Safety Systems

Here at 24 Hour Emergency Electricians we understand the importance of electrical safety, we recognise that it is a fundamental prerequisite for the home and workplace. We offer many services in the area of electrical safety and safety systems such as: smoke alarms, RCD safety switches on top of circuit breakers, surge protection, lightning protection, brown out (low voltage) protection, safety inspections, full fault detection diagnostics and repair.

Smoke Alarms

24 Hour Emergency Electrician Brisbane are fully qualified & licensed for smoke alarm testing and installation in Brisbane. We can put your mind at ease by installing state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line smoke alarms in your home or business. Over 20 years we have helped thousands of homes and businesses across Brisbane protect themselves against the risk of fast spreading fire. One of our team of highly trained and friendly electricians can quickly install, upgrade or check your current smoke alarm – so that you can sleep easy at night. It’s a matter of safety, and of legal compliance.

A smoke alarm should be:
Installed on every floor of your home or business
Located outside every sleeping area
Positioned so the siren can be clearly heard from wherever you are in the building.
Appropriate for whoever needs it (for example, elderly residents with hearing difficulty should opt for an alarm that combines sound, flashing lights and vibration)
Positioned away from breezy areas (for example windows and air-conditioning ducts) otherwise their sensitivity to smoke is limited.

Smoke alarms have a limited life expectancy and must…
be replaced at least every 10 years
be tested every month by pressing the test switch
contain a battery backup

There are two main types of smoke alarms; ionisation and photoelectric. Ionisation smoke alarms ‘smell’ the smoke. These alarms detect invisible combustion particles and activate quickly. Ionization alarms are good at detecting fast flaming fires with little visible smoke. This type of alarm is less prone to false alarms due to dust and steam but can be triggered easily if placed too close to cooking. Photoelectric smoke alarms ‘see’ the smoke. These alarms detect visible particles of combustion. Photoelectric alarms are particularly responsive to smouldering fires which give off a lot of smoke. This style of smoke alarm must be cleaned regularly to ensure correct function and to avoid false alarms.

The QLD Fire Service strongly recommends the use of photo-electric smoke alarms as they provide the best protection across a range of fires. If installing more than one alarm in your home a mix of Ionization and Photoelectric is advised. By connecting all your smoke alarms together when one sounds all will sound, giving the best possible warning of fire. Talk to us now about linking your smoke alarms together for optimal fire protection!

RCD Safety Switches

Circuit breakers

Circuit breakers cut the power off when electrical wiring in a building has too much current flowing through it (such as a no load leak to ground). Excess current flowing through a circuit will heat wiring to unsafe levels. This could result in an electrical shock or fire. Circuit breakers do not provide protection from electric shock, they cut out only after a large current spike has occurred.

Fuses

Fuses work in the same way as circuit breakers but are different in that their rating can be changed by replacing the fuse or fuse wire with the incorrect size. Fuses are not ideal and should be replaced with circuit breakers where possible.

Safety Switches – Residual Current Device (RCD)

Safety switches are not the same as circuit breakers or fuses. They are an additional form of protection to be used in conjunction with circuit breakers and fuses. Safety switches are specifically designed to prevent an electric shock / electrocution. They monitor the flow of electricity through a circuit and automatically shut off the electricity supply when current is detected leaking from faulty switches, wiring or electrical appliances. This stops the chance of current flowing to earth, through a person and electrocuting them. Installing a safety switch is an inexpensive safety measure that protects everyone.

The importance of the RCD has been ratified in QLD law, it requires all new buildings to have RCD’s installed. But for existing buildings that don’t have an RCD safety switch then protect yourself now by getting a professionally installed safety switch by a licensed electrician from 24 Hour Emergency Electrician Brisbane.

There are three types of residual current devices that can be used in households. The safest and the most complete form of protection is offered by the Switchboard RCD, which sits on the switchboard monitoring the circuits of all electrical sockets and appliances. This is by far the safest solution, but in order for it to operate safely and effectively it must be installed by a licensed electrician. The second type is known as a power point RCD, which is an in-built device in the socket outlet that provides protection for equipment relying on those outlets as sources of power. The third option available is the portable RCD. This is a mobile device that can be plugged into any socket. These are suitable for monitoring appliances in high risk areas such as workshops, outdoors or in wet or damp locations. They should be used where RCD protection is not already provided or is unknown.

Lightning and Surge Protection

A power surge is a fast, unpredictable rise in voltage that makes its way through the entire wiring infrastructure of your electrical system. Power surges occur in various degrees and for many different reasons. Large power surges are caused mainly by external factors (most commonly a tree touching a power line or a lightning strike). Large power surges cause immediate damage. The spike in power has the intensity to start fires, melt plastic and metal, causing damage to your electrical circuit and its functionality. If your home or office receives a large surge of power, all the appliances that are plugged in at that time will be damaged. Small power surges are common and occur frequently when the supply phase you are connected to is momentarily unbalanced, this happens when appliances are turned off coincidentally. Unfortunately even small power surges have the potential to damage microprocessor devices.

Surge protection installed in your switchboard will protect all of your valuable electrical equipment and save you having to replace them. At 24 Hour Emergency Electrician Brisbane we can supply and install surge protection in you electrical switchboard today, we operate 24/7 so call us now for immediate service. If required for your convenience we can also install surge protection on individual power points.

Low voltage protection

Labelled a brown out because when observed in the home the lights fade to a brown colour. A brownout is an under-voltage condition, when the AC supply drops below the nominal value by at least 10%. In a brownout, powered devices need to draw more current to compensate for the lower supply voltage, which is very stressful for transistors, wires, diodes, etc. Making a low voltage signal damaging just like an over voltage supply. 24 Hour Emergency Electrician can prevent damage to the devices in your home and business by installing a low voltage protection system.

Safety Inspections

Due to there importance electrical safety inspections are one of our most critical services. Our knowledgeable and highly competent electricians are ready to help you with a detailed inspection. All the inspection work is carried out with updated testing instruments. We follow a very transparent service procedure that has enabled us to gain the trust of our huge range of clients over years. After our analysis we provide you with a comprehensive written report.

Your qualified 24 Hour Emergency Electrician will talk you through all potential electrical risks and hazards, they will also provide you with FREE adjustments on required fixtures that may need attention.

Our thorough electrical inspections include:
Safety inspection on every power point & appliance
Inspection of lights & switches
Inspection and testing of smoke alarms
Visual inspection of the switch board and electrical sub board
Visual inspection of the wiring of your home
Inspecting the switchboard for proper earth grounding, bonding, and integrity of connections.
Check for the presence of a driven ground/earth rod and the integrity of the connection.
Check critical areas for potential corrosion problems that may result from improper connections or the use of dissimilar metals.
Test the operation of all Residual Current Devices or any other protection device.

When to get an inspection?
• If you’re purchasing a home.
• If the electrical status of the workplace, building or house is unknown.
• If occupants have had a recent scare with an unexpected electrical issue.
• If you are concerned about an old or dilapidated property’s electrical system.
• If your power bill is unreasonably high.

Electrical Faults

We’re locals, and we’ve been working in the Brisbane suburbs for over 20 years, we are the electricians Brisbanians can count on in times of electrical emergency. Our years of professional experience in the field have made us knowledgeable on a wide range of electrical faults. We are experts in all kinds of fault detection and diagnosis and assure you a fast and professional service.

Do you have faulty power points that have never worked or just recently stopped? Are you overloading your power points with power boards or adapters? Are you experiencing loss of power, loss of lights or breakers keep tripping? Noticed sparks with any of circuits? Electrical faults are common occurrences with serious consequences, but they can be quickly identified and resolved by an expert. Any electrical fault you experience we will solve it.

Our fault finding service is the best in Brisbane. We pride ourselves on: fast call out, guaranteed work, reliable diagnosis. We get to the root of the issue and fix it right the first time. There is no electrical fault finding mystery too difficult for our expert team to solve. We will resolve your problem in a timely fashion, and we always provide long-term fixes for our customers.

Common electrical faults that occur within a circuit:
Open Circuit Fault – When the electricity circuit experiences a break (a tear or hole), the flow of electricity is interrupted and a fault occurs. Open circuit faults happen as a result of the element burning, a broken wire, a connection that has come loose, or rusting.
Short Circuit Fault – When the power supply is attached to a live or neutral wire that has no load, a fault can occur as a result of a blown fuse. Short circuit faults can occur as a result of insulation failure or a connection that has come loose.
Earth Fault – When the appliance becomes live, this is normally a result of an Earth fault. This kind of fault can give an electric shock and is normally due to a loose or damaged connection.

What we do:
Check and test all circuit breakers for short circuits
Check and test the fuse box safety switch
Check for any poor connections overloaded with appliances
Install a surge protector if needed
Test all appliances for any basic electrical fault causing a fuse to trip
Test earth rods in case of a main earth fault
Make sure that your electrical safety circuit will not overload or overheat
Safety testing on all circuits

We only use the latest cutting edge fault-seeking equipment. We use FLIR thermal imaging cameras to improve the efficiency, accuracy and safety of their work. The thermal camera is able to measure the temperature of any object and detect likely hazard areas without putting anyone at risk. It will show us if your switchboard is too hot and using a lot of power. We can detect overloaded circuits and find electrical fault in an instant with thermal imaging. We can test and determine the root of the problem. So for all your fault finding needs, call the electrician Brisbane residents have always relied on to do the job properly the best electricians in Brisbane, the 24 Hour Emergency Electricians.