt for a preventive electrical maintenance contract. As part of this contract, your electrician will check all the electrical installations in your yard and garden spaces. These checks help ensure that all these systems are in a good condition and that if any potential problems are noticed, they can be nipped in the bud.

Explosion proof fixtures are a necessity for environments which output potentially explosive or flammable fumes, produce dust of dirt in the air, or similar situations in which a gas could enter the fixture and cause damage to the light or well-being of the facility.

If you are currently running or working with a facility which requires these explosion proof light fixtures, the list of 3 must-haves below will clear the air and hopefully set you on the right track to ensuring you have the proper setup and design.

First on the list, we are going to talk about the actual technology within the fixture and why it is so important.

While a big part of vapor proof lights is the actual fixture and its design, we think the luminaire within the fixture is equally as important.

We simply can’t recommend any other technology other than LED because we truly believe in it. To give you a little bit of insight on industrial LEDs, here are some of the reasons why companies of all sorts are converting to LED:

As you can see, just from these three main benefits that all sorts of facilities are realizing can really be game changing in terms of savings.

For these reasons (and more), we thought it was a must to have it first on the list.

Interested in learning more? Find Class 1 Div 2. For this reason, we suggest you always inquire with a reputable and knowledgeable company that offers and deals with explosion proof lighting when inquiring about your lighting project.

If you can’t find a reputable company to ask your questions, just LED explosion proofs offer the long-term solution is clear.

Especially when you consider in rebates, your initial upfront investment can be reduced greatly. While these rebates do vary from place to place, they are most often available when you buy DLC qualified fixtures. Not only are DLC qualified fixtures going to make you more eligible for rebates through your utility company, but they also provide other benefits. The biggest benefit of buying DLC qualified lights is they have ben tried and tested and, in most cases, do what they claim. In a busy world of lighting, not all products do exactly what they say. This is most common when a light is not qualified by something like the DLC.

Our main advice is this; to get the best value buy only DLC qualified fixtures. If you don’t, you may actually end up spending more upfront (by not getting any rebates) as well as more energy usage overtime, due to a less efficient build.

Another major cost saver can come through retrofitting. The only time you can retrofit is if your fixture is still functional and can fit a LED retrofit in it. If you do not match these requirements, then a full replacement will (typically) be required.

If you can, we suggest you retrofit. It saves money in two ways: retrofit kits are cheaper than full fixture replacements and the cost to retrofit is typically less time consuming and thus, less expensive.

In Summary

We know that a sensitive environment can be stressful to deal with, especially when it comes to the lighting system and the safety of the facility.

The above 3 must-haves are just the beginning, and each situation can vary greatly. As always, we suggest you consult with some lighting professionals to truly discover what you may require for your facility and operations.

Electric motors power everything from tiny electronics to massive industrial pumps. Yet, they all work on the same basic principles. Though AC motors seem ordinary, there are complex activities going on behind the scenes.

The simplest types of motors are three-phase AC motors. They convert a rotating magnetic field into mechanical rotation. The basic parts of an AC motor are the stator, rotor, bearings, drive shaft, and frame. The supply power is connected to coils of wire that are wrapped around laminated iron cores in the stator; the stationary part of the motor. When the coils of wire receive current, they generate a magnetic field known as poles. Each phase of power has the same number of poles; the poles are spaced evenly around the stator.

Historically, speed control of three-phase induction motors was very difficult. The only way to change the operational speed is to change the frequency of electricity supplied. Today, this task is accomplished by use of a variable frequency drive or VFD. This device is made of three main components: a rectifier, a DC-Link, and an inverter. The rectifier takes the incoming AC voltage and converts it to DC voltage that can be used by the electronics in the VFD. The DC-Link then uses capacitors to help smooth out the DC voltage from the rectifier and feeds it to the inverter.

The inverter then converts the DC voltage back to AC voltage. The inverter also controls the output frequency of the AC power by sending precisely timed pulses of DC power at specific voltages to rebuild the AC sine wave.

With a VFD, not only can the output frequency be controlled, but it can be slowly ramped up. This allows for smoother starting and can be adjusted to keep a motor spinning at a specific frequency. VFDs can produce three-phase power from a single-phase source, or even a DC source, to power highly efficient three-phase motors in locations without a three-phase supply. VFDs can also be incorporated into a PLC system to allow for automatic or remote control.

The combination of a VFD and AC motors offers a wide variety of functions and increased efficiency. Basic understanding of these technologies is essential for any electrician.

There are many “laws” or rules when it comes to electricity. While most people will still need to call an electrician Pasadena for major electrical problems, it is still nice to understand the basics so you know what is happening with your electrical devices when you plug them in or flip the switch to the on position. One of these so-called laws is “Ohm’s Law.” Learn more about how it works with your appliances.

First, you must understand that for electricity to work, it must complete a circuit (loop). Generally, these circuits are controlled by copper wire because it has a very low resistance and carries the current with ease. The amount of current flow is decided by the amount of resistance in the circuit. If the resistance is high, then the current will be low. For the current to be high, the resistance must be low (such as it is with copper wire.) This is the basis for Ohm’s Law.

While it may seem like having a higher current would be better, this is not always true. Too much current can be dangerous. For household circuits, it is normally best to keep the current under 20 amperes. More than that will pop the circuit breaker. When your circuit breaker pops, that is keeping you and your family safe from having too much current flow through the devices in your home.

Ohm’s Law may not be something that you need to understand in depth, but having this basic knowledge will make it easier to know what is going on behind the scenes of your electronics. If you have questions about the electricity in your home, or you need help figuring out your circuits and circuit breakers, call Electric Connect, your number one choice for an electrician in Pasadena. The experts at Electric Connection are here to help you every step of the way.