The following information could avoid:
- paying more than you need to for community electricity bills
- you needing to arrange electrical maintenance as often
- having to arrange more service calls either during normal or after hours than you need to
- having tenant or owners attempting to carry out emergency repairs on their own in desperation
- having to deal with the emotional stress, the administrative debacle, and the ongoing nightmares if anyone gets seriously hurt or killed within the complex as a result of an electrical incident
- having repairs and fault finding taking longer than they need to result in additional costs and inconvenience
- you receiving more phone calls than you need to from frustrated owners, tenants, and contractors
It could also help you gain:
- credibility and respect
- more time to spend on more important or pleasurable activities
- more money to spend on other things to beautify or maintain the complex
- a building that appears to be well maintained attracting better quality residents
- a healthier and happier life
What we see regularly in a lot of complexes is:
Either no safety switches protecting some or all power circuits, light circuits, and exhaust fan
ISSUES?
1/ potential non-compliance of workplace health & safety laws
2/ potential for injury or death
An inspection by someone trained to determine what is and what is not protected is essential
The time clock is controlling the security lights that have no backup battery and the only control device
ISSUES
1/ a power outage will cause the time clock to stop causing lights to turn on at incorrect times potentially leaving stairwells and or basements in darkness causing potential serious hazards.
2/ time clock may need to be adjusted as the season’s change as lights will come on either earlier or later than desired.
The installation of a day-night switch and time clock with built-in battery back-up would mitigate all this.
A locked meter box/switchboard and nobody knows where the key is or the person with the key is not home
ISSUES
1/ additional costs to the BC due to extended waiting times and or traveling times sourcing keys or waiting for someone to provide access
2/ additional stress and frustration due to the extended time resident(s) are left waiting for the electrician to investigate and repair an issue including spoilt food
3/ potential hazardous situations arising due to darkness or some other dangerous situation such as electrocution that could lead to injury or death
The installation of a well-secured, good quality combination lockbox could mitigate this
No log books onsite recording when the last emergency light and safety switch tests were carried out
ISSUES?
1/ potential non-compliance of workplace health & safety laws
2/ potential risk occupants may not be able to safely and quickly escape the building in the event of an emergency, in particular, a fire
3/ potential risk of electrocution causing injury or death in the event of an electrical fault
?Having someone like us establish and regularly inspect and update these logbooks will mitigate this
HRC or rewireable fuses protecting circuits
ISSUES
1/ This one is a classic. A resident goes to the switchboard in the event of a power failure and finds that there are no circuit breaker switches. They have no idea by looking what may be the issue.
2/ If they have a little knowledge and attempt to remove the fuse holder to inspect the cartridge or fuse wire they immediately put themselves into some danger as there are now potentially exposed live terminals.
3/ They may be a little braver and attempt to remedy the situation themselves by replacing the fuse wire. They usually won’t have any fuse wire or a spare cartridge available but if they do, we normally find the wrong fuse wire has been used causing an extremely dangerous situation now, particularly the threat of fire
Installation of combined safety switch/circuit breakers will mitigate this
Labeling of circuits either not legible or non-existent
ISSUES
?1/ Isolation and fault finding becomes far more difficult and time-consuming elevating costs and the time it takes to rectify some situations.
2/ This can then cause it to cost more
3/ This can also be dangerous due to confusion
Having someone like us identify and suitably label the switchboard will mitigate this
Basement lighting staying on 24/7
ISSUES?
1/ paying more for electricity and lamp replacement than may be necessary
Movement activated sensor control and more efficient lighting such as LED may be a wise solution if the return on investment is a relatively short period of time. We can assess this.
Garden lighting not installed safely
ISSUES
1/ additional or existing garden lighting may not be able to be installed to a safe depth.
Installation of an extra-low voltage transformer may be a wise choice here to prevent inadvertent damage and potentially dangerous exposure.
Theft, vandalism, and inappropriate activity occurring
ISSUES?
1/ Theft and vandalism may increase maintenance costs
2/ may reduce confidence in residence causing them to leave or not apply to rent or buy resulting in lower values to owners and lower revenue to leasing managers
Installation of CCTV equipment and movement-activated sensors will mitigate this
If you’d like more information or a quote on any of the above simply phone or email us via either of the links at the top of the page
