Sep 19
The buzz on forums, Twitter and Facebook may be around Solar PV Panels at the moment but it should not be overlooked that the effective use of daylight and installing lighting controls in conjunction with lamp selection can make a big difference to making energy consumption more efficient. In fact Chris Tranter, product manager – lamps and lighting for Newey & Eyre suggests that potential savings of up to 75 per cent are possible in some situations.
Facebook, the dominant force in social media and now a leader in business showing the way for energy efficiency in workplace environments, has established some simple goals for its lighting system by making efficient use of daylight, lighting controls, and efficient fixtures to save energy and keep employees comfortable, while preserving the company’s unfinished, garage-like office aesthetic.
And it’s not just about reducing the energy consumption but raising the efficiency of the workforce. If any clients are questioning the costs of energy efficient lighting and incorporating new control devices such as Daylight harvesters, dimmer switches, occupancy controls and time delay switches for example, then again point to the finding of the internet giant.
An EDF Climate Corps fellow at Facebook stated “research shows a positive relationship between workplace comfort and productivity. Numerous studies indicate that effective use of daylight, in particular, improves productivity. Conversely, incorrect lighting design choices can lead to work environments that are overlit or underlit, have excessive glare, or are otherwise uncomfortable for workers.” Referenced from Naveen Lakshmipathy at www.greenbiz.com/
How many employees complain of eyestrain and headaches requiring more breaks, sick days and ‘fresh air’ breaks. Propose that if the improvement of lighting design could increase productivity for even 15 minutes per day, large companies like Facebook can recap the costs of installation in more ways than just their utility bills.
So as a resource to help you explain the options some of your clients have apart from freeing up some roof space …the guys at NeweysOnline.co.uk have several knowledge articles such as Energy Efficient Lighting and Should Companies Give the Green Light to Energy Efficiency.
Jul 22
Electrical wholesalers Neweys Online are offering a a FREE £20 High Street voucher when you spend over £250 on PowerBreaker products.
All you have to do is spend over £250 (excluding vat and delivery) on any of the PowerBreaker RCD protected products available on www.neweysonline.co.uk before 8pm on 31st August. You will then be sent a £20 Bonus Bond voucher which can be redeemed at over 25,000 places in the UK (including restaurants and theatres as well shops!)
For more information on this offer click here.
Feb 02
The NICEIC (the electrical contracting industries independent voluntary body for electrical installation matters throughout the UK) have released research showing that many women think twice before calling out a male electrician. This has prompted the launch of a new Apprentice Academy to try to encourage more women into the industry.
A survey carried out by the NICEIC of 3,000 women showed that 47% of female homeowners feel intimidated by a male electrician, and 50% would feel more comfortable with a female electrician.
The findings are also supported by the fact that many women are becoming more interested in pursuing a trade. In the 16-24 year old age group, the survey found that 63% of women said ‘they were more intrested in learning a skilled trade rather than a profession, because a trade stays with them for life.’
The results also showed that more of the women who replied were interested in training to be an electrician than any of the other trades – 35% would like to train to be a sparky, with carpenter coming in second with 21%, plumber with 20%, builder with 10% and farrier with 6%.
If you are interested in finding out more, go to their webpage.
Don’t forget you can get free quotes from reliable and insured tradesmen by going to our Find a Tradesman page.
Nov 10
Neweys Online is the online store from Newey & Eyre, the Uk’s leading electrical wholesaler, and they have just cut prices on over 200 top selling products. Check them out at neweysonline.co.uk
Maz Hussain, Web Channel Manager at Rexel, who own Neweys, said:
“With over 12,000 products available to order up to 8pm for next day delivery or collection, Neweys Online has always offered our customers a way to make their life easier.
We are delighted to be able to offer our customers more competitive pricing on over 200 of our top-selling products, as well as reducing our delivery charge to just £4.25. We feel confident we can now offer Neweys Online customers an even better price and a better quality of service.”
If you visit Neweys Online soon and use the voucher code ‘diydoctor1′ when buying anything online, you will receive FREE DELIVERY!
Jul 13
Q. What’s a PAT test and do I need one?
A. It stands for Portable Appliance Test. This is a test to see if your wired appliances such as kettles, toasters, TVs (portable – yes I know hardly portable but still a wired appliance), fridges (same again) etc are safe to use. If you are a Landlord and you supply these to your tenants then you need an annual test on these. If you are a homeowner you don’t – but again if you are suspicious of anything then don’t hesitate to get your local sparky around.
