Workplace & Home Safety

Electrical Risks

In the wrong hands, electricity is dangerous. It can cause fire hazards, serious injuries, or even death. At Add-A-Light Electrical our goal is to help reduce the electrical risks in your home and workplace. For your peace of mind we highly recommend you contact us to carry out the tests below.

Smoke Detectors

In the home, most deaths from fires occur when people are asleep at night. The leading causes of death are from smoke inhalation and asphyxiation. Research tells us that people underestimate the time they have to escape a fire. Smoke, which you can't smell when you are asleep, can fill a house in just a few minutes. People panic and the results can be tragic. In a fire every second counts so your priority is to get out and call Emergency Services: 000.

Smoke alarms that are professionally installed, upgraded and regularly maintained are essential for the earliest warning of fire in your home. Current regulations provide for a minimum level of cover for smoke alarms, but all fire services recommend that they be:

Hardwired
Photo-electric
Interconnected
In all sleeping areas and in passages leading to them
In living areas

The professional, fully qualified team at Add-A-Light Electrical can help you reduce the risk of injury and/or death by fire in your home by installing and maintaining smoke detectors in ways that meet all these requirements. .For more information visit www.mfs.sa.gov.au or call 1300 737 637.

Down lights

According to new regulations down lights must have fire resistant covers. In many cases fires can be caused when down lights have been incorrectly installed. The reasons could be that:

The down light has been installed without enough clearance from a roof beam
Insulation in the roof space covers or touches the back of the down light
Building debris or leaves in the roof cavity touch or cover the back of the down light
The materials used are of poor quality

To minimize these risks the Add-A-Light Electrical team will install fire resistant covers on all your old down lights. When you are installing new down light fittings insist that they have fire resistant covers that meet Australian Standards and which comply with current regulations.

Safety Switches (Resistant Current Device: known as RCD)

If you don't have a safety switch in your house you put your family and yourself at great risk of electric shock. For the last twenty years there have been regulations requiring the installation of safety switches in all old and new homes. Safety switches have helped prevent serious injury and even death from electric shock. Safety switches not only need to be installed correctly, but also need to be maintained and checked regularly.

In the experience of the team at Add-A-Light Electrical there have been occasions when we have found faulty safety switches. The householders weren't aware of the fault and the serious risk this posed.

If you don't have Safety Switches we highly recommend they be installed. If you do have them they require maintenance, checking and testing using RCD testing equipment.

Thermal Imaging â€“ Electrical Safety Inspection

As electricity is invisible, and wiring is generally in places that are unseen, any poor installation or damage to the electrical cables can result in fire or electric shock. Most of these faults will cause excess heat, or hot spots, that can't be seen with the naked eye. Using new technology in the form of a sophisticated infra red camera, these hot spots can be detected.Add-A-Light can analyze these hot spots, which can include faults, dangers or problems with your electrical installation, switchboards, appliances and accessories using infra-red imaging. A written report, including these images, is provided. Action can then be taken to fix problems and avoid potential disaster.