In just about any home you visit, the kitchen is often the focal point and the most frequented area. Think about the amount of work that gets done in such a small amount of square footage. With massive appliances like a fridge, stove, or dishwasher doing hours of work a day, it is important that your home electrical system has been planned and installed properly to support this work force.

In the kitchen you have some of the most energy hungry appliances you can find in a home. The energy to keep these running comes from the electrical outlet. If the outlet is not designed to give the amount of electricity that the appliance requires there can cause damage to the appliance and to your home’s electrical system. For some of the main appliances in the kitchen the electrical outlets should be:

Of course with the size of the appliance these requirements can vary. As fridges become larger and stoves get more features, the appliance may require much more. It is important to check the requirements of your new appliances prior to installation. Make sure that you have an expert electrician check your outlets and compare them to the requirements of your new appliances.

To make sure appliances are getting the right energy requirements, you can follow the outlet to the electrical panel. When there is a heavy load on a circuit, it is important to check that the appliances are given their own circuit and that the wires behind the wall are up to code to support the capacity. If too many appliances are on the same circuit you can continuously trip the circuit causing larger problems in the long run. Also, if the wiring does not comply to code there is a chance of an electrical fire. This is a scary problem because it can hide behind the walls for years before it can happen.

If you are planning on purchasing new kitchen appliances or remodeling your kitchen make sure that you have done your homework. Review what your kitchen and home’s electrical system are capable of and what your new appliances require. The best way to know for sure is have an expert electrician do a thorough review before installing the new appliances. This can not only put your mind at ease, but avoid expensive bills in the future.

The availability of cheap electronic goods combined with our ever-advancing world of technology are rapidly creating a worldwide crisis. E-waste, or electronic waste, resulting from consumers improperly disposing of old equipment without a second glance, is taking its toll not only on the environment, but on the population as well.

The fastest growing waste stream in many countries, e-waste includes any item that utilizes a battery or plugs into an electrical outlet for operation.

Twenty five U.S. states have laws requiring e-waste recycling, which is typically free to consumers, however comprehensive federal laws have not yet been established. 15 states have landfill disposal bans on electronic waste. For information on your state, contact theNational Center for Electronics Recycling.

In cooperation with HirePatriots, a program of parent non-profit Patriotic Hearts dedicated to providing jobs for U.S. veterans and support services for their families, Mr. Electric® offers complete, professional electronic waste management solutions. As part of the Veterans Green Projects, HirePatriots is leading the way in providing safe e-waste recycling and disposal. Contact Mr. Electric today for all your e-waste management needs. With the help of HirePatriots, we can help you safely and responsibly recycle or dispose of your used electronic gadgets and appliances. Your world – and your family - is counting on you.  

Home automation is the latest trend in electrical installations; it allows you the functionality to control various devices in your home, via a mobile device from any location (in your city or even from across the world). It’s true that the term home automation could be used for various programmable devices such as sprinkler systems and thermostats.

However, home automation is much more than that, and it encompasses a number of things in a home including:

All of these are connected to a network that can be remotely controlled. From the perspective of home security, this includes fixtures such as the alarm system in your home, as well as the windows, doors, smoke detectors, locks, the CCTV cameras as well as the other sensors that are connected to it.

Even up until the recent past, it was only commercial systems and high-end homes that had automated centrally-controlled systems. Typically, these included only the heating & cooling systems, lighting systems and they hardly ever provided anything more than just the standard controls, monitoring functions as well as scheduling actions. In addition, these were accessible only from certain control points from within the very same building.

While this was a definite convenience and advantage, home automation takes this concept and technology one step further; and is popularly called the – ‘ Internet of Things’. In this type of system, everything has a specific IP address that can be accessed and monitored remotely.

Smart devices and various smart appliances are the most obvious things that get connected to the LAN via Wi-Fi or Ethernet. However, it’s possible to incorporate electrical outlets and light switches into your home automation network.

In addition to the convenience factor, the energy efficiency factor is what makes home automation such an attractive option. While modern appliances provide convenience and comfort, many of them are also power guzzlers; home automation systems also address this issue. Thermostats help monitor the heating and cooling system in your home; similarly the lighting systems can also be programmed and set for various target temperatures.

This helps keep energy usage at the minimum levels during the times when you aren’t really going to be using them. In fact this scheduling can be broken down at a more micro level to distinguish between the seasons of the year and the weekends etc., in some instances. If required, ‘macros’ can also be programmed into the system and these can be controlled remotely as required.

In fact, you can add settings – like “coming home” etc. that can activate various appliances, equipment and installations at the tap of your smartphone and you can have the opposite set as a “leaving home’ event. This ensures you use only as much energy as required, which adds to the overall energy efficiency of your home.

If you are considering getting smart automation solutions for your home, it’s important that you get experienced and credible electricians to handle the job for you. We at Allround Electricals are a company that has been operating in this space for a number of years and know what it takes to provide our customers with the kind of solutions they need.

For any more information about home automation or simply speak with the experts at our company. You can take our advice on various aspects of electrical and wiring installations. The number to call is – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.

Thanks for reading,1300 169 263