Category: News

Electrical testing is important for many reasons. Overall, it can dramatically enhance the quality of your electrics and ensure that they are performing as they should and with no faults. Here at Brett Snowling Electrical Contractors, we are capable of conducting electrical testing as well as safety inspections. This is a service we highly recommend for the benefit of your electrics as well as for yourself and your home. Furthermore, a good inspection and test can last for a lengthy period of time, therefore keeping you covered for years to come. 

Electrical testing is crucial to ensure that your whole electrical system is consistent and safe. It also enhances the quality of your electrics and prolongs the general lifespan of them. So, we thought we would tell you a few reasons why it’s important to have electrical testing within your property…

It ensures all electrics and appliances are properly installed 

Not only will we conduct an electrical test upon installation of any electrics in your property, but we will also test pre-existing electrics to ensure that they have been installed properly and correctly. If any part of your electrical system isn’t installed correctly, this can be very risky and potentially cause danger, as well as prevent the system from working properly. With a test, it will show if any part of the system is failing or causing strain on the rest of it.

Regular tests will benefit you long term

On average, it is recommended to have an electrical safety test around once every five years. Of course, you can have them more frequently if you wish or feel that it is necessary. However, with electrical tests every five years, this will keep an eye on the system and ensure that everything is working as it should, and it will flag up any faults or failures should there be any. As a result of doing this, you reduce the risk of more severe damage further down the line. Therefore, this will keep your property safer, improve the quality of your electrical system, and prevent you from having to pay the price of a big repair later on.

It improves circuit flow 

One of the most common faults in electrics, is failure with the circuit flow. Eventually, this can trip and cut off power completely, and quite often cause damage to the system. With electrical testing, problems within the circuit will be flagged up and as a result can be fixed so that the circuit flow runs better and you have a more efficient and better quality electrical system. 

It reduces the risk of fire 

One of the biggest dangers with faulty electrics, is that they can be the cause of fires. Not only is this incredibly dangerous, whether the property in question is your own home or a commercial building, but it causes absolute havoc and lots of serious damage. Electrical testing can prevent this from happening, as it spots any problems in their tracks and stops them from developing into anything bigger and getting out of hand. 

To find out more or if you would like to speak to us about electrical testing and arrange for one of our contractors to come and do this for you, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help.

Every homeowner has a responsibility to be conscious of the electrical system within their house and ensure that it is safe and showing no signs of anything unusual. Electrics can pose a risk of danger if they are faulty or not in a safe condition. One of the major risks and consequences of faulty electrics, is fire. Not only could this cause severe damage to your home, but it is also life-threatening to everybody that lives there. 

A solution to faulty electrics, is getting your house rewired. This removes any faults, risks and dangers, and ensures that your electrical system is in a safe condition and in line with safety regulations so as not to cause any sort of threat to you and your house. Furthermore, having a complete rewiring will also add value to your home, so it is ensuring safety whilst providing you with other benefits and reliability. 

As rewirings are essential to keep your home safe from electrical faults, we thought we would tell you about a few different signs that may indicate that your house needs to be rewired…

Fuses blowing

One way of noticing that something isn’t right with your electrics, is if the fuse blows. Of course, this can happen from time to time, but if you notice that it’s happening often, or happens more than once in a short space of time, we would highly recommend getting in touch with an electrician to investigate and see if there is an underlying problem.

Flickering lights

Another indication of electrical faults, is flickering lights. Generally, this will happen to more than one light in the house. If they keep flickering and you think it seems unusual, it could be a sign that there is an electrical fault. Again, we would always advise that you get an electrician to come and assess the situation as soon as you have any suspicion that something isn’t quite right, as not only does this solve the problem straight away, but it lessens the severity of it and minimises risk of danger.

Old electrics

Even if you don’t necessarily notice anything out of the already, it is always a good idea to get an electrical safety inspection. You could do this once a year perhaps, just to stay on top of things and flag up any issues before they become worse. Sometimes if you have an old electrical system that hasn’t been updated in years, it is good to get it checked out so that an electrician can advise you on whether a rewiring is necessary or a more cost effective option for you and your home.

A burning smell

One sign that your house may need rewiring that is a little more urgent, is if you notice a burning smell. A high percentage of house fires are caused by electrical faults, and burning can be a dangerous indication of a fault with the system that needs to be checked out urgently.

Discoloured plug sockets

Another sign of electrical faults that calls for more immediate inspection, is discolouration of and around your plug sockets. Sometimes this is caused by small fires or burning of the wiring behind the socket which leads to the discolouration. This is a more severe fault as it has the potential to lead to a house fire and therefore put you in danger. In this case, we would impose a rewiring to remove this risk completely.

For more information and advice or if you would like us to carry out an electrical safety inspection or rewiring of your house, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help.

Testing anything electrical is of significant importance, as it essentially ensures your own safety as well as the safety of your home. Electrical equipment of any sort can be dangerous. Regular checks and care is required to make sure these appliances don’t pose any sort of risk or threat or could cause danger. Of course, certain types of portable electrical appliances are prone to more damage and faults than others, and some are used in different ways to others. 

We wanted to tell you a little bit more about testing your portable appliances and why this is important…

What are portable appliances?

As the name suggests, portable appliances are essentially electrical appliances that you may have in your home, that can be moved around and are not fixed into any particular place. This means that they have a lead with a plug attached and can be placed more or less anywhere, as opposed to being hardwired into a wall. Some examples of these things include kettles, toasters, hairdryers and phone chargers.

What is portable appliance testing (PAT)?

PAT basically means the examination of portable electrical appliances to ensure that they are working correctly and are safe to use. A lot of common problems can be identified almost immediately by just a visual examination, however there are other more complicated issues that require closer and more in depth inspection. All equipment should be tested if there are signs of anything unusual or if they are a new appliance being used in your home.

How often should portable appliances be tested?

This completely comes down to the type of appliance in question, and the conditions in which they are used. So, something that poses more risk of danger or faults, should be tested much more frequently than something that doesn’t and is just a generally danger-free household item. As an example, if the portable appliance was perhaps a tool of some sort, this holds more responsibility and risks than say a kettle in your kitchen. Tools and things should be checked quite regularly depending on how much use they get. If they are used a lot, maybe every few months they should be checked. On the other hand, safer electrical appliances like lamps and hair straighteners for example, should perhaps just be checked around once a year as a precaution.

What if a new portable appliance is damaged?

Whenever you purchase a new portable appliance for your home, no matter what this may be, it should have been thoroughly checked and examined to make sure that it works properly and isn’t damaged or causing any potential risks. However, when you do purchase a new portable electrical appliance, you can give it a visual examination to ensure that everything is normal, and you can also test it to make sure it works correctly. If the product is faulty or damaged, you must contact the place it came from so that they can examine it and give you a replacement if necessary. 

If you are in need of any portable appliance testing, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help.

Electricals and wiring in any property can be a dangerous field, and ensuring that the property is safe and secured in regards to all electrical wiring is essential. Although rewiring a whole property is rather expensive, it is completely necessary that you have it done to ensure that the building is safe and at no harmful risk. Rewiring and safety inspections not only reduce risk of danger but also potential damage, and when wiring becomes damaged, potentially harmful outcomes can come as a result.

So, we wanted to make you aware of the importance of having your property re-wired safely when it is necessary to do so, and some of the risks that can be presented when your property wiring is not looked after.

Safety wiring inspections keep your property secure

Most importantly, rewiring and safety wiring inspections keep your property secure. We strongly advise that you have electrical inspections within your property around every 10 years. Perhaps you have recently moved into a new property and you know that there hasn’t been an inspection in recent years. If you are unsure, we would recommend having an electrical safety inspection so that any potential issues or risks can be spotted, flagged up and fixed before they turn into something more serious.

Every property needs rewiring at some point

On average, we would say that a property such as a family home would need rewiring around every 30 years. By this point, the wiring will most likely be quite old and worn and more prone to problems or not functioning as well as it should be. Wiring naturally deteriorates over the years, or sometimes it can become damaged and lose function or hinder the electricity flow. This often means that you would require a complete re-wiring, and this is compulsory if you want to avoid any trouble or risk of danger in your home. However, age doesn’t necessarily determine the quality and reliability of wiring. Just because it is old, doesn’t mean you must have it all replaced, but with that in mind you must always be aware of any signs that indicate there is a problem with the wiring.

Modern wiring is better quality

If you were to get your property re-wired now, it would mean that it is done with modern materials which are generally a tried and tested improvement. Modern wiring is often more reliable and well manufactured, which is a good reason to have your property re-wired. This is because modern wiring is coated with stronger and more durable materials, usually PVCu, whereas older wiring is usually insulated with materials such as dated rubber, fabric or lead.  

Problems caused by faulty wiring

Speaking of more minor problems, faulty wiring may cause things such as tripping out the electricity or blowing fuses. If this is a frequent occurrence in your household we would advise that you contact a professional for advice or a safety inspection. Although more of an unlikely case, when wiring is really faulty or damaged and is left without repair, it can actually lead to much more serious issues such as starting fires. Therefore, any sign of faults in your wiring should never be ignored and you should always call out an electrician to assess the situation.

To find out more or if you would like us to safely rewire your property or carry out an inspection, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help!

It is common from time to time that we experience problems with ventilation in our homes. This can be for a number of reasons and down to lots of different factors, however quite often when we experience these problems, it can be pretty bothersome and affect our day-to-day lives. Our homes are the place that we spend most of our time, and so it is vital that the air we breathe and that circulates the house is healthy and clean. Excessive moisture, mold and gasses are just a few things that can put our health at risk but not only that, our homes too. One way to keep this under control and prevent such problems from occurring and having an impact on ourselves and our homes, is having extractor fans. This piece of equipment is designed to control ventilation, filter clean air, balance temperatures and much more.

So, we thought we would explain a little more about how extractor fans control ventilation and why they are a great piece of equipment to have installed into your home.

How do extractor fans work

How extractor fans work depends on the scenario and what they are being used for. For example, if it was to control humidity, it would filter out the moist air circulating the room in order to dry it out and prevent any damp or mold. Furthermore, in other scenarios or if they are fitted into areas of your home that face other problems, they are designed to remove smoke, grease or any odours that perhaps you may find when you are cooking. By doing this, it keeps the air clean and fresh and removes any of these things, which is not only better for your health but is also better for your home too, as it prevents any damage, which for example could be caused by dampness, and also helps to keep the place clean.

Ways extractor fans control ventilation in your home

Extractor fans can be fitted just about anywhere in your home. Of course, different rooms in your home are faced with different issues when it comes to ventilation and how clean the air is, however extractor fans are built to pretty much draw out anything bad and extract it from the air. Here are a few ways they can control ventilation in your home…

Controlling humidity

In rooms such as bathrooms, it is natural to experience humidity issues. This can often lead to mould and mildew if we are not careful. Therefore, people opt to have extractor fans fitted into their bathroom in order to keep the humidity under control and prevent it from leading to such problems. This also applies to any other rooms or areas of your house that you struggle with humidity. Having an extractor fan helps ease ventilation and significantly reduce humidity and risk of mould and mildew growing. Whilst there are methods to remove these things, unless the ventilation is controlled (ie by use of an extractor fan) you will never fully erase the problem.

Removing odours

Nobody likes bad odours in their homes. However, they are sometimes unavoidable, and simply come from daily tasks such as cooking. By having an extractor fan in your kitchen, this will quickly extract any odours in order to keep the air clean and fresh. Another great thing about this is that when cooking, it often produces grease which can stay in the air but also stick to surrounding areas such as your walls or kitchen tops. Extractor fans completely erase this problem, as they draw out all of the grease and keep the air a lot more dry so that surrounding areas don’t become moist and have grease sitting on them waiting to be cleaned. A common place to have extractor fans in your kitchen is actually right above your stove, which pretty much removes the odours and grease almost immediately.

No air pollutants

Unfortunately air pollutants are another thing hard to avoid. Although some are more harmful than others, ideally you don’t want them in your home at all, and extractor fans are fantastic for erasing this problem and keeping the air healthy and clean. There is no set place where an extractor fan would be situated best for this, but rather it’s a personal decision as you know best exactly where your home is at most risk of air pollution. For example, perhaps near gas appliances, or if there is a designated outside area where people smoke and you want to keep this from getting into your home. Extractor fans will remove smoke and harmful gasses so that the air remains a clean and healthy space.

For more information and advice or if you would like our help, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to assist you.

LED lighting can actually be up to 80% more efficient than normal lighting, meaning that nowhere near as much energy is wasted and instead the energy is used more positively and powerfully. This is great for a number of reasons, but one of the main ones being that they don’t consume anywhere near as much power as standard lights. Furthermore, none of these things even have to take an impact on the quality or power of the lighting, but instead the quality of lighting and colour rendering index (CRI) is often better.

We believe that LED is a fantastic, energy efficient alternative to the traditional lighting we often go for, and we wanted to share with you a few reasons why it’s such a great change to make.

Consumes less power

One of the best things about LED lights is that they consume up to 90% less power than normal and more common types of lighting. This makes them extremely efficient and much better for the environment. Most lightbulbs transmit the majority of energy into heat before producing light, however LED lights are designed differently so that this is not the case. Instead, nearly all of the power is used solely to create light so there is no wasted energy.

It’s more cost effective for you

LED lights are a far more cost effective option, and this is because they use less electricity, and due to the way the energy is transmitted, they last for longer. When you take into consideration the average cost of your monthly energy bill, and how much of this covers usage of lighting, a more cost effective solution could really make quite a difference. The combination of the lighting wasting less energy and being more efficient, and it not having to be replaced as often, makes it a much better cost effective solution to lighting.

Lower heat emission

Due to the less power used in LED lighting, this also lowers the heat emission that comes from the light. Of course, this is much safer for you and your home, which is another great reason why LED lights are a better option to go for. This will reduce risk of any danger in your home and means that the energy and power is actually being used efficiently, as opposed to other types of lighting where quite a high percentage of the energy actually generates heat.

Better lifespan

Quite often, LED lights will last twice as long as other types of lighting, as they are not absorbing as much power. The longer your lights last, the less frequently you will have to get them replaced, which is ideal for keeping down costs as well as making the inconvenience of buying and fitting new ones less often.

If you would like to know more or have any questions, simply get in touch with us via our contact page as we are LED lighting specialists and would be more than happy to help!

Our homes practically contain our whole lives. It’s where we live and spend so much of our time, and where we keep our most prized possessions. Because of this, it’s important that we make it as much of a safe environment as we possibly can. Not only for our own safety and personal well-being, but to keep all of our luxuries and possessions protected. One way that you can make your home safer, is to have security lighting installed. This is proven to work and seriously decreases the risk of your house getting broken into.

Security lighting installation is something we specialise in, and it is important to us that we make our clients fully aware of the fantastic benefits they will gain from having it installed.

What is security lighting?

First of all, let’s make it a little clearer about exactly what security lighting is if you are unsure. It is basically sensored lighting that is put in place to deter criminal activity on your property. It does this by switching on if movement is detected, therefore alerting you and scaring off anyone attempting burglary or any other criminal activities as such. They are generally quite powerful, too, and so they light up the whole area. For example, you would most commonly have it at the front of your house, and if any movement was detected, it would more or less light up the whole driveway.

It’s the perfect deterrent

The ultimate purpose of security lighting, is to prevent any anti-social behaviour from occurring on your property, and it works. Lots of family homes have burglar alarms, but sometimes a bright light, essentially exposing anyone attempting anything, is the perfect way to scare them off and make them think twice about it.

It makes you feel more comfortable and safe

Even if there never comes a time where your security lighting is really needed, at least it gives you constant peace of mind. With safety measures such as that in place on your property, you can relax in knowing that no criminal activity is likely to take place, and even if it did, you would be alerted to it as soon as the lighting came on. For obvious reasons, criminals tend to avoid well-lit areas, so you’re essentially turning your property into a safety zone for you and your family.

It adds value to your home

Although security lighting installation can be a slightly costly investment, it’s a very sensible one to make. For one, you gain all of the benefits we’ve mentioned above as it keeps your property safe and protected, but on the other hand, it actually adds value to your property. A well-guarded house with these safety measures in place is a very attractive and appealing prospect to buyers, and so it means that your home will be worth more on the market.

For more information or if you would like to have security lighting installed on your property, simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be more than happy to help!

From time to time, we experience power cuts in our area. The severity of power cuts always varies, as does the length of time you are without power. Furthermore, they can occur due to all kinds of different reasons, and the reason behind a power cut often determines how bad it actually is.

The main issue with power cuts, is that they are really just a huge inconvenience. We sometimes take our electricity for granted without even realising, and it’s only when it gets taken away from us that we realise just how much we rely on it. However, the longer you are without power the bigger issues that surface. For example, we are now firmly into our winter months and the weather is getting pretty bitter, so if you were to have a power cut, this would result in a loss of central heating, and this can actually be dangerous depending on the temperatures and the length of time you are without heating.

We wanted to tell you a bit more about why we get power cuts, common problems, and how to act when you notice one.

The main causes

As we mentioned briefly, there can be all kinds of causes for power cuts. One that is very common, is damage to cables. This can be caused for example if someone is conducting some kind of work in the road that involves digging, whether this be for professional or personal reasons, as it can interfere with your power source and cause a stopped flow. Furthermore, power cuts can simply be due to a failure in the electricity network, which may only require a quick and simple fix

During the bad weather, things get a little more risky. Damage to power lines can result in loss of power in quite a large area. This can be caused by things like fallen trees, lightning, or anything hazardous that comes into contact with the power lines during periods of severe weather conditions.

If the source of your electricity becomes damaged at any point it can have a knock on effect. Damage can be started by all kinds of things, but unfortunately it is sometimes unavoidable. You don’t tend to notice any issue or damage until the power goes out in your home.

Consequences

The scale of power cuts are always unique to the situation. It could affect anything from the houses on your street, to everywhere in your town. Of course the immediate consequences are that you are left without electricity in your home with no real indication as to when power will be regained. This can prove to be incredibly disruptive and troublesome.

Throughout winter, perhaps the worst thing about power cuts is having to go without heating. This isn’t so bad if the problem is fixed quickly, but if it lasts for a long time this can get very stressful. Aside from central heating, you are left without access to any electrical devices, nor the ability to cook food. Similarly to heating, this only starts to become a more serious issue if the power is gone for a length of time.

What to do if you are experiencing a power cut

If you lose power in your home, the first thing you should do is check your fuse box to decipher whether it is a problem specific to your house, or a genuine power cut that is also affecting other people. Following this, if you have access to the internet, you should check to see if the power cut has already been reported online. If you are the first, you can then fill out the details or call up the professionals so that they can be alerted to the problem and send someone out to fix it as soon as possible.

A good way to deal with power cuts, especially throughout winter, is to always stay prepared. This could simply be having a torch handy, along with plenty of blankets and layers to stay warm. You should also try and ensure that you have enough food that doesn’t require being cooked with electrical appliances.

If you would like to know more or have any enquiries, we would be more than happy to help! Simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will be able to offer the necessary help and advice.

It is common to encounter problems with your electricity from time to time, and as soon as this happens, it tends to make people panic. Sometimes it is simply just an inconvenience and requires a simple fix, however other times, it can actually present dangers, which is why you must seek professional help as soon as you notice a problem.

Be prepared

You never know when an electrical emergency could take place, so it’s always good to be prepared. This can be as simple as having an easily accessible list of phone numbers for electricians kept somewhere, so that if anything does happen, you can contact a professional immediately.

Electrical problems can come at all sorts of different scales, they can simply be withdrawn access to your electricity, or even something as dangerous as a fire. In this case you should be prepared on how to act, for example, never using water to put out an electrical fire, and having things stored in your house such as a fire blanket or extinguisher.

Getting power restored

The more common type of electrical emergencies are those where all power is cut out. This is experienced a lot more frequently than the problems that present more danger. However, it still causes a huge inconvenience and requires the help of an electrician as soon as possible. They can be caused by all sorts, from bad weather, or simply just a failure somewhere in your power supply.

When you experience a loss of power in your home, you should at first check that it’s not just that something has tripped. If you are unable to fix the problem yourself, this will indicate that the problem is bigger and requires the attention of a professional. As mentioned above, being prepared also falls into place here, too, as you could have things like back up lighting and portable chargers in preparation for loss of power. If this is to happen, you should switch off all appliances, too, and contact the relevant sources to find out if it is a power cut across your area or if it is a direct problem in your house.

Staying safe

In more severe electrical emergencies, such as electrical fires of electric shocks, you must deal with the situation as safely and calmly as possible. One of the first things we advise is switching off all power. If for example somebody is electrocuted, you must refrain from touching them as this causes risk of you being shocked as well. Furthermore, you should stay away from the source of the electrocution, safely remove the person from it, and call for immediate help.

The same goes for electrical fires. Switch off all power completely if you have easy access to it, and do not let water come into contact with the fire. Use an extinguisher or fire blanket and call for help as soon as you can.

If you would like to know more or are in need of some professional advice, we would be more than happy to help. Simply get in touch with us via our contact page and we will offer our help and guidance where needed.

I am sure over the past few months you have been receiving tonnes of GDPR emails from companies begging you to stay on their mailing list. Well, there is a good reason for this, and we wanted to tell you a little more about it. This new GDPR came into practice on 25th May 2018 and for us it means that our new website is fully compliant with this and is kitted out with a brand new privacy policy, cookies, and terms of service.

So, here’s all you need to know about GDPR, what it means for small businesses, and how we’re progressing with it here at Brett Snowling Electrical Contractors.

What is it?

GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, and this is a law within the EU that ensures data protection and privacy. It’s basically an introduction of new rights for you as a customer that prevents your data from being shared where you don’t want it to. And on the flip side, a new set of rules for businesses that state what they can and can’t do with customer data. So, for example, this is why you have been receiving emails from companies requesting for your agreement to remain on their mailing list, as without it they are no longer entitled to have your data on their files, nor are they able to contact you.

What does GDPR mean for small businesses?

Basically, unless a company is GDPR compliant, they are no longer able to have access to client data. As a small business, you must seek permission from the client first. For example, here at Brett Snowling Electrical Contractors we collect client data and so it is essential for us to be compliant with GDPR, and as of last month, our website has been updated so that is in keeping with these new regulations. Before we contract their data, the customer must agree to the terms of what it is being used for, who has access to it, and how long for.

You may see that we have a contact page on our website, where new or existing customers can come become acquainted with us. As a result, this means that we have access to some of their data, such as their name, email address or phone number. However, with these new regulations, we would not be able to do anything else with that data, such as adding them to our mailing list, without them consenting to it first as this would be a breach of privacy. Customers also have the opportunity to cancel or withdraw our access to their personal data at any time they want.

How this impacts Brett Snowling Electrical Contractors

Our website is quite a key tool to our business, as it’s a great point of contact as well as the perfect source of information for both new and existing customers. It is packed with information, such as what kind of events we cater for, our menus and availability, of course our blog, as well as a contact page which enables people to get in touch with us by either directly emailing or calling us, or leaving an enquiry with details for us to get back to them. Because of this, it is important that our website is fully GDPR compliant so that we are not in breach of any client data and we ensure that it is looked after and kept entirely private in accordance of the clients wishes.

Furthermore, as we mentioned at the start of this blog, we also have fresh and updated terms of service, cookies and a new privacy policy so that we are in keeping with the new regulations and customers old and new have the ability to consent to use of their data.

We hope this information has been useful for you, and if you have any queries or are interested to find out more, don’t hesitate to get in touch via the contact page on our website!