Adelaide Electrician's & Lighting Co.

2009-07-10T18:47:00.000-07:00

Specializing in all residential electrical & lighting needs.

No job too small!

Adelaide Electrician's & Lighting Co. offer a speedy service , quality workmanship & a high standard of customer service.

Adelaide Electrician's & Lighting Co. will help you make the right decision to suit your residential electrical needs. All installation work is carried out by an experienced electrician and is guaranteed to meet South Australian standards and regulations.

Adelaide Electrician's & Lighting Co. can help to transform dark, gloomy interiors by using a host of creative lighting techniques:

Create exciting visual effects

Highlight prominent features

Highlight interior and exterior plants

Create serene gardens and water features with careful planning and positioning of low voltage garden lights and submersible fittings.

email us for a FREE QUOTE today

Or Call
0410 433 755

A Career as an Electrician

2009-07-10T18:46:00.002-07:00

Work Profile

In new building construction, the work of an electrician is to ensure that all the electrical wires and cables are properly installed. It is mandatory under the law that only qualified electricians should handle the wiring of electrically equipped buildings, whether residential, commercial or industrial. When installing electrical systems, electricians are required to work with blueprints that specify the locations of load centers, panel boards, circuits, outlets and other electrical equipment. Electricians have to work in conformity with the National Electrical Code and the state and local building codes.

Nature of Work

While installing wiring systems, electricians place conduits in the walls, partitions and concealed areas, as per instructions in the blue prints. They fasten small metal or plastic boxes to walls for housing electrical switches and outlets and pull insulated wires and cables through the conduits to complete the electrical circuits between these boxes. They join the wires and cables in the boxes using special connecters. In course of their work, the electricians have to use tools like screwdrivers, wire strippers, hacksaws, conduit benders, knives and power tools like drills and saws.

The work of electricians who specialize in maintenance consists primarily of repair and the maintenance of electrical equipment and upgrading existing electrical systems. The actual work would vary, depending on where the electrician is employed. For example, in a home they may be required to rewire, remove an old circuit box or replace the existing one to accommodate additional equipment and install new fans. Maintenance electricians working in factories may need to repair transformers, generators, motors, machine tools and electronic controllers.

Working Conditions

Electricians have to work indoors and outdoors. Their work may take them to factories, homes, offices and construction sites. At times, the work may be physically demanding, such as bending conduits, stooping, standing and kneeling for long hours. They are exposed to weather conditions that at times could be quite inhospitable. In their course of work, electricians are exposed to the risk of injury from electrical shock, cuts and falls. To avoid these, they have to adhere to strict safety procedures.

Weekly Working Hours

Electricians work forty hours a week, but many do work overtime. Those attached to maintenance and repairs in factories are required to travel to the worksites at any time of the day or night, in case of an emergency.

Training and Qualifications

Most electricians are trained via apprentice programs that offer a combination of on-the-job-training and classroom instruction. The apprentice programs are sponsored by the local chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors and the Independent Electrical Contractor's Association or the joint training committees, comprising of local unions of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and local chapters of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

Make Sure the Electrician is Prepared

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Whenever someone hires an electrician, they want to ensure that their project will be completed without any problems. One of the best ways to make certain that the electrician is thoroughly equipped to handle the job is to ask plenty of questions when you are getting your estimate. You should also ask for verification that the electrician has all of the necessary licenses, insurance and certifications needed so that you know that they are prepared for any issues that may arise. You may need to call your local states governing board of contractors to find out exactly what type of requirements your electrician should have.

In addition to asking the electrician questions, you also need to provide plenty of information so that the electrician is best prepared to handle your project. The best way to accomplish this is to make sure that you provide the electrician with an adequate and detailed overview of your needs. Let the electrician know exactly what your problem is, what you need and how you hope to fix it. This way, the electrician will understand the full scope of your project and will be able to provide the most accurate estimate.

You can also take steps to make sure that the electrician is prepared by asking them ahead of time what areas of your home they will need access to. By moving any breakable or fragile items out of the way, you can help the electrician perform at his most efficient. If the electrician does not have clear access to where they are performing work, they sometimes spend more time and focus trying not to break items that are in their way. It is much simpler for home or business owners to make sure that the electricians work area is open and is not obstructed with any large or fragile objects. If the electrician needs to access the power box, make certain that their access is unobstructed as well.

Hiring an Electrician - Do it Right

2009-07-10T18:45:00.001-07:00

License
A license is an endorsement of the quality of work. However, it also provides a financial protection for the homeowner. Having electrical work performed by an unlicensed contractor could result in voiding your homeowners insurance. Make sure the contractor you hire is also bonded and insured.
Licensed, bonded electrical contractors get permits and take responsibility for electrical jobs they perform. Make sure your contractor employs licensed electricians to do the work.

Warranty
Any good electrician should provide a warranty. Really good electricians/electrical contractors provide both labor and material/parts warranty. Make sure the electrician provides these warranties in writing. For example, Mr. Electric Seattle has the warranty statement right on the invoice every customer gets a copy of.

Quality of materials
A good electrician/contractor always uses contractor-grade materials. That’s why they usually give the higher price automatically. This is where a good electrical contractor “has a problem” while bidding with other contractors. Remember: a good contractor will never cut corners and do something unsafe in order to accommodate your budget. However, they might suggest on how to modify your plans to meet both safety requirements and your budget.

General advices:
Think twice before accepting the lowest bid/price
You usually get what you pay for. A higher bid may be worth the price in better materials, workmanship and reliability. A large number of complaints filed against contractors are the result of homeowner taking the lowest bid and then being unhappy with the low quality of work electrician provides.

Save your time and money by combining electrical projects.
Think of extra outlets, lighting or wiring that you may want for the near future. You can even make a list of your specific needs. Electricians usually charge less when they do something as an additional task.

Compare the Electrician’s Travel Charges

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Electrical work is dangerous. When it comes to needing electrical work performed on your home, you should never attempt to do this work yourself. It is always best to choose a licensed, bonded professional electrician who has plenty of experience and knowledge to complete all of your electrical projects for you.

Many people shy away from using a professional electrician because they believe it will be too expensive. Electricians have a high hourly wage because the work they perform is dangerous and technical. If it weren’t, everyone could simply perform his or her own electrical work. Not only is it not advised to perform electrical work yourself, it is often illegal. Electricians, as well as their electrical work, is monitored and regulated by federal laws and codes. Electricians charge between forty to one hundred dollars per hour because they are trained, skilled professionals.

When it comes to choosing an electrician, you should never simply choose the contractor with a low hourly rate. An inexperienced electrician, who isn’t licensed or bonded, may not only perform sloppy work, but they may not perform the work according to code, and you may end up spending more money in the long run having their work repaired. Always choose the most qualified electrician for the job, even if that means paying more per hour.

One way that you can think economically in regards to hiring an electrician is to choose your electrician based upon his or her travel charge. An electrician may include a travel charge in his or her estimate. This charge may be calculated by the hour or by a flat fee. Depending upon your needs, location, and length of your project, it may save you money if you can find an experienced, professional electrician that is closer to your home. Always ask the electrician what their proposed travel charge is and use the information to help determine which electric contractor is best for your job.

How Do I Find a Good Electrician?

2009-07-10T18:43:00.002-07:00

Finding a good electrician is done by word of mouth, looking in the yellow pages, or looking online. Many times when you are looking for a licensed and insured electrician one will ask friends and family for a referral. This is a great way to find a reputable electrician or electrical contractor. If you have a referral you can easily check to see if the electrician has a license, insurance and any complaints by checking with your community board of licensing. If they have no complaints, the next thing to check is what services they provide.

This can be done by looking on the Internet to see if the electrician has a website that lists their qualifications and services offered. Many electricians also advertise in the yellow pages and list their services. You want an electrician that can do all the work you need done without contracting out to another company. If you find an electrician online in your area, you can request information about a certain service if they have a contact page. This is common practice with the Internet today. If you need any type of electrical work done, you want an experienced and insured electrician that has a good record for completing work up to standards.

A good electrician will not diagnose your problem over the phone. The professional electrician will come to your home to troubleshoot the problem while explaining to you what they are doing. You want an electrical services company that will give you an estimate for the work before starting. It may be best to get a few estimates if you want to find a good electrician. Going with the cheapest estimate is not always going to mean quality work. This is very important to remember when looking for a qualified electrician or electrical contractor to complete all the work you need to have done.

When is it Time to Call an Electrician?

2009-07-10T18:43:00.001-07:00

The time to call an electrician is when you need any electrical work done. They are insured, licensed and in some cases, bonded. Electricians and Electrical contractors
have years of experience and have done this type of work repeatedly. If you need to upgrade your service or add some additional outlets, now is the time to call an electrician. When you need to troubleshoot your home to find out why the lights are flickering, it is time to call a professional electrician or electrical contractor. Any outdoor electrical work requires a professional electrician. If you are wondering why something unusual is happening with the electricity or wiring in your home, it is time to call an electrician.

If you seem to be running out of outlets in your home, you can call an electrical contractor to come in and give you an estimate for additional outlets. If you have old wiring in your home, it is time to upgrade and meet the housing code requirements. If you have power surges when the refrigerator kicks in, you need to find out why and call an electrician. A professional electrician can help you with these needs. If you keep tripping a circuit breaker or blowing a fuse, you need to find out why right away. A potential danger might be avoided if you get the problem checked and fixed by a licensed and insured electrical contractor.

Most electrical fires start because the homeowner does not think the problem is serious. If they would have had it checked by a professional electrical contractor, the fire may have been avoided. It does not cost anything to pick up the phone and call an electrician; it does cost more if you would have a fire or power outage. It is better to get problems resolved before it is too late. If you have dimming lights, flickering lights, arching, frayed wires, old knob and tube wiring or even upgrading plans, call an experienced and licensed electrician to see what they can do for you.

What Causes Lights to Dim

2009-07-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

There are many reasons why lights dim. The first reason could be that the lights are on a circuit with a larger appliance such as a refrigerator or air conditioner. When the appliance kicks in, the lights may dim because the appliance took a lot of power to start. You should have a dedicated circuit breaker for such appliances that require more power to start. If your wiring is not equipped to handle the load of electricity your home needs it could result in dimming lights. This is because the existing wiring has a large current need and the voltage can drop if the wiring has too much resistance.

If the lights get brighter and dimmer, you might have a corroded, broken or loose neutral wire. If this happens, you could be pushing 240 into the 120 outlets for a second. This is a more serious problem and should be corrected immediately by an experienced electrician. If your lights dim or flicker, you need to check for frayed wiring or loose connections. Another reason that lights dim is if there is something wired on the same circuit that is faulty. For instance, if your lights dim when you start the vacuum cleaner, it may be drawing too much power because of a faulty or wearing motor.

If you notice your lights are dimming, you need to find the source of the problem. It could be the light bulb itself or it could be something more serious. Inspect wiring and observe appliances while turning on and running. If you have not found the problem yourself you should have an electrician or an electrical contractor come and inspect the wiring and appliances. Electricians do have more ways of searching for electrical problems. An electrician will troubleshoot the wiring and circuitry before suggesting what the problem is as well as what has to be done to correct it.

Enjoy Your Home with Great Lighting

2009-07-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

How will you light up those dark corners? How will you highlight your favourite paintings? How will you see what you're doing in the kitchen? Good lighting is essential if you're to make the most of your interiors and it's the first thing you should think about when doing up a room.

A good electrician has all sorts of lighting at his disposal to install in your home. Gone are the days when a single hanging pendant light was the only light source, with maybe a table lamp for reading and writing. Electricians now talk about ambient, feature and task lighting - and in one room you can have all three!

Ambient lighting is general lighting that provides brightness. In some rooms it's useful to get your electrician to put this on a dimmer switch. For instance in living and dining rooms, where you may want to create the right ambience for romance or entertaining. It can also be really useful in bedrooms - particularly children's bedrooms where you may want to check on kids in the middle of the night without startling them awake! And in the bathroom it can help create serenity after a stressful day - especially if accompanied by a candle or two.

Feature lighting highlights special features that you want people to notice. Maybe a special painting or an attractive piece of furniture. It can also look great on shelving or in alcoves where it will guide people towards interesting features.

Task lighting is very practical. It ensures you can properly see what you're doing. For example cooking in the kitchen, reading a book in bed or applying make-up in front of a mirror. It provides strong light in a specific place and is essential for getting things done without straining your eyes.

Electricians can answer your lighting needs with several light sources. Downlights are recessed into the ceiling or attached to the wall. If they are going to be recessed you will need to check that the cavity between the ceiling and the floor above is wide enough to accommodate the lighting fixture. Downlights can give narrow or wide beams of light, the latter being a good solution for general lighting.

Uplights are attached to the wall and throw light up to the ceiling, which is then reflected back into the room. These lights can increase the feeling of space and height in a room, as long as the ceiling is white or very pale.

Wall washers cast light up and down a wall, again reflecting the light into the room but also creating an attractive light feature on the wall, especially if the beams are narrow. They are particularly effective at highlighting interesting wall textures, for instance polished concrete or exposed brick.

Decorative lights can be a fantastic feature and work particularly well if paired with other lighting so that the decorative light does not have to do all the work of lighting an area. It can then be appreciated as a decoration rather than merely a light source. These include pendant lights, chandeliers and attractive table lights.

Before your electrician installs the light fitting you've picked, its worth considering the type of bulb it takes. Low-voltage bulbs work particularly well as discreet feature lighting. Fluorescent bulbs produce even, flat light and are good for uplights and wall washers. Clear tungsten bulbs with a bare filament will produce highly defined shadows whereas frosted bulbs provide softer, more diffuse light.

Also, discuss with him the controls. Apart from dimmers there are also controls which can include all the lights in a room on pre-set controls, programmed to different moods - very bright, very dimmed, some lights on and others off. This allows you to create the appropriate mood at the flick of just one switch rather than going round the room putting several lights on and off, which can be tedious.

Good lighting can transform a home. So make it a priority when you are redecorating - use it as the starting point and you can't go wrong.

Lighting Services

2009-06-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

Adelaide Electrician's & Lighting Co. can help to transform dark, gloomy interiors by using a host of creative lighting techniques:

Create exciting visual effects

Highlight prominent features

Highlight interior and exterior plants

Create serene gardens and water features with careful planning and positioning of low voltage garden lights and submersible fittings.

email us for a FREE QUOTE today

Or Call
0410 433 755