By Clarissa Allison | August 28th, 2015

If you are a homeowner considering outdoor lighting, then you have probably heard about solar landscape lighting. In addition to being environmentally friendly, light emitting diode which prevents the battery’s current from flowing back through the solar cell during the night. The battery charges during the daytime, and will meet its maximum charge before dusk. A photovoltaic cell then changes the sun’s light into electricity. Although environmental factors affect the performance of solar lights they will work outdoors throughout most of the year.

Many solar lights are self-sustaining, or “stand-alone” systems. These convert sunlight into electricity during the day, store the electricity in batteries, and draw from the batteries to power light fixtures after dusk.

Self-contained solar lights often have panels built right into the light fixtures. Solar lighting systems with panels separate from fixture assemblies, however, allow for only the panels to be placed in the sun, not the lights themselves.

Modern buildings, commercial spaces, and even homes increasingly implement advanced building automation and control technology to improve energy efficiency, user comfort, and extend the life cycles of equipment.

At the core of any building automation system, or BAS, remains a central computing hub. This is where software processes the variety of signals it receives from connected sensors, switches, and user inputs. In a typical home, a Wi-Fi network connects devices wirelessly. Further, it will often connect them to the internet, allowing remote access from any web-connected device.

The only real difference between homeowner systems and commercial applications is scale. A large building can have many more devices and sensors connected, but the core function remains the same. The primary focus of commercial systems, however, is energy efficiency over user convenience.

In a large building or factory, even a small percentage of energy savings can have a huge benefit, not only in lower utility costs but also in reductions of CO2 emissions. With an efficient BAS, a building can attain a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating, which is a measure of energy efficiency and low environmental impact in building design.

As technology advances, the potential risks grow for building automation. Each day, more devices become connected to the internet. This is now referred to as the “Internet of Things”. The ease and convenience increases, but so does the potential reward for hackers. Anything controlled by the user or by software could potentially be taken over by a malicious hacker.

It is vital that digital security remains a priority, especially in a home setting. Many smart devices are not as secure as they may seem and are often only as secure as the home’s Wi-Fi network. Some good first steps include changing your Wi-Fi network’s password to something unique. Use the latest encryption protocols and enable MAC address filtering, which allows only devices specifically approved to connect to the network.

Building automation systems will continue to grow in ability and convenience. As long as the potential risks are managed, the possibilities for energy efficiency and user comfort remain nearly endless.

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

Here's a novel idea to ponder: One day, your car could be the power source for your home electrical work. That's right, electric cars are being primed to send electricity from their batteries back into the home and even to the electric grid. They aren't full-time power sources, of course, but cars do have the potential to get you through a power outage and even help you save money on your electric bills. Read on to find out how.

Upending the Human-Car Relationship

The typical relationship between electric cars and our home electrical work is a one-way street – you fill up the car's battery from a home charging station, a process that takes hours. However, new fast-charging technology that is becoming available has a second intriguing function: it also allows the car to discharge electricity into the home. Nissan has already developed a system that would allow the car to hook up to home electrical work and keep it running in an emergency.

The battery in the Nissan Leaf holds enough energy to power a typical home for about 24 hours, longer if you take energy conservation measures. It won't keep the power on forever, but it's enough to keep the lights on and the fridge cold for a while during an outage. Even more impressive, since cars are, after all, mobile, the autos could be driven to areas in need of power in the event of a black-out to help with emergency services.

Smoothing Out Demand

The next step would be to use cars to actually sell electricity back to the grid. In a twist on time-of-day pricing, in which electricity costs more during the day and less at night, manufacturers envision a day when our cars are used as giant storage batteries, soaking up electricity at night when it's cheap and then discharging it back to the grid during the day to help even out demand and reduce bills at the same time.

With the right technology in place, utility companies could control exactly how much electricity comes and goes from plugged-in cars. This could reduce expenses dramatically, because it costs a bundle to bring on incremental power sources to meet extra demand during the day.

A Vision of the Future

This futuristic vision of the electrical grid isn't here yet, but the technology already exists. As more and more electric cars hit the road, we get closer to realizing their potential as mobile power storage devices as well as human transportation vehicles.

To find out if your home is suitable for an electric car charging station, call a local electrician today.