If you run your own business, it’s vital that you protect your employees by ensuring that all electrical equipment is PAT tested on a regular basis.  PAT testing is an integral part of health and safety at work legislation and is incredibly important if you are to ensure that your staff and customers are safe at all times.

Annual PAT testing will ensure that the electrical equipment you use – whether it’s the kettle in the staff kitchen, photocopiers or computer equipment and specialist machinery – complies with the Electricity at Work Regulations which were put in place back in 1989.

Larger, fixed items of electrical equipment might need to be PAT tested less frequently and annual PAT testing is simply a guideline for portable electrical equipment with the regularity of PAT testing dependent on the type of environment the appliances are located in.

Here at Dalec we offer a wide range of electrical services for businesses in Leeds and are happy to give further advice and information on PAT testing.

Here at Dalec we love saving money and with this in mind, we were very interested to read that turning appliances off at night could save around £80 per year on the average electricity bill.

We know it’s all too easy to leave the TV or DVD player on at night but it’s becoming more common for people to leave other appliances on, such as computers, tablets and mobile phones.  Other appliances – dishwashers and washing machines, for example – are also often left on stand-by, even though they might appear to be switched off.

Appliances left on stand-by can account for up to 16% of the average electricity bill of around £500 a year so spending a little time each evening turning everything off before you go to bed is a cheap and easy way to save money.

We keep hearing about the benefits of buying local in terms of supporting local shops and community.  ‘Buying local’ can also apply to using services and here at Dalec we’re proud to offer a wide range of electrical services to businesses and residential customers in Leeds.

Choosing a local tradesman is not only a good way to support a local business, it can also help you save money on call out or travel charges.  In addition, you’re likely to find that local electricians, for example, are more likely to take pride in their work and their reputation in comparison to a large firm or national company.

Finding a reputable local electrician is easy if you ask friends and family for recommendations – using an electrician who has been recommended to you is a great way to give yourself peace of mind.  It’s also important to ensure your chosen electrician has been certified to carry out electrical work on your property so look out for the ECA (Electrical Contractors’ Association) logo.

Here at Dalec we’re very proud of our reputation for offering professional, safe and reliable electrical services throughout Leeds and if you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Whilst the start of the next academic year might seem like a very long way off indeed, we know that many students are currently in the process of arranging their university accommodation for September.

If you are a student or if you have a son or daughter who’ll be starting out on student life this coming autumn, the chances are that electrical safety will be pretty low down on your agenda!  However, when looking around private rented accommodation, it’s very important to check the property is carefully maintained and meets the relevant electrical safety standards.

Students should ask their landlord for an Electrical Installation Condition Report and it is strongly recommended that a test of all electrical installations in a property should be carried out at least every five years, or each time a tenancy changes.  Certification should also be provided by a landlord to confirm that any recent electrical work meets the UK national standards: BS 7671.

This might sound complicated and one more thing to worry about, so to make things simpler, we recommend that you take a look at the Electrical Safety First website which is full of helpful information and advice.

Here at Dalec we are qualified, certified electricians in Leeds and our services are available to landlords – if you are a landlord in in Leeds and would like further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The popularity of e-cigarettes is on the rise and if you use one, have you stopped to think about whether your e-cig charger is safe to use?

Sadly there have been numerous reports recently about the dangers of faulty e-cig chargers, including a number of worrying reports of chargers which have blown up whilst in use.  Avoiding the dangers of e-cig chargers is simple, providing you take the following steps:

  1. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully because the capacity of batteries and the charging voltage is will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer – this is why using the correct charger is so important.
  2. Read and pay attention to any warnings which are supplied with your specific product. For example, over-tightening the screw connection to the rechargeable battery could damage the mechanism which can, in turn, lead to overheating or the failure of the product.
  3. Never leave an e-cigarette unattended whilst charging for a long period of time or overnight.
  4. When choosing an e-cigarette, look out for the CE mark which indicates that the charger complies with European safety requirements.

Security lighting is known to be an effective deterrent to intruders.  Designed to make burglars more visible, security lighting will put off even the most determined of intruders.

A range of different types of security lighting are available; from simple exterior lights which can be left switched on during the hours of darkness, through to sophisticated lighting systems which can be linked to a comprehensive home security system.  Security lighting can also be used inside the home in the form of timers designed to switch internal lights on when it’s dark and to turn them off again at a pre-set time.

Here at Dalec we’re specialists in all aspects of home security and if you would like advice or information on how to protect your property with security lighting, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Although we’re being told that the UK is coming out of a recession, times are still tough for many home and small business owners in Leeds.  With this in mind, we thought we’d give a couple of simple yet effective tips for saving money on your electricity bills.

As mentioned in one of our recent blog posts, turning appliances and devices off at the mains rather than leaving them on standby is one of the most effective ways to reduce your energy bills.  Switching off the washing machine, TV, games console or computer at the mains is a great way to save money in return for very little effort at all.

Installing energy saving light bulbs is another easy yet effective way to reduce your energy bills.  LED light bulbs are also well worth considering and the price of these highly efficient bulbs is steadily coming down: when used in the right place, LED bulbs can prove to be a worthwhile investment.

It can also be worth thinking about installing a smart meter as a simple way to keep tabs on the amount of energy you use. The Government is planning for all homes in the UK to have had a smart meter installed by 2019 and smart meters are known to be an effective way to save money on both electricity and gas bills.

If you would like advice or information on any aspect of using electricity in your home or business, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kitchen and bathroom lighting has come a long way from the days of fluorescent strip lights!  Covering everything from recessed halogen spot lights through to kitchen work top lighting and lights built into skirting boards and flooring, a huge range of different options are available.

If you’re considering carrying out any alterations to your home such as the installation of a new kitchen or bathroom, here at Dalec we’re experts in all aspects of lighting.  Our expertise covers the layout of lighting designs, through to the installation of feature lighting and lighting for patios and outside areas..

We are happy to provide advice and further information on the most suitable types of lighting for different areas of your home – if you’d like a free, no-obligation quote, please don’t hesitate to get in touch today.

Ensuring that your home or business is adequately protected from the risk of fire is a legal requirement for business owners, but although many business premises (and increasing numbers of residential properties) are fitted with a fire alarm system, many people fail to ensure that their system is correctly maintained and serviced.

Here at Dalec we offer a range of fire protection services, designed to help business and residential customers ensure that their home or business premises is protected from the risk of fire.  Our expertise covers everything from large-scale fire alarm installations, through to the fitting of domestic smoke alarms.

It’s important to remember that regardless of the size or age of your fire alarm system, regular maintenance is required to ensure that the system is reliable and will offer protection in the event of a fire.  Regular maintenance is also the best way to minimise system failures and false alarms.

By using one of our fire alarm maintenance packages, you’ll be able to relax in the knowledge that your home or business is safe, secure and protected at all times – if you would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.

If you’re planning your summer holiday the chances are that home security is one of the last things on your mind.  However the number of burglaries rises year on year and with this in mind, ensuring your home is protected whilst you’re away is becoming increasingly important.

Here at Dalec we’re specialists in all aspects of home security and our expertise covers everything from security lighting through to state-of-the-art security and fire protection systems.  We can offer advice on choosing the best security system to suit your lifestyle and budget and whether you have an existing system that could do with updating or are looking to protect your home from scratch, we can help.

We are certified by the SSAIB (Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board) so by buying an alarm system from us you’ll be able to relax in the knowledge that we will provide a high-quality service at all times.

If you’re considering buying a home security system, it’s worth bearing in mind that home insurance policies now often require evidence that all reasonable steps have been taken to prevent the risk of a break in. By choosing an SSAIB registered installer such as ourselves, this will meet or exceed the requirements of your home insurance.

If you would like further advice on choosing an alarm system for your home, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today.