Selecting the right light fittings for your home is crucial, especially for houses built before the 1960s. During this period, many residential lighting circuits were installed without an earth cable, potentially creating hazardous conditions indoors.

Today, modern safety standards mandate that all circuits in a house must have earthed wiring, including those for lighting. While some homes may have been rewired to meet this requirement, others may still lack earthed wiring in their lighting circuits.

In homes without earthed wiring, it is essential to install double insulated light fittings to minimise the risk of accidental electric shocks. Unlike standard fittings, double insulated lights feature two layers of insulation that effectively isolate the live parts, providing peace of mind while enjoying your home’s lighting.

Most retailers now offer a selection of double insulated light fittings, although the variety might be more limited compared to non-insulated options. If you’re uncertain about the wiring in your home, AB Electrical can quickly assess whether there’s a risk and offer solutions accordingly.

To ensure your home’s safety, consider two options:

1. Purchase only double insulated light fittings.
2. Rewire your lighting circuits to include an earth connection.

At AB Electrical, we can often procure feature or display lights from retailers at trade prices, ensuring that only safe fittings are installed if your wiring lacks an earth wire. When purchasing lights, always verify with the retailer that they are double insulated, especially if your home’s wiring is not earthed.

For more information or to schedule an assessment, please contact AB Electrical. Your safety is our priority.

Many homes still have old, obsolete, yellowing switches and power points that can be an eyesore for homeowners.

By simply replacing the switch and cover plate, you can significantly enhance the appearance of your home. This cost-effective upgrade can instantly make any room look modern and new. You can start with a few rooms and update others as it suits your schedule and budget.

Beyond the faded aesthetics, broken switches and power points pose serious safety hazards, including risks of fire or electric shock. We can replace these outdated fittings, ensuring your home is both safe and stylish.

If you’re tired of looking at old, yellowed, or broken switches and power points, give us a call. We can update these fixtures, eliminating the frustration you feel every time you turn on a light.

For living areas, enhance usability by adding USB charging ports to your power points for added convenience.

Power surges, also called transient voltage, occur when something boosts the electrical charge in the power lines. This causes an increase in the electrical voltage, which can increase the current flowing to your wall outlet. Several things can cause this to happen.  The spike is very brief, usually lasting less than a thousandth of a second, but it can still cause damage to your home and appliances.

What causes a Power Surge?

There are many causes behind a power surge, and it's difficult to determine exactly what’s gone wrong.  Most power surges come from inside the home. Large appliances and devices, especially those that use a large amount of power, can cause surges. Faulty wiring in your home can also cause power surges. If you experience frequent surges, it could be a good idea to call in an electrician to look at your wiring.  The main cause of outside the home power surges are lightning strikes, you may experience a power surge in the middle of a thunderstorm.

Are power surges dangerous?

A power surge can damage or destroy home appliances, and in a worst-case scenario, start a house fire.

How can I protect my appliances from power surges?

We can suppress surges before reaching your appliances using a surge protector.  A surge protector or surge suppressor is an appliance or device designed to protect electrical devices from voltage spikes. A surge protector attempts to limit the voltage supplied to an electric device by either blocking or shorting to ground any unwanted voltages above a safe threshold.

If you live in a house with faulty wiring or one that is full of powerful electronics, we recommend to still buy a surge protector. In most cases, a surge protector looks like your basic power strip. If an electrical spike occurs, the surge protector should absorb any excess energy, redirecting it toward the grounding wire in your home instead of letting it get to your appliances.

However, the typical surge protector is not strong enough to protect your electronics and appliances from a lightning strike. The best thing you can do if you’re in the middle of a raging electrical storm is to unplug your computer — and maybe other expensive electronics, such as your flat-screen TV.

What should I look for in a good surge protector?

There are a variety of different surge protectors on the market, which each address different scenarios.

The best type of protection you can get is a whole house surge protector.  We also know this as service entrance surge protection. This is a single device that connects to your main electrical panel and protects your whole house against power surges.

The next type of protection are inexpensive power board surge protectors that protect point-of-use appliances.  The bigger the joule rating the better.  For best protection, look for something that lists “600 Joules” or higher. Anything lower than that might not be enough if you have regular power spikes or if you plan on plugging several devices into the power board.

There is no surge protection device or system that can protect against all power surges.  A direct lighting strike may be too great for any surge protectors to handle.  By combining service entrance surge protection with point-of-use surge protectors, it creates a better protection system.

If you are concerned about power surges in your home, AB Electrical can come and assess the causes and recommend the best surge protection system for your home and business.