Lighting can account for 10–25% of your bill. For homes and businesses, it can be as high as 50%. There are ways you can reduce the amount of energy you use to light your business. Upgrading your lighting can: reduce your energy bill reduce maintenance costs improve safety and work conditions for your employees ower your business’ carbon footprint The figures on this page come from our Boosting Business Productivity program. We worked with more than 300 businesses to explore their energy use and minimise their energy cost. Measure your current lighting levels There’s an Australian standard (AS/NZ 1680.1:2006) that determines what illuminance light levels are required in certain work areas. To measure your current light levels, hire or purchase…

Many online websites sell smoke alarms for as little as $20 these days. While these rock bottom rates are tempting for consumers, is it worth risking your safety to save a small sum of cash? The truth is, these cut-price smoke alarms don’t perform as well as the established, trusted brands from reputable smoke alarm suppliers and this substandard performance could cost the life of a loved one someday. Cost-Benefit Analysis: Is it Worth Investing in a High-Quality Smoke Alarm? At most, you’ll pay around $100 more for a high-quality smoke alarm from a trusted brand than you would for a cheap, no-name option. As you’ll only need to replace the unit every ten years, that works out to be…

Are you thinking it may be time to add some more ceiling fans around? Great idea! Ceiling fans are an overlooked part of many homes and businesses. Whether they are being used in summer or winter, they serve more than one purpose. To help you figure out which options are best for your needs, we have collated all the important information for your reference. If you need a little more help, give us a call on 1300 522 464 we would be more than happy to assist with your ceiling fan installation What is a ceiling fan? A ceiling fan is a mechanical fan mounted on the ceiling of a room or space, usually electrically powered, that uses hub-mounted rotating…

VIR Cable deteriorating behind a light switch. When this happens, the copper in the cable can become exposed, leading to a potential risk of electric shock, fire or an immediate loss of power due to a short circuit rupturing the protective fuses. Initially, electrical installations involved the use of sheathed wires and were installed in most government structures, workplaces and residential homes between the 1880s and 1910s. After this period, the installations mainly involved the utilisation of Vulcanised Indian Rubber (VIR) electric cables to make up the wiring system of most homes as well as other buildings. What is VIR? As we have previously mentioned, Vulcanised Indian Rubber cables were rampantly used in Australia between 1910 to late 1950s. A typical VIR cable consists of a…