Are your switchboards in top shape for the year ahead?

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With the start of the New Year we are often setting personal goals to get in better shape but now is a great time to make sure your switchboards are also in great shape ready for another busy year.

 

Switchboard checks that should be made include:

  • Replacing all rewirable porcelain fuses with miniature circuit breakers (MCBs)
  • Replacing your main switch with RCD circuit protection
  • Ensuring your earthing bars and grounding stakes are sound and comply with the latest EWRB regulations.

 

How to tell if your switchboard requires upgrading

 

If you’re switchboard looks more like photo A than photo B it may  be time for a switchboard upgrade.

old-switchboard switchboard-photo

Photo A                                                                                                Photo B

 

Checks and upgrades that may be required:

  • Wiring should be checked to ensure that is not made of rubber or other non-compliant material.
  • Redundant and dangerous wiring should be removed.
  • The earthing conductors should not be bare copper. All bare earth wires should be sleeved.
  • All connections should be checked and comply with the latest EWRB regulations (AS/NZ5300:2007)

 

In addition to electrical checks, it is also important to check for any signs of water damage or habitation or damage by animals, including spiders, birds and vermin. Bird droppings are very acidic and can cause corrosion of metal, while nests increase the risk of fires and vermin are often responsible for damaging wiring.

 

If you would like assistance with checking or upgrading your switchboards, please get in touch with the EAS team today on 07 834 0505.

Health & Safety at EAS

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AT EAS we have a strong commitment to health and safety. Our priority is not just about ensuring your standards are up-held; we believe in going above and beyond to ensure both our team and yours go home safe and sound at the end of each day.

We ensure all our staff are certified to work on your site prior to commencing a job. All staff working onsite have attended both the permit receivers and hazard ID courses. We also have staff certified in:

  • working in confined spaces
  • working at heights
  • elevated work platforms
  • hazardous areas.

Our team are encouraged to take a responsible approach to health and safety at all times with:

  • Daily toolbox talks
  • The wearing of protective clothing as required
  • Adhering to the correct procedures and equipment use
  • Ensuring all accidents and incidents are reported including the early reporting of any pain and discomfort
  • Informing the Managing Director immediately of any health and safety hazards or safety concerns.
  • We also utilise technology to ensure that staff have all health and safety paperwork on hand at all times.

As a member of Master Electricians we are audited on our health and safety, electrical testing equipment and quality assurance systems.

In fact our team is so passionate about health and safety, our administration manager even makes sure we’re aware of the hazards of an after work beer!

drinking

 

If you need an electrical team you can rely on, get in touch with the EAS team today on 07 834 0505.

Why upgrade to LED Lighting

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light-bulb-2631841_640

While budgets are tight across many sectors at the moment, investing in a LED Lighting upgrade may be the best way to save your company money in the long term.

High Bay LED Light Fitting High Bay Metal Halide Light Fitting
Power 200 watts 400 watts
Output 25,000 lumens 32,000 lumens (fast depreciation)
Estimate Cost per fitting $300 $250
Life 50,000 hours 5,000 hours
Warranty 5 years None

 Figures sourced from stouchlighting.com

 

The key benefits of upgrading to LEDs include:

  • Lifespan
    LED lights have a lifespan of 50,000 hours and include a 5 year warranty compared to Metal Halide’s which carry no warranty and have a lifespan of just 5 years. Most Metal Halide light fittings in use today will be past their 5-year lifespan and their lumen output would be well below their maximum output of 32,000 lumens; while still using full power input of 400 watts. The lumen output of a metal halide lamp depreciates much faster than an LED. In fact, they depreciate about 20% each 1,000 hours.
  • Reduced Power Consumption
    High bay LED lights have a lumens/watt ratio of 125 vs Metal Halide Light with 80 lumens/watt.
    This means the LED light is 56% more efficient than its Metal Halide counterpart and this efficiency only improves over the lifetime of the fitting as the lumens in a metal halide light depreciate quite rapidly while the LED lumen output hold steady.
  • Better Lighting
    LED lights emit light over 180° vs the standard metal halide light which emits light in a 360° range. With the LED light, lighting is being directed where you need it, so your energy consumption is reduced – saving you more money.
  • Reduced Maintenance
    With a lifespan of 50,000 hours the LED lamp will require less changes which means less maintenance work for your team and less interruption to your business.

 

If you would like to find out about the cost saving your business could make by moving to LED lighting, get in touch with the EAS team today on 07 834 0505.

 

Variable Speed Drives – top maintenance tips

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With temperatures increasing putting more load on your variable speed drive’s cooling system, now is a good time to make sure your drives are in top condition for the summer period to ensure there is no disruption to your production.

Variable Speed Drives (VSD) are used to control motor speed in response to varying process demands in your plant.

The control of the motor speed can be based on feedback from the process; eg: flow rate, temperature or pressure so that process control can be improved.

Due to the ‘magic’ of affinity laws, small decreases in the speed of pumps and fans or the pressure of pumps can lead to large decreases in energy use. For example:

  • Using a VSD to reduce the speed of a motor reduces energy consumption by around 50%.
  • Using a VSD to reduce the pressure of a pump by 20%, reduces the energy consumption by around 28%.

Key checks include:

  • Visual check:
    To make sure the drive is clean, the cooling fan and cooling system are all in good condition. Dust on VSD hardware can cause a lack of airflow, diminishing performance. Dust also absorbs    moisture which can contribute to failure. Connections should also be checked as heat cycles and mechanical vibration can lead to sub-standard connection and cause erratic operation resulting in damage to machinery.
  • Settings:
    Parameter settings should be checked and recoded so that if there is a failure, the drive can be easily replaced. EAS utilise Drive Software to enable us to upload the correct settings straight back into your drive to get it up and running as quickly as possible.
  • Stocktake of spare parts:
    By performing a stock take of the spare parts available we can ensure that any breakdowns can be handled quickly and efficiently. It also gives the opportunity to identify drives where spare parts are no longer available so that a planned upgrade of the drive can be scheduled where it will be least disruptive to production.

 

The EAS team have recently completed further training on VSD drives to ensure that they are up-to-speed with maximising a drive’s performance for your process, fault finding and setup processes.

If you need assistance checking your Variable Speed Drives are in top condition – get in touch with the EAS team today on 834 0505.