Each year there are in excess of 50 fatalities that are caused by preventable house fires in our country, which is an extremely startling statistic. This is especially true since these fires could have easily been prevented from spreading if there had been an operational smoke detector on the property.

Having these installed on every storey in your home or commercial property is one way to ensure the response to a fire emergency, is quicker. In many instances, this can actually help save lives and property. Here are some basic facts about smoke detector installations:

The best way to ensure that your property and family are safe from a fire is to make sure that the fire gets detected early. A smoke detector is a device that’s specifically designed to quickly alert those on the property, about the presence of smoke. Typically, these could be attached either to the ceiling or a wall. These are battery-powered devices that have to be replaced on a regular basis. You also have the option to hardwire a smoke detector into the main electrical system on the property.

There are 2 main varieties of smoke detectors:

The first type is the photoelectric one that has a light – this light gets altered in the presence of smoke which in turn, activates the alarm. This kind of alarm is always quick in detecting whether the smoke is originating from a fire that’s slowly smouldering, or from a much cooler one.

This type of installation essentially has an integrated ionisation chamber which has very small amounts of a radioactive material which is able to quickly identify smoke. This kind of a smoke detector is far more effective at quickly detecting the hotter fires (when there are flames). This smoke detector emits a very small amount of radiation and doesn’t pose any danger to health.

Regardless of whether you have hardwired or battery-powered smoke detectors, it’s important to have at least one on each floor on your property. In addition to this, you should also design a detailed, yet simple emergency evacuation plan. Make sure that all the members of your family understand what has to be done in case an emergency situation arises and they hear the beeping of any smoke detectors in the home.

If you live anywhere in or around Sydney, and are planning on getting smoke detectors installed on your property, you should identify a certified, skilled, insured and reputed company to handle the job for you,.

For more information, simply speak with the experts at Allround Electrical and take their advice on various aspects of power factor installation solutions. The number to call is – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address. We can handle all types of smoke detector installations and all other electrical jobs too.

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The phrase “light recipe” is a good entry point into a conversation about LED lighting as a world-changing technology. While people originally thought of LEDs as a somewhat ineffectual light source good only for small electronic displays and then as a profound energy saver, we now understand that the potential for LEDs to change the world we live in is even more staggering than the way cell phones were first imagined to merely facilitate conversation and grew to be pocket PCs used for managing our social, economic, and artistic lives.

Electricity exists everywhere, from high voltage power lines to phones and computers. Understanding the basics of how it works remains essential to using it safely and efficiently.

When electricity travels from a positive lead to a negative lead in a circuit powered by a battery, it is considered direct current. This type of current powers electronics, LED lights, and cars. Alternating current is generated from rotation, usually by a generator. The direction of the current and the voltage flips as the generator completes a rotation. The faster the generator spins, the faster the flipping of current direction occurs. In North America, the typical frequency of AC power is 60hz or 60 alternations per second. The advantage of AC power is that the voltage can be stepped up easily by use of a transformer, which allows high voltage transmission. AC power is also useful for electric motors.

Specifically, power is a measure of energy usage over time. The standard unit of power is the watt and calculated as P (watts) = V (volts) x I (amps). Utility companies sell electricity in units of kW*h (kilowatt hours), which is simply one kilowatt of power delivered continuously over one hour.

We’ve begun installing chargers for electric cars in Los Angeles – thus my new interest in electric cars. Interest in electric cars (electric vehicles or EVs) is picking up because the Nissan Leaf just began deliveries in L.A. in December and the Chevy Volt is supposed to start deliveries early this year. Los Angeles buyers are starting to install electric chargers for these vehicles, and I’m starting to learn a lot more about EVs.

Of course, as someone who installs chargers for electric cars, I’m interested in how many will be sold in Los Angeles. Sorry folks, no one really knows. Forecasts are all over the board. Pike Research, a transportation analysis firm, just projected in early 2011 that in the next six years, between 2011 and 2017, over 96,000 electric vehicles will be sold in Los Angeles. It projects that Los Angeles purchases will be second highest in the country, trailing only New York City. Its overall projection is 366,000 EVs  sold nationwide by 2017.

Another study in 2009 by the University of California, Berkeley (Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology) projected that the U.S. will hit 1,000,000 EVs sold by 2017. This is still far lower than President Obama’s call for 1,000,000 by 2015, which many analysts consider realistic.

Why are the projections so different? The U.C. study explains. It mostly depends on the price of gasoline. For example, if gas prices continue at about $3.50 a gallon, U.C. forecasts only 18% of new car sales will be electric in 2020. But if gas prices rise to about $5.50 a gallon, the forecast rises to 45% of new car sales in 2020. Of course, experience tells us that gas prices move up and down very quickly and unexpectedly, often depending on events in the volatile Middle East.

The safest statement one can make about electric cars sales in Los Angeles is that they’re starting in a big way now and will continue to increase over the coming years. Another safe statement – buying an electric car and installing a charger is going to protect you from the wild ups and downs of gas prices, something no one can predict.

If you have bought or are thinking of buying a new electric car,  click her for more about what’s involved in installation of a charger for your EV.

Many modern American homes were constructed significantly before many modern Americans were born. We have homes that have been around since the Victorian Era and before, with all that that implies. Many houses are rife with out of date, unsafe electrical wiring, insufficient or toxic insulation, or other structural problems best corrected for the health and safety of anyone currently living there. Flicking on and off the light switches is nowhere near sufficient as a way to test the efficacy of any home’s electrical wiring. The intricacies of electricity extend further than simple functionality.

Before the 1940s, electricity was often done in a knob and tube wiring style that is currently vastly out of date. People should not assume that previous tenants or homeowners updated their electricity systems without inspections, since repairing knob and tube wiring was very expensive years ago. Knob and tube wiring is unsafe and prone to problems, but it is also highly inconvenient. Home inspections and getting your home wiring checked can save families significant time, money, and heartache in the long run. People that live in houses constructed around or before the 1940s, and especially between 1880 and 1940, are strongly encouraged to get their homes inspected. Licensed electricians can tell you if the wiring in your home poses an increased risk of fire or electrocution on a large scale, or inefficiency and proneness to blackouts on a small scale.

Knob and tubing wiring was never fitted with a grounding conductor for safety back in the pre-War period. Knob and tubing wiring used to have advantages in terms of cost, but today, the price of labor tends to outstrip the cost of material. Many knob and tubing wiring systems do not have enough branch circuits to suit the needs of a typical modern household, and will strain to supply the necessary electrical load. The amount and intensity of electrical equipment required by an Information Age resident substantially outstrips anything the people of the 1940s could have expected. Knob and tubing wiring left over from decades previously may well have been damaged further by renovations over the years, wear and tear, and various household pests, which only increases the risk of problems.

There are very few situations where a knob and tubing wiring system is legally installed today, according to building codes. Insurance companies are increasingly denying coverage to homes that have not upgraded their wiring from knob and tube wiring to a more modern power cables system. Updating your home’s wiring can add a substantial amount of money to your resale value, so families will increase the value and safety of their homes by updating them to meet modern electricity specifications.