1. Is There A Difference Between A Fuse And A Circuit Breaker?

The main difference between fuse and circuit breakers is that fuses cannot be reused while circuit breakers can be reused over and over again. Circuit breakers are used to protect homes and devices against overloading and short-circuiting while fuses protect devices and homes against overloading only.

2. What Is A “Short” Or A “Short Circuit?”

A short circuit occurs when the current finds a way to bypass the appliance on a path that has little or no resistance—for example, where frayed insulation bares a wire and allows it to touch the frame of the appliance, so the current can flow straight to the ground.

3. What Is A GFCI Outlet?

A residual-current device (RCD), residual-current circuit breaker (RCCB) or ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) is an electrical safety device that quickly breaks an electrical circuit with leakage current to ground. It is to protect equipment and to reduce the risk of serious harm from an ongoing electric shock.

4. Why Do My Light Bulbs Blow Out Frequently?

In many instances, light bulbs constantly blowing out can be traced back to loose connections or high voltage problems. In some cases, you may have issues with your electrical grounding.

5. Should I Be Worried About Outlets That Don’t Work?

Even if the outlet has never worked, it is a good idea to schedule a visit with one of our electricians. The best-case scenario is that the outlet was never connected to power. However, some situations can pose a fire or electrical shock risk, such as when the outlet has sustained damage or has a bad connection

7. What Is Tripping My Circuit Breaker?

The most common reason for a tripped circuit breaker is circuit overload. Typically this means that too many things are being operated or plugged into one electrical socket at the same time resulting in the consumer unit “tripping” or switching off.

8. What Is The Difference Between Conventional Circuit Breakers And AFCI?

An AFCI is a product that is designed to detect a wide range of arcing electrical faults to help reduce the electrical system from being an ignition source of a fire. Conventional overcurrent protective devices do not detect low level hazardous arcing currents that have the potential to initiate electrical fires.

9. Why Is My Light Switch Hot?

Light switches can only handle so much power before they become overloaded. When a light switch becomes overloaded with power, it can overheat and be hot to the touch. While most light switches can handle no more than 15 amps of power, many electrical circuits use closer to 20 amps of power

10. Can I ‘DIY’ Electrical Projects?

Is it illegal to do electrical work in your home UK?

All new electrical work must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations which restricts DIY electrical work on grounds of safety. However, you are still allowed to carry out some work yourself without notifying Building Control.

11. What is a spur in electrics?

A spur circuit is an electrical circuit that runs between a fused spur and the main electrical supply to a building. It operates independently, as a separate branch of the ‘ring circuit’ which runs between all the devices on-site using conventional plug sockets.

12. How is the electricity delivered to a house?

Electricity is supplied to our homes by underground cable or overhead power line at 230 volts. The electricity supply cable enters your home through a meter which records how much electricity you are using and a consumer unit (or fusebox) where your main switch and residual current devices (RCDs) are located.

13. How big is the electrical cable bringing electricity into a regular house?

Normally 6 mm² are used for the uprights, 2.5 mm² for the circuits that power the sockets or fixed appliances such as the air conditioner and 1.5 mm² for the light circuits. Continuing with general information, the larger the section of an electric cable, the greater the current that will pass

The post Your Most Common Electrical Electrician Questions Answered first appeared on AM Electrical Installations.

A lot of people require electrical services for residential and or commercial services and it is often considered a highly sophisticated field of employment.

Commercial electricians may find themselves installing complex electrical systems into commercial buildings, working at heights; for example outside lighting, distribution box  poles, high roof lighting or up in suspended office ceilings across a wide range of building types such as:

• Schools, colleges, and universities
• Offices
• Hotels
• Leisure facilities
• Restaurants, cafés, and bars
• Shopping malls
• Libraries
• Shops
• Government buildings
• Theatres, cinemas, and other entertainment venues
• Museums
• Various businesses and in public places

Some tasks associated with the Commercial Electrician Role:

Designing, installing, maintaining, and repairing electrical wiring and equipment in commercial buildings;

Ensuring that electrical systems comply with the national and local, regional safety standards and regulations.

Reading and interpreting technical drawings, schematics, and schematics to plan and carry out electrical projects.

Troubleshooting and diagnosing electrical issues and malfunctions using various testing tools and equipment of the trade.

Working with different types of electrical systems and components, such as lighting, heating or cooling, fire alarms, security systems, CCTV, power distribution, control panels, circuit boards, switches, sockets, terminals and so on.

2 Gang single Gang Wiring.

Wiring a metal stud frame skeleton office complex. Mounting brackets on metal framing during the roughing stage.

Supervising and coordinating with other tradespeople, such as plumbers, carpenters, painters, etc, to ensure the timely completion of electrical projects.

Communicating with clients, managers, engineers, architects, and inspectors to provide updates on the progress and status of electrical projects.

Some Commercial/Domestic Electrician Qualifications:

Most electricians come through an apprenticeship route, theory, skills and on the job training with for example an AM2 qualification in electrical installations.

AM2 or the Achievement Measurement 2 is a practical performance skill test administered by the National Electrotechnical Training (NET).

As of the release of C&G 2357 Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Electrotechnical Technology, the AM2 exam becomes unit 2357-399 of the before mentioned qualification.

Level 3 Certificate in Inspection, Testing, Design City & Guilds 100/3599/0 and Certification of Electrical Installations 5 Qualifications Guide (Dec 2022) EAS Appendix 4 – Requirements for Qualified Supervisors and persons carrying out Electrical Inspection and Testing.

An Electrician must take the AM2 test if:

Finishing an Electrical Installation Apprenticeship (C&G 2357)

Electrician Certification Bodies and Standards:

BPEC is an industry leading specialised provider of qualifications, assessments, training courses and learning materials,  working closely with a UK wide network of colleges, private training centres and industry stakeholders. BPEC is dedicated to providing education and lifelong learning to those who work in the Building Services Engineering (BSE) and commercial electrical sector.

BPEC’s learning materials and short courses have been developed in close consultation with commercial industry bodies and employers.

Combination and High Efficiency Boilers.

Electricity for Plumbers.

Electrical Energy Storage Systems (EESS).

Safe Isolation of Low Voltage Electrical Installations.

BS7671: the national safety standard for electrical installations. A commercial Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) evaluates and tests electrical installations in commercial properties, to check your organisation is complying fully with BS7671.

NIC EIC: How NICEIC online certification helps you the customer. The notification and certification process provides you with:

Confirmation that the installation is safe, that (where appropriate) it complies with the Building Regulations and meets the relevant Regulations and Standards assurance that the electrical business has the competence to self-certify the work. Also the NIC EIC system will automatically send you the customer a hard or electronic copy of the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate.

Commercial electricians need to have a range of skills and qualifications to perform their job effectively. Some of these are:

• A school or college qualification or equivalent
• A valid electrician license or certification from the relevant authority
• A thorough knowledge of the electrical codes and standards
• A good understanding of the principles and practices of electrical engineering
• A high level of technical skill and proficiency in using various electrical tools and equipment
• A strong attention to detail and accuracy
• A good sense of safety and awareness of potential hazards
• A good physical stamina and ability to work in different environments and conditions
• A good problem-solving and analytical ability
• A good communication and interpersonal skill
• A good teamwork and collaboration skill
• A good customer service and client satisfaction skill

Do Electricans Require Insurances?

Do electrical contractors need insurance? Of course.

Insurance will protect the electricians credibility, and ability to trade in the future.

What type of insurance do electricians need?

Electricians are working with electricity and live wires on a daily basis, so it’s always better to be prepared for any eventuality. Of course, there are a few things to consider.

Public liability insurance for electricians:

Public liability insurance offers electricians cover in case someone is accidentally injured or the property is damaged due to an incident. Public liability insurance can protect the customer and the electrician in the event of an incident.

So, whether it’s a trip and slip or a serious accident, an insured electrician gives the customer extra peace of mind.

Your commercial electrician will likely require:

Up to £5 million public liability protection.

The post Some Things To Know About Commercial Electricians first appeared on AM Electrical Installations.

Selecting a good commercial electrician

One thing every office needs is an effective electrical service that ensures safety and comfort while using electrical appliances in your office. With the amount of electrical devices being produced currently, electrical risks keep increasing by the day. Hence, the need for a trustworthy professional or commercial electrician to ensure that your office is properly wired to handle electrical appliances and their activities.

One of such trustworthy companies is AM Electricals. AM Electricals is a professional and trustworthy company that specializes in electrical installations for commercial usage. We focus on the various electrical problems that your company may experience so that you don’t have to worry or do it yourself. AM Electricals is government approved, and also an NIC EIC approved commercial electrical contractor.

With our vast experience we not only handle commercial electrical wiring, but also industrial electrical wiring. We are a company focused on ensuring electrical safety for your classrooms, offices, and workshops, etc. we offer various services, from electrical lighting to electrical installation. Here’s a brief overview of our services, why you need us, and what you tend to benefit from partnering with us.

Commercial Lighting Installation in Birmingham, West Midlands.

When designing a office or its electrical plan, it is important that you consider its lighting areas. A well lit room or house is well secured and enjoyable. That’s why at AM Electricals, we are focused on providing adequate lighting for your buildings, office, and workspaces. We offer the best equipment and commercial electrical contractors to provide your buildings, office, or factory with the lighting that best suits it.

Industrial Electrical Wiring in Birmingham, West Midlands.

Having good industrial electrical wiring installed in your office or workshop is very important. It ensures that all your equipment can run without power failure or getting fired due to electrical surge or massive voltage output. We at AM Electrical offer superb industrial electrical work. From the point of receiving the quote, till we complete the job, we will work closely with our client requiring our industrial services, ensuring that we meet the requirements of your organization.
Industrial electrical wiring requires professional industrial electricians and contractors. Hence, we ensure that every industrial project is completely customized to meet your demands, that said, we will accompany you throughout the entire process. Customer service is just as important as the electrical services we provide. Additionally, we provide industrial services including extensive design and construction, socket and lighting construction, fire alarm installation, and many other industrial facilities.

Commercial Electrical wiring in Birmingham, West Midlands.

AM Electrical has specialized in commercial electrical installation for a long time. Our company has built trust with our neighbors in Birmingham and around the country. We have offered our various services to schools, offices and companies in the West Midlands, hence, our vast experience. Our portfolio of expertise varies from servicing, installation of electrical wiring and appliances, electric service repair, and others.

We put our customer service first, hence, we ensure that our customers get adequate attention while working with our professional commercial electricians. We provide a variety of commercial electrical services, such as installing CCTV, installing security alarms, and installing emergency lighting. AM Electrical is the business you need if you’re searching for commercial electricians in the West Midlands. We provide a full range of electrical services at competitive costs.

Fire Alarm Design and Installation.

At AM Electricals, we not only deal with electrical and lighting issues for our clients, we also plan out safety mechanisms for them. We put the safety of our customers in Birmingham at the top list of our priority, here at AM Electricals. To ensure their safety, we offer the best, and most sophisticated fire alarm systems for residential and commercial buildings. Not only do we design these systems ourselves, but we will also help in the installation process.

All these installations are done to assure you that your safety is our priority. Our products tend to last long, and we provide maintenance, as needed. Nothing is more important than the safety of our electricians and our clients, so our main objective is to make sure that all the office s we operate on have modern fire alarms and fire detection systems. Visit our service page on fire alarms if you live in Birmingham and would need more details on installing a fire alarm.

CCTV Installation in Birmingham, West Midlands.

Aside from electrical installations, fire safety installations, we also perform security installations for our clients. Another important security service that we offer our clients in Birmingham, is the installation of CCTV cameras in their office s, offices, workshops or factories. We ensure that our installed CCTV hardware has the latest software to ensure that our client’s office is secure when you are office or away.

PAT Testing.

Portable appliance testing is important when renovating, or moving into a new place. PAT testing is a method or process of testing and checking electrical appliances to ensure safety. It is done through a variety of physical, software, and electronic tests and inspections. We offer PAT Testing to ensure that your facilities and equipment are safe for commercial and industrial usage.
It is important to take the PAT test, to avoid unexplainable fire incidents in your workplace, or damaging of electrical appliances. Remember, at the start of the project, we assured you that your safety is our number one priority; hence, we offer optimum services to prove our reliability to you. You can contact us to schedule your next PAT test.

EV Charging in Birmingham, West Midlands.

We are well aware of the surge in EV charging demand in Birmingham and throughout the UK because our business focuses on the electrical industry. It is also not surprising that EV charging stations are required, as more individuals keep buying electric vehicles. At AM Electrical, we offer EV charger installation for Birmingham office s, offices, mobiles, and businesses.

Our various services are designed to benefit our clients, hence, we ensure client satisfaction, and input is considered. Yes, we are professionals, but your opinion does matter.

The post Commercial Electrician Birmingham first appeared on AM Electrical Installations.

What You Need To Know

Electric vehicles are the talk of the town in a technologically driven world. Imagine a world void of air pollution brought by petroleum inclined cars like we have it today? That’s what electric cars are set to achieve! If the regular vehicles are powered by petrol, electric vehicles in their own rights are charged up to be effective.

ev-charging-point-installation

To charge electric vehicles, each one of them have their own plugs, charging times, potential savings and cost. However, the type of charge you pick depends on your driving needs. More homeowners want to own electric vehicles and install charging ports in their abodes. There are a few things to note about electric cars and installing their charging ports.

Here you go:

Check out your Current Electrical facilities

Installing an electric car charging port in your home means you have to assess if you have the required electrical infrastructure. This should be determined by a commercial electrician. Your car packing area or garage should include the necessary wiring outlets required for a proper installation. However, it is the job of a licensed industrial electrician who is vast in industrial electrical wiring to ascertain if they meet the required standards. It is important to call on an experienced electrician to do a first hand check before the installation is done.

Do you want to plug in on the go or at Home?

It is a great idea to assess what works best for your electric vehicle. Put into consideration the type of vehicle you have purchased for a more specific answer to your needs. If you drive your car to work, you may want to have a charging electric station at work, at malls, parking stations or some other places designed for such purposes.
However, if your vehicle spends the most part at home, installing a charger at home would be a great idea. It is therefore important to know the best solution for your vehicle. More so, the one that suits your needs.

Speed of Charging

Another thing to consider when installing an electric vehicle charger is the speed. A standard outlet in your home would charge your electric car. This method is called level 1 and it’s relatively slower. It makes use of 120 volts, taking a lot of time to charge, compared to customized electric car charging ports.
However, installing a level 2 electric car charging port charges your electric vehicle quickly with 240-volt power. This means you need the standard of a 240-volt power supply, and some wiring upgrades to use the option.

The choice of a Level 2 EVSE Charger

Choosing the level 2 higher powered charging option means you’re ready to opt for the best. The manufacturer of your electric vehicle could recommend the charger that fits the model of your car. Usually, you’d have to get to your vehicle’s manufacturer

Install Your Charger

This is about the most important aspect. Selecting a knowledgeable installer is also key. His duties are to put in place what would make the installation a smooth ride. Involving a professional commercial electrician ensures your new charging station functions properly.
Talking about how long it will take to install an electric vehicle charger, it usually takes 2-3 hours on average. While some other serious installations take longer time. Most electric vehicle chargers would require some fittings in the chargepoint closely attached to a brick or some other suitable materials. Installation of one earth electrode near the charge point

Conclusion

This varies from place to place, and depending on if you want to charge at home, it comes cheaper than what it costs to fuel the new gasoline vehicle. This varies from user to user. However, drivers save almost $1000 annually, by switching from gasoline to electricity. Moreso, the costs to charge at public charging stations also vary. While some stations are free, others cost twice as much as home charging. However, a high percentage of people would like to charge from home because it is cheaper.
For electric vehicles charger installations, about 15 meters of 6mm power cable is used to connect the distribution board or electricity supply meter and the chargepoint, while the fittings and testings of electrical connections and protections for the charge point are done, Moreso, about 5 meters of some white plastic conduit would be required to close up the wires

The post Electric Vehicle Charging for Your Home first appeared on AM Electrical Installations.

What you need to know!

Having a water heater in your home setup is an utmost priority in several homes in Birmingham, West Midlands. Hot water is a necessary convenience for most individuals, because it aids while dishwashing, cleaning, doing laundry, bathing, and even cooking. The typical homeowner cannot anticipate when a problem may arise because your water heater runs quietly in the background.

water heater repairs

There are several problems that might affect your water heater including it being clogged or having electrical issues. Since you don’t have active monitoring of your heater, it’d be very hard to know when it needs repair, replacement or servicing. Hence, most water heaters have experienced long-term damage without their owners being aware of such problems.
Water heater repair and replacement services are provided with accuracy and excellent customer service by the experts at AM Electricals in Birmingham, West Midlands. Our knowledgeable team of professionals is capable of inspecting and repairing any type of water heater in your home promptly and effectively.
We can guarantee that your water heater repair, installation, or replacement is carried out in the most effective and qualified way thanks to our years of experience and competence in the electrical industry. Our company in the Birmingham, West Midlands area recognizes how crucial it is to have a reliable and efficient water heater at your residence or place of business.

Some Common Problems of Water Heaters

There are several problems that your water heater might experience during its life-cycle of usage. Aside from that, your method of handling your equipment is also important. Here are some of the common problems you might experience while using a water heater, and their causes.
1. No Hot Water
Some of the causes of this particular problem is either due to poor connection or low voltage (power supply). When you wrongly connect your heater to your power grid, it might get short-circuited, hence, it won’t receive any power to heat your water. Having a good industrial electrician or commercial electrician for your electrical installation is important for a water heater.
2. Poor Hot Water Temperature.
Similarly, the temperature of the water is dependent on the amount of power supply your heater receives. Aside from that, the problem is also dependent on the type of heater you are using. Poor water temperature might be caused by having a small tank, low voltage, or poor connection.
3. Dirty Water in the Water Heater.
If you notice that your water heater is dispensing a dirty water color similar to rust, then you should know it’s time to replace its tank. Rust could be caused by having much iron and salt content in your water or having the tank slightly exposed. When the water heats-up, it tears-away the coating of the tank leaving it exposed and mixing with your bath or dish-washing water.
4. Smelly Water
The main cause of having bad or smelly water dispensed from your water heater tank is bacteria. Bacteria enters your water heater from untreated sources like rivers or polluted tanks, wells or reservoirs.

Hot Water Heater Installation

According to the US Department of Energy, a water heater can contribute up to 18% of a typical home’s monthly energy costs. The cost of your water heater is significant. When having water heater issues, try engaging a qualified industrial electrical contractor from AM Electrical to install your water heater so that it functions dependably and effectively. You may plan a same-day or next-day water heater installation with our highly qualified specialists, and they’ll make sure it runs cost-effectively and dependably for many years. The installation of cost-effective, high-efficiency water heaters, and commercial electrical services, is a specialty of our AM Electrical!

Repairing A Water Heater Repair
Contact our highly qualified commercial electricians at AM Electricals, if you start hearing odd noises coming from your water heater, your water doesn’t appear to heat up, water is dripping from the heater, the water from your water heater is discolored, or you’re worried that your water heater is broken. Here are a few motivations for your water heater to need maintenance or replacement.
● Remember, the situation becomes worse the more you ignore these warning signs and keep using your broken water heater.
● Your water heater will operate more dependably and efficiently thanks to the dedication of our plumbing firm, which will consequently result in decreased utility costs.

Water Heater Maintenance

A typical water heater can last between eight to ten years; it could even last longer than that. However, that depends on your maintenance procedures for your water heater system. When you observe annual maintenance, including safety checks and flushing, its long life is assured.
With our variety of experience, Our portfolio of competent commercial electrical contractors will make sure that your water heater is fixed, installed, and maintained appropriately. If you are not prepared to maintain your own water heater we are here to help.

The post Water Heater Repair and Replacement first appeared on AM Electrical Installations.