Richtek Blog

Have you thought about having USB power points installed in your home?

More and more homes are jumping on to this trend to have a more modern and convenient way to allow for powering devices. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering USB power points for your home!

What Are PowerPoints?

 Right about now, you might be asking yourself, “What are USB power points?” And this would be a fair question! While they are quickly gaining in popularity, many people still have not seen or even heard of these handy new innovations.

Ask yourself this: How many devices do you use on a daily basis that must be charged using a USB port? Probably a lot.

Phones, tablets, smart watches, game consoles, cameras, and so much more are all charged using a USB port to draw their power from. Of course, many of us have wall-to-USB adapters lying around our houses, but how often do you use those or get annoyed at how bulky and outdated they are? Who needs a big box at the end of their phone charger, after all? They hog your outlet space and quickly get frustrating.

Does this sound like a struggle you’re familiar with? In all likelihood, you’ve experienced it too – in today’s world, our modern devices rely on USB ports for power in so many ways, and our outlets simply haven’t caught up yet.

Well, not anymore. This is where USB power points come in! These power outlets with USB ports in them are quickly becoming a popular item and are even standard to install in new homes. The best part? They are extremely simple to install and simply require you to swap the power point with a wall-mounted USB power point.

The USB Revolution

 Most homes today have several smartphones and tablets lying around that need to be charged daily. On top of that, most homes also have at least a few items – such as digital cameras, Go-Pros, video cameras, fitness trackers, MP3 players, bike computers, GPSs, came consoles, and more – that utilise USBs to become fully charged. The result? Tangles of cords on kitchen counters or in corners of the room.

This is why USB sockets built into our power points is becoming standard! However, if your house doesn’t have them yet, luckily, it is not too late. They are relatively easy to install, and it is never too late to upgrade your home and get one for yourself! Think of how great it would be to have charging stations for your home in public living areas such as the home office, lounge room, or kitchen.

Get Your USB PowerPoint Upgrade!

 While it is a relatively simple upgrade for your home, switching out your current power points for USB power points is not a DIY endeavor. It is essential to hire a fully qualified and licensed Perth electrician to carry out this task for you.

Get in touch with a local electrician that you trust with any questions you might have about getting USB power points installed in your home and rid yourself of the mass of tangled cords once and for all!

by Michael Gray

It is essential for the safety of yourself and your family to ensure that your smoke alarms are compliant with regulations. This gives your family early enough warning to either extinguish a small fire or to evacuate safely from an open fire in your home that has grown too much to be managed.

While it may feel like a situation that would never happen to you, it is better to be safe than sorry – and after making sure that your smoke alarms are up to date and compliant with regulations, you will be able to have the peace of mind that your family is safe from fires in your home.

Every second counts after a fire has erupted, as it grows exponentially in size and destroys everything in its path. This is why we are so serious about protecting and educating families in Australia on keeping their smoke detectors and smoke alarms up to date and in compliance with regulations.

3 Things to Check on Your Smoke Alarm Today

Check for solid green light: The solid green light on your smoke alarm reveals that you have a 240V hard-wired smoke alarm. If you do, this is good because WA regulations today require that all homes being rented or sold must have these alarms installed.
Ensure the smoke alarm isn’t within 300mm of a ceiling or wall: If the smoke detector is within 300mm of a ceiling or wall, it might not operate in the way it should. Because smoke rises and curls around corners, this leaves a pocket of air that the smoke won’t reach. If your smoke alarm is in this zone, smoke might not reach it and set it off in time to give you and your family adequate warning to reach a safe area.
Make sure smoke alarms are in required locations: Smoke alarms are required to be installed outside of every bedroom area. This means if you have a common living space such as a living room or kitchen separating two-bedroom areas, you will be required to have 2 smoke alarms installed in your home. You will also need a smoke alarm on every floor of any multi-story building regardless of where the bedroom areas are.

Maintaining Your Smoke Alarms

Here are some additional tips to help you maintain your smoke alarm:

Remove the head from the base and confirm that it is less than 10 years old

Replace the battery annually as it becomes flat

Re-instate the head of the smoke alarm back onto the base

Use a vacuum to suck the dust from the sensor chamber

Push the test button to see how the sounder works

Use artificial smoke and test the sensor’s operation

Clean the alarm using a damp rag

After you have followed the above steps, you can rest assured that your family is protected from fire in your home!

The Verdict

 Smoke alarms are something that should be taken very seriously, and if you think there might be a problem with yours or you need additional smoke alarms updated or installed, get in touch with a certified electrician today!

by Michael Gray

Looking to sell your home? We have all heard the horror stories of how difficult it is to sell your home in this market if it’s not properly presented to potential buyers – and you don’t want to end up being one of those homeowners with their house on the market for over a year, right?

To help make sure that your home is presented in the best light – pun intended – here are some lighting upgrade tips to keep in mind when you are trying to sell your home.

Warm Light Versus Cool Light

We’ve heard a lot of estate agents dictate that, when selling a home, homeowners need to change all the lighting to cool white or 4000K temperature. The reason for this is because it is said to make the home appear brighter, cleaner, and allow for a better shot when doing real estate photography.

All these things are likely true and pose good benefits to help you sell your home with a favourable deal. However, we don’t think it’s absolutely essential to get your home sold. After all, you’ll likely just be sentencing the buyer to need to change the lighting back again anyway. The bright, cool lights may be fitting for a showroom, but they’re not suited to the homey atmosphere people want to come home to.

This is certainly not to say that you should not change the lighting in your home – it does come with a lot of benefits. However, this is just to say that you do not have to if you do not want to.

The Best Lighting for Selling Your Home

 As we said, the 4000K temperature globes offer the atmosphere a brighter and more sterile environment. This makes it more stimulating and increases the alertness of the people within it – this is why 4000-6000 temperature globes are used in offices! As for what is best in your home, this all comes down to preference. For selling, many people prefer the brighter lights.

What Lighting Is Best for Living?

 A lot of studies have been done on lighting and how its various colours and temperatures affect our mood, hormone activity, and sleep patterns. From these studies, it has been revealed that cooler light is more stimulating (which is why many prefer it for selling a home) while warmer light is more relaxing and calming to our bodies and mind – which is why many people lean towards warmer lights for living spaces.

If you want your place to be a space for resting and unwinding, then it is suggested to fill the space with warmer coloured lighting. This is especially true for bedrooms and living areas, as these are the places you likely spend time in right before bed. This will help to promote better and healthier sleep, too!

You might want to opt for cooler, white lights in places like the kitchen and bathroom, though. These are work areas and typically require bright light. However, this is up to preference depending on how you are and what you do in these spaces.

Selling Your Home – Upgrade Your Lighting

 If you want to spend money to enhance your home’s likelihood of being sold for a good deal, we suggest looking for new LED light fittings that offer interchangeable colour temperature as a feature. These products are becoming a lot more common today and are an excellent option, as you can set them to display bright white light while you are trying to sell your home and you can change them to what you like for living conditions.

Being able to add to your feature list that you have new LED light fittings with interchangeable colour temperature is also a great bonus! This way, the buyer of your home can set their lighting to what best suits their needs.

For help getting your home’s lighting ready for a great sale, contact a local electrician today!

by Michael Gray