When a fire breaks-out, most people just assume that it’s been caused by some inflammable substance. While that might be the case, it’s important to keep in mind that fires can also be caused by electricity. The one thing to keep in mind is that an electrical fire can’t be doused by water. Faulty or old electrical installations can lead to a fire and cause untold damage to life and property.

There are times when the electrical equipment or appliances in an electrical system can be the cause of overheating & overload, which can end up causing a fire. So, exactly what is it that causes an electrical fire? There are three main reasons, let’s take a detailed look at what these are and what can be done to prevent this from occurring:

Some properties have wiring that is decades old and electrical wires do tend to deteriorate with age. In fact, if the wiring in your house is over 15 years old, the recommendation is that you should get the entire property rewired. Older wiring wasn’t designed to bear the electricity load that current-day appliances demand. At times the electrical contractor might have cut corners and installed wiring of poor quality and this can lead to a similar problem, both of which can result in fires.

Arcing is quite a common problem with electrical wiring. As mentioned earlier, most homes have a range of heavy-duty electrical appliances. When you run a number of these appliances simultaneously in your home, it results in overloading and overheating of the wires. If the wiring is old, it will get heated up which will cause the insulation around it to melt – this results in arcing and an electrical fire may erupt too.

There are times when electrical wires are just too close to an external heat source which causes the outer insulating sheath of the wiring to melt. If this goes unnoticed, it can result in an arcing and fire.

Regardless of what has caused the electrical fire, if you attempt to contain it by pouring water on it that will escalate the issue. Water doesn’t have any effect on electrical fires; in fact, if you try to use water to douse an electrical fire, you can get electrocuted. What you need to deal with an electrical fire is a Class C fire extinguisher.

This type of extinguisher has dry chemicals that help contain the fire. Depending on how severe the fire is, it might be possible to completely bring it under control using a Class C fire extinguisher. If you don’t have this extinguisher, baking soda might help to some extent.

In case there is a break-out of fire on your property, the first thing you should do is switch off the power-mains; this is effective in containing the fire. Ideally every home and commercial establishment should have a Class C fire extinguisher or two, based on the size of the property and that should be used in case of any fire in the electrical wiring. An electrical fire is an electrical emergency and it’s crucial that you keep the number of a local, reliable electrician handy.

Never try to fix any electrical issues on your own. That can only lead to more complications and will compromise the safety of your property. We at Allround Electrical can rectify all types of electrical faults and we provide a range of electrical services. For more information, contact our friendly team today at this number – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address. You may also reach us through this online contact form.

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Then, once you install the fixture, simply run it while you’re taking a bath or shower, and for about 30 minutes afterwards. It may also help to put the fan on a timer switch so you never forget. You should have separate switches for the light and the fan so you can operate them independently.

For The Bright Bathroom

We’ve all been there. A quick midnight trip to the bathroom. You need to be able to see, but it sure would be nice if you didn’t have to jolt yourself awake with every lumen of your bathroom lighting on at full power. You can solve this problem if you nab a lighted bathroom exhaust fan with a night light setting.

2. The Orleans Bathroom Exhaust Fan

4. The Ventura Bathroom Exhaust Fan

As a business owner, it is important to reduce your energy emissions as much as possible. You can easily make a conscious effort to do this by reducing packaging, using sleep mode on all your electronic devices and shutting down everything at the end of the business day. Another good way to reduce your emissions and your electricity bills is to use LED fixtures in your buildings, offices, and even parking lots.

Here’s how businesses around the world are taking a step towards reducing their environmental impact using commercial LED lighting.

There are a number of reasons why LED lights make a better choice for the environment and sustainability. The lifespan of a LED bulb is up to 80,000 hours, whilst halogen bulbs are only estimated to last between 2000-6000 hours. The bulbs also gradually lose lumen output at a rate which is almost undetectable to the human eye, in comparison to a metal halide or halogen bulb which fluorescent strip lights to LED tubes, the first thing they will notice is that there is no waste disposal required. Due to the chemicals in fluorescent lights, waste disposal or Light Supplier in the UK. Leila is a Public Relations graduate from Sheffield Hallam University.

In some of our previous posts, you’ve likely seen our experts mention the presence of “ungrounded” outlets in homes and buildings. But what exactly makes an ungrounded outlet such a negative? Are they dangerous? Our certified electricians come to you today with answers to the real important questions regarding ungrounded outlets!

If you have ungrounded outlets and need an outlet upgrade, contact us today!

Ungrounded outlets are easily identified by simply taking a look at the face of the outlet (where you plug things in). On nearly all modern homes, there should be three holes. Two are the vertical slits, and one roundish one located underneath the pair of vertical ones. That’s a grounded outlet, which have been required by electrical safety standards for all structures since the mid-1960s.

Ungrounded outlets lack the third hole, the roundish one on the lower portion where the, somewhat obviously, ground plug goes.

To understand the why, you kind of have to understand what a grounded outlet does. The two vertical slots represent both a “hot” wire, and a “neutral” wire. The ground wire in a grounded outlet ties into the neutral vertical slot. Why the redundancy? Well, it acts like a failsafe. Should anything go awry with your outlet, such as a short, the renegade electricity simply travels safely along the ground wire back to the panel. Without the ground wire, that electricity can channel into materials, such as fabrics located close to the outlet, or a very unlucky person.

Is it dangerous in that it might jump out and bite you? No. Is it dangerous in that it dramatically increases personal and property risk? Yes, absolutely. Ungrounded outlets increase the chance of:

We’ve encountered a few arguments over the years about the safety of ungrounded outlets. Like how they were used just fine in the past, or how the home that has them hasn’t “burned down yet”, etc. Well, that’s just the thing. Yet.

We haven’t been hit by a car, but that doesn’t mean we should go walking down the center of a busy highway at midnight. Grounded outlets became a standard in electrical code for a reason. They prevent possible problems that homes consistently encountered in the past. It’s all about preparedness and prevention!

So to conclude, are ungrounded outlets dangerous? Yes, they represent a very real potential risk. Worried that you may have ungrounded outlets in your home or business? Contact the certified master electricians at Kolb Electric today! We’ve been bringing our consumers the very best in electrical advice and service for years, and your complete satisfaction and safety are always our top priority!

Christmas is upon us again and more than any other time of year, it’s the time of year where people put strain on their electrical system.  The lights on your house and the beautiful decorations you’ve been storing in your attic finally are brought out and plugged in for your friends and neighbors to view and appreciate.  And, of course, the vast majority of homes you visit have at least one Christmas tree.  Since most of these things are electrical, it’s probably not a surprise to you that, as a top Dallas electrician, I start getting a lot of calls this time of year.  Though it’s always nice to have the business with Christmas so close, I thought it’d be great to share with ways to avoid wiring problems with your Christmas decorations this year:

 In general, there are a few important tips that can help you avoid wiring problems.  If your lights look frayed or dangerous, they should always be replaced or repaired before using them, frayed wiring are hazardous.  You should take care that your electrical source is safe before you even begin the installation process.  To avoid the potential for overloads, you should have dedicated circuits installed for your holiday decorations.

Most importantly, you should never try to supply power for your lights without contacting a top Dallas electrician to help you install the necessary equipment and make the necessary safety precautions.  Short cuts are potentially dangerous. I can remember one example where a customer had supplied power to their lights by splicing an extension cord directly into their circuit breaker box!  Even worse, they’d shut the breaker box door, pinching the cabling!  Left unchecked, even if this hadn’t started a fire, damage from a power surge or overload could have easily destroyed their whole breaker, meaning they’d have to spend thousands to repair the damage at the absolute worst time of year!