If you’ve been contemplating upgrading your home electrical system with your very own solar panel installation, there is no better time than summer. Here are a few reasons to make those dreams a reality.

The first is that you’ll get the best performance out of your system when the sun is shining the most. Of course, your solar array is going to give you energy savings all year long, especially in sunny southern California but in the summer, you’ll see impressive results right away that will really show you the potential of home solar power.

Without the threat of inclement weather preparing your home and installing your new system is much faster, translating to a more painless process for you. It also means that we have more jobs in the summer, so you might need a little advance scheduling. But all that is beside the biggest reason that you should pursue a solar panel installation:

The sooner you get solar at your home, the sooner you can start saving.

As you know, power prices increase all the time, with an average increase of around five percent a year. While municipal power increases, solar power provides a point of stability for your energy bill. Your solar power will always cost the same amount, so every time municipal power increases, your savings do too.

And with generous tax rebates and solar leasing agreements, you can establish an impressively low cost investment on your solar panel installation. You might even qualify for no down payment. You pay the cost of installation and parts over the life of your solar panel, even as you see instant deductions in your power bill.

As you can see, taking action now translates to intense savings for years to come. Don’t wait another minute. Let us help you take charge of you energy and financial future this summer.

Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS): RoHS Compliant

RoHS stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. Certain materials used in electronics and electrical products have been deemed hazardous to people and the environment and, therefore, must be limited. For a product to be RoHS compliant, testing must be performed and documented to show limited or no use of cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers.

Warranties

Super Bright LEDs, Inc. offers a minimum 2-year warranty to protect against manufacturer defects and malfunctions. Longer warranties are available depending on the product. If you experience failure of an LED or other component not caused by negligence, abuse, unauthorized repair, or disassembly, we will replace the product within the warranty period. If the same product is no longer available, a product of equal value may be substituted.

Read more

Lifetime Warranty

Super Bright LEDs, Inc. offers a Lifetime Warranty on a variety of products to protect against manufacturer defects and malfunctions. If you experience failure of an LED or other component not caused by negligence, abuse, unauthorized repair or disassembly, we will replace the product. If the same product is no longer available, a product of equal value may be substituted.

Read more

CE: Meets European health, safety, and environmental standards

In order for certain products within controlled categories, such as electrical and electronic devices, to be legally sold in the European Economic Area, they must bear a CE label, which stands for Conformité Européenne (European Conformity). Products with this label meet environmental, health, and safety standards put into place by European legislation.

UL Recognized: Product component safety and environmental certification from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) LLC

Underwriters Laboratories (UL) LLC is an independent testing agency that works to verify product safety and quality. A UL-Recognized label ensures that a product component, such as a power supply or LED light strip, has been tested and verified as safe to use in a UL-Listed product. UL-Listed product samples are tested by UL and meet their Standards for Safety requirements.

DLC: Listed as a quality, energy-efficient product by the DesignLights® Consortium (DLC®)

The DesignLights Consortium® (DLC®) partners with energy-efficiency groups and utility companies to establish a set of standards for commercial LED light fixtures. The product is tested and must meet quality, energy-efficiency, and performance requirements to be added to the DLC’s Qualified Products List. For more information, click

DOT Approved: Approved by the Department of Transportation (DOT)

The Department of Transportation (DOT) sets strict guidelines in respect to external vehicle lighting that must be followed in order for a light to be street legal. Vehicle fixtures, such as headlights and tail lights, that have a DOT mark are legal, safe, and considered to provide suitable illumination for street use.

SAE International Class 1: Classified for use as emergency vehicle lighting by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

Vehicle warning lights are ranked by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) according to class. A Class 1 LED light delivers the most amount of light (in comparison to class 2 and class 3 lights) and is ideal for emergency lighting on ambulances and fire trucks as well as police and rescue vehicles.

ETL Listed: An ETL-Listed product meets national safety standards

A product that bears an ETL-Listed label has been evaluated by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) and meets national product safety standards. An ETL certification is accepted in the U.S. and in Canada.

FCC: Complies with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules. Won’t cause harmful interference.

Products with a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) label meet all requirements and rules set forth by the FCC and won’t cause interference with other electronic devices. According to FCC’s website, “The Federal Communications Commission regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.” Products that generate radio frequency (RF) energy, such as RF remote controls and certain LED light bulbs, are tested to ensure that they are within the FCC’s guidelines and limits and do not cause harmful interference.

SAA: Standards Australia (SA) compliance

Standards Australia (SAA) is a company that establishes guidelines and rules known as Standards. In an effort to create a sustainable environment, these Standards are designed to ensure that products are safe and function consistently. Products with an SAA label were tested and comply with set Standards.

IP65

The weatherproof product allows zero entry of dust. It is protected against jets of water and may allow limited liquid entry.

IP66

The weatherproof product allows zero entry of dust. It is protected against strong jets of water and may allow limited liquid entry.

IP67

The waterproof product allows zero entry of dust. It is protected against the effects of immersion between 15 centimeters and 1 meter.

IP68

The waterproof product allows zero entry of dust. It is protected against long periods of immersion under pressure.

IP69K

The waterproof product allows zero entry of dust. It is protected against high-temperature, high-pressure water and steam.

UL 844: Meets requirements from Underwriters Laboratories (UL) LLC for use in hazardous (classified) locations

UL 844 requirements cover fixed and portable luminaires for installation and use in the following hazardous (classified) locations in accordance with the National Electrical Code, NFPA 70:

These requirements cover luminaires for use only under the following atmospheric conditions:

Maintenance Factor

Illumination Systems are designed to fulfill the required lighting level at the end of an operation term and not at day one of the new installation. The luminous flux of the system is going down over lifetime. This is a normal process, no product is lasting forever but the required illuminance levels should not be depreciated at any time. If a lighting system is setup, the maintenance plan has to be fixed too. So the facility managers know how often to clean the room, the luminaries and how frequently to change lamps. A reasonable time needs to be found between maintenance and operating hours, as maintenance cycles are connected to costs. The longer the operation time without maintenance, the more luminaries need to be installed to guarantee the required illumination level at the end of the term. The more frequent the maintenance cycles, the higher the maintenance factor, but also the related costs for the facility service.

Which Points are influencing the Maintenance Factor? Different factors influence the decrease in lighting level like the soiling of the room surfaces, the soiling of the luminaries, depreciation of luminous flux by the light sources or lamps failure.

Room Surface Maintenance Factor: The room surface maintenance factor is the ratio of the room surfaces reflectance before and after cleaning. It is the reduction of the lighting level according to soiling of the room. Luminaire Maintenance Factor: The luminarie maintenance factor is the ration of the luminaries luminous flux before and after cleaning. It depends on the luminarie construction and design (open housing or closed one) as well as on environmental conditions (dirty or clean). Lamp Lumen Maintenance Factor: The lamp lumen maintenance factor is the ration of luminous flux at a specific time compared to a new lamp. It is describing the aging of the lamp or the reduction of light intensity over time. Manufacturers offer comprehensive tables about their lamps luminous flux behavior. Lamp Survival Factor: The lamp survival factor depends on the service lifetime of a lamp. Some lamp lifetimes are reduced by frequent switching. The lamp manufacturers provide tables indicating the lamp survival factor. If a lamp is not working any more, the decision for immediate replacement or group replacement needs to be taken. If the lamp is replaced immediately (mostly in areas where the luminaire is easily reachable) the LSF can be set 1. On the other hand, the decision could be to replace lamps in special terms or group-wise. This could be the case in huge halls, where machines need to be stopped to reach the luminaires.

A maintenance factor of 0.8 shows, that the new lighting system needs to be over driven by 25% not to undercut the minimum required illumination level after 10 years. LED lighting systems are flexible and easy to connect to control systems. The installed load will provide efficient luminous flux at the end of the operation time but the energy that is “over” in the beginning can be saved. The new installation would illuminate an area with required 300lx by about 450lx. The energy can be saved by lighting management systems that are regulating the power concerning the luminous flux depreciation. HID lamps are not easy to control. The energy load that is “over” in the beginning is wasted. No change to save it.

Conclusion: Think carefully when setting up a lighting installations maintenance plan. This starts already with the choice for the light source. LED Modules are efficient, likely not failing and offer long lifetimes between 50,000h and 100,000h. The control possibilities are comprehensive. The luminaries overload, that needs to be installed to guarantee the end of lifetime illuminance levels, can be saved by light management systems. Regarding all the mentioned points, LED is the competing light source. The features are dominant over traditional light sources. Take the chance and install or renew your lighting system by  energy efficient LED light sources and luminaries. If you have further questions please contact the lighting experts at MyLEDLightingGuide.com and discuss products as well as solutions.

Almost everything nowadays operates on electricity. The modern conveniences that drive our world depend on electricity. Without a constant supply, our world grinds to a halt, as massive blackouts have proven in the past. Electricity has two forms in modern electronics: AC and DC.

AC (alternating current), is most frequently used in devices that require high amounts of power to operate.

DC (direct current), is more commonly found in devices requiring smaller amounts of power to operate.

DC was the original electricity that was created by Thomas Edison. This style of electricity sends a current in only a single direction, from a power source and to the power source again in a loop. Today, DC is used to power electronics that require batteries. Any device in your home that uses batteries uses DC current. Interesting to note, if your battery is plugged into the power supply to recharge, it transforms AC current into DC.

Direct current is also used in manufacturing situations where electricity is generated on site for personal use. Factories and mills that require vast amounts of energy often create their own DC current to power their machinery. Most commonly, DC is found in steel mills, aluminum production, and is used to power mass transportation in large urban centers in the form of electric streetcars.

AC power is easier to generate, which is why we use it as our standard electricity nowadays. The alternating current design allows energy to flow in both directions, making electricity easier to create and use in society. Regardless of where the current is moving, it is always moving in both directions at once. This results in current being present at every point in the power grid at every time as long as the connection to the generation unit is intact. The power that comes from the power plants, down the lines to our homes, is always AC in nature, thanks to the way our modern power grid is set up.

The power grid operates by creating AC current and sending it down the power lines. This current can be at whatever intensity the power company chooses.

Frequently, the electricity coming from these lines is far too powerful to be used in our homes. The transformers that we see on power poles transform the electricity from its high-powered state into something that our homes can use. Without the transformers, we wouldn’t be able to use the power that our society depends on.

Regardless of the style that we use in our devices and our homes, electricity plays an important role in society. Without both AC and DC electricity, we wouldn’t have those things that make modern life as comfortable as it is.

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.

Thanks for reading,1300 169 263