Christmas Is Here- Hang Lights With Care

If you're buying or putting up Christmas lights this weekend make sure you follow our handy checklist

Information Collected From Master ELectricians Australia

December is a time for Christmas cheer with many homes and gardens turned into spectacular festive displays.

During this time it's important to remember electrical safety. Too often decorative lighting isn’t installed correctly, or no electrical safety measures have been considered.

Master Electricians Australia urges everyone to be aware of common sense electrical safety measures to keep you and your family safe.

Australian Standards
When you’re purchasing decorative lights always look for an Australian Approval number such as Q12345, V01294, or N12345. Many decorative lights are manufactured outside of Australia where safety standards are lower but the approval number indicates the product is safe to use here.

Safety switches
A safety switch is the best way to secure your home and family’s electrical safety. In most electrical accidents a safety switch will sense danger instantly, cutting off the power in a fraction of a second.

A safety switch and approval number isn’t an alternative to proper electrical maintenance or safe practices. Your home can be covered in decorative lights inside and out and still be electrically sound; you just need to be vigilant and keep electrical safety top-of-mind.

Christmas Safety Checklist

•When installing lights outdoors, only use lights designed for external use. Generally these types will have a transformer
•Use extra low voltage lights - look for lights with a transformer

•Always turn off outdoor lights during rain or storms
•Ensure your outdoor connections are weatherproofed
•Check for an Australian Approval number when purchasing lights
•Do not piggyback double adapters or power boards
•Always keep clear of powerlines, swimming pools, driveways, and walkways

•Secure outdoor lights to fixtures and keep out of children’s reach
•Follow the instructions and recommendations of manufacturer

Construction commences on Australia’s first utility-scale solar farm

As seen on ACA- Group buy power savings trying to help Aussies save on their bills

Check out the A Current Affair Link

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/money/8371586/group-buy-power-savings

More than 50,000 Australians flocked to save money with the first-ever mortgage group buy. And now One Big Switch is looking to save Aussies on their household bills. We show you how to become part of the biggest group-buy power savings around.

Environmental Benefits of Solar Power

Australia’s high level of pollution per capita is due to our over-reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity. Forty percent of Australia’s green house gas emissions come from electricity production, and Australia’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions over the past 25 years have risen at almost twice the average rate, which is about 4.5 times the global average. 

In response to the likely global impact of climate change and the environment due to increasing CO2 emissions, the Federal Government’s is developing/implementing  major policy initiatives including CPRS, MRET along with other changes that will impact the economy, business, and our way of life in a fundamental and structural way. There is a huge amount information available on the internet, and some useful links are provided below.

If an typical Australian home uses around 25 kilowatt hours of electricity every day, and this electricity is generated by the burning of fossil fuels, it means that household is responsible for releasing 7.5 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere annually. When you consider the number of households in Australia, the combined effect of these emissions is a major burden on the environment.

There is another way.

Generating electricity from the sun means less consumption of fossil fuels, less pollution and therefore greater climate change mitigation. Installing tens of thousands of small solar systems on: homes, schools, businesses, government and public buildings, will each contribute to reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, help the environment and combat global warming.

For example, a single 2kW solar power system from SilexSolar will reduce CO2 emissions by about 3 tonnes per year depending on the average annual solar insolation. This is the equivalent of planting more than 450 pine trees. With large roof spaces available at schools, installing larger solar power systems is the equivalent of planting a forest.

Did you know that Spectra Electrical also install Solar Panels?

The below images were taken of our Electricians Installing Solar Panels on homes accross Sydney

Australia is one of the highest producers of green house gasses in the world and yet we are very slow in adopting renewable sources of energy that could reverse this trend like solar power.

If you would like to save on your Electriciyt bills, add value to your home, and help save the Environment you should consider installing Solar Panels to your home.

Chandelier- Sydney Electrician

Just recently one of our very handy and clever Electricians constructed this  magnificent Chandelier for one of our customes home in Bella Vista.  It is beautiful. It was put together piece by piece. It is a fantastic feature in their home. We hope you like it as much as we do