Another Home Safer with a New Switchboard

Today we were called out to a home in Thomastown, we found the home was still using its original switchboard from the 1960's.  The fuse contacts overheated and burnt the wire behind the switchboard.  Thankfully this did not cause another house fire started by old electrical switchboards.  We replaced the old switchboard with a new Switchboard from ABB.  The new Switchboard complies with the latest regulations.

Some of these regulations include:-

1/  Main Switch is a Circuit Breaker rated to the mains cable capacity.
2/  Safety Switch to protect every circuit.
3/  Work Inspected by a qualified third party.
4/  A Prescribed Certificate of Electrical Safety issued.

So, its out with the old and in with the new.

If your home has an older Switchboard, don't risk it, upgrade it!

If you are not sure if it needs replacing, send me a pic to 0431 232 796 or geoff@eppingelectrical.com and I will let you know.

Geoff

High Electricity Bills - Epping Electrical comes to the rescue

June 2011

Epping Electrical was called to a home in a northern suburb of Melbourne March this year to investigate high electricity bills. The owner told us they were receiving bills of over $1000 per month, they had been in discussions with their electricity retailer for over two years who concluded that the situation was simply due to the high use of electricity by the owner. A suggestion was made to the owner to have the home electrical system checked as another possible cause. We did check the installation and found the two-bedroom unit had floor heating install in all the rooms. The floor heating was controlled by a timer within the main switchboard. We did identify the timer had been incorrectly set, this was adjusted to ensure the floor heating elements only came on during the off peak hours.


Whilst the owner was pleased that something was identified at last, the owner was sure something else must be wrong as the electricity bills continued on average to be over $1000 per month even over the summer period. Our attention now focused on the bills and the electricity meter.

The owner explained that the meter had been checked before and was told it was operating correctly. We decided anyway to confirm the meter readings and check these against the electricity bills. What we uncovered would explain everything. We had found that the electricity meter has three registers that tally kilowatt hours. One counts the kilowatt hours used during the peek period, another counts the off-peek period and the third is the total of the two or in other words, total usage over the 24hour period. We found that instead of the first two registers finding their way to the bill, we confirmed that the total kilowatt register was being added to the bill in the peek section. This means that all off peak usage was being correctly billed at off peek rate but it was also being billed at peek rate.

Unfortunately, this was not the end of the story. We thought this would be a simple matter of contacting the electricity retailer and explaining the situation. When we called the electricity retailer they would not accept our findings. Instead they would send out their own expert to investigate. Weeks would pass before a report was issued. It explained that the high energy usage was due to the fact that the floor heating requires a timer and the owner should have an electrician install one to resolve the problem!! The electricity retailer now was satisfied everything was correct and it was the owners issue. They demanded the electricity bill now more than $20,000 be paid.

We attempted to contact the retailer a number of times, they refused to listen and said this is now out of their hands and could do nothing. We decided to contact the electricity distributer in the area. We spoke to at least three people who simply did not know enough about metering, after a few days we got put through to someone that had worked with electricity metering equipment for over 20 years. We explained the situation to him, he agreed to look into this. After an hour he called back to confirm we were right and the billing team would be calculating the correct electricity costs over many years.  This would result in a significant refund to the owner.

I personally had the pleasure to inform the owner of the great news.

This experience for me was often frustrating but ultimately rewarding. At Epping Electrical we are driven by doing what is right and assisting our customers however we can. Its our hope that electricity companies will see this as a lesson to improve the service they provide to their customers.

Names of involved parties have been intentionally withheld.


Geoff Connor
Director
0431232796

Fuse Keeps Blowing #3 Illegal wiring

I was recently called to a home in Epping where the new owners complained of a power fuse blowing everyday. At first I suspected an electrical fault in an appliance, our investigation however uncovered a number of issues that would require some attention.


The issues found included :-
Part 1. Switchboard with re-wireable fuses
Part 2. Overloaded power circuits
Part 3. Illegal wiring

I will write about each issue over the next week.

Today I will write about the illegal wiring found.

It would seem that the previous owner undertook much of the home improvements, based on the illegal wiring, I would suggest the handy man also undertook the electrical work. Not a day goes by that we don’t see some kind of illegal wiring.

This pic shows exposed wiring on a brick wall and also unsupported electrical conduit that spans approx 4 meters between the garage and the granny flat. Both these have been removed, the granny flat is now supplied with an aerial cable from the garage.

Here is one of the worst examples of illegal wiring found recently in a home at West Meadows. This outlet has been connected to live power. Exposed electrical terminals is a real safety risk. No earth conductor was connected making this illegal wiring even worse. 

Yet another reminder, Never undertake electrical work yourself.

Fuse Keeps Blowing #2 overloaded power circuits

I was recently called to a home in Epping where the new owners complained of a power fuse blowing everyday. At first I suspected an electrical fault in an appliance, our investigation however uncovered a number of issues that would require some attention.


The issues found included :-
Part 1. Switchboard with re-wireable fuses
Part 2. Overloaded power circuits
Part 3. Illegal wiring

I will write about each issue over the next week.

Today I will write about the overloaded power circuits found.

The home had a number of renovations and extensions over the years, additionally, a granny flat and garage had been built in the back yard. Whilst the previous owner invested heavily in these improvements, it seems they did not consult a qualified electrician to modify the electrical installation to cope with the increased electrical load.

One power circuit had been extended to connect to power outlets in the house extension, garage and granny flat. What’s more, a 3.6KW hot water service in the granny flat was also connected to the power circuit. Because the granny flat was not heated, it is likely that plug in electrical heaters would be used. The simultaneous use of multiple heavy load appliances was the direct cause of the power over loads.

The solution would require the installation of a Sub-board with in-built safety switches, this would supply power to the granny flat power outlets and lighting, hot water service and garage lighting and power.

The Sub-board would also supply power to the extension at the rear of the house. The main switchboard load will be reduced back to acceptable limits. Problem rectified.

Fuse Keeps Blowing #1 Re-wireable fuses

I was recently called to a home in Epping where the new owners complained of a power fuse blowing everyday. At first I suspected an electrical fault in an appliance, our investigation however uncovered a number of issues that would require some attention.


The issues found included :-
Part 1. Switchboard with re-wireable fuses
Part 2. Overloaded power circuits
Part 3. Illegal wiring

I will write about each issue over the next week.

Firstly, the existing switchboard board was the older Federal board with ceramic re-wireable fuse holders. As shown below.

These boards are increasingly becoming the cause of electrical faults some causing fires in homes around Melbourne. If your home has one of these boards, you should have it replaced as soon as you can. Loose cable connections and/or fuse contacts cause an increase in heat and if unattended will result in damage to wiring or can even result in a house fire. If the fuse wire is replaced too many times over the years, the fuse contacts become loose.

Another issue with re-wireable fuses is that un-qualified personnel attempt to replace the fuse wire after an electrical fault. In some cases the fuse wire is not replaced with the correct fuse wire. This can cause a fire risk to the home. The fuse wire is designed to be the weak link in the electrical circuit, if more current is drawn than the installed cable can support, the fuse wire will overheat and melt, thus disconnecting supply. If the weak link is strengthened, then the weak link in the electrical circuit can become the wire install within the walls and ceiling of the home, replacement of this is very costly.

A better way.

The installation of a new circuit breaker board with in-built safety switches (approx $700 inc GST) will not only better protect your home and electrical wiring, it will protect family and friends from electrocution. The circuit breaker installed is factory set with a current limit. When more current is drawn than the rating of the circuit breaker, the breaker will trip. If this occurs, push back to the on position to reset. If the breaker trips immediately, a fault exists somewhere in the home. Disconnect all appliances you can find and repeat the process. If the breaker trips again call an electrician ASAP. If the breaker stays on, then one appliance you have disconnected has an electrical fault. Have this appliance repaired or replaced.