Electrical Installation/Replacement

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Table of Contents (click on the sub-topic to get to the section you want)

• • • • • • • • • • 4 Reasons Why You Should Install Smart Switches at Home
                  • How to Install Your Smart Switch Yourself
                  • How to Check if Your Electrical Installations Are Functioning Properly
                  • 5 Ways to Take Care of Your Electrical Installations in Singapore
                  • Proper Ways to Clean Your Electrical Installations
                • • Case study

4 Reasons Why You Should Install Smart Switches at Home

Having a smart switch electrically installed in your home can make your life easy. This smart switch is an upgrade to the traditional light switches. Smart switches have a unique function that can be beneficial to you and your appliance at home. 

With that, here are some reasons why you should install smart switches in your home:

Enhanced Security

If you are away from home, you can easily control your light switches remotely with a smart switch. Smart switches can also be used in controlling alarm systems or security cameras in your household provided their electrical installation was done correctly.

Better Control

You can maximize smart switch capabilities if connected to other home appliance products in your home. Imagine the comfort of going home and resting in your room with your installed lights having been enabled minutes before. 

Cheaper Electricity Bills

Smart switches can help you with your energy savings by letting you easily control your appliances. It will result in low consumption, and you can save much more than those who use traditional light switches.

Convenience

When connected to a smartphone, you can easily adjust the brightness of your installed lights or have them turned off. In totality, well-maintained smart switches are very convenient when doing household tasks on a day-to-day basis.

If these reasons have convinced you to install smart switches, below are steps on how to install your smart switch yourself in your homes.

How To Install Your Smart Switch Yourself

There are factors that you need to consider in installing a smart switch such as having an adept knowledge in electrical installation. Hence, we have come up with the idea to give you a guide on how to properly install smart switches in your residential houses:

Listed below are some factors you should be aware of when installing your smart switch yourself. 

Make Sure Your Power Supply is Turned Off

Before you install a smart light switch, you should first turn off the power supply of your home, and make sure that there is no wiring voltage remaining by using a voltage tester. Aside from that, you also need to take the time to organize your circuit breaker.

Uncover The Electrical Wires Behind Your Switch

Make sure that you can see and examine the electrical wiring of your switch. You first need to unscrew the wall cover, remove the screw attached in the light switch, and pull out the cover to check the wall boxes have enough room to install your home’s smart light switch. 

Find The Neutral Wires

Even if there are a few types of light switches that can be installed without a specific wire requirement, it may need a special bridge to be connected. In this case, you should keep in mind that smart light switches require neutral wires because they operate electronically.

Detach and Disconnect The Old Switch

It is important to know exactly the setup of the wiring before your light switch replacement. Take a photo of it for reference. Put a label on each wire with a color different from each other to prevent yourself from getting confused while doing this step. 

Connect Your New Switch

Once everything above is done, you can now install your light switch in your homes. There are four different ways of setting up the wiring of your new light switch:

• Lead Wiring: Use wire nuts to connect the designated wires. This is, however, a method that can be risky because it can cause faulty wiring.
• Side Wiring: Before tightening the terminal screws, this method requires attaching the wires first to the power terminals.
• Back Wiring: Note that you should only do this method if you have the exact sized wires. Insert the wires into the terminal holes at the back.
• Clamp Wiring: The smart switch wires should be inserted via the terminal holes at the back and then tighten the screws afterwards.

Integrate Your New Switch

This will be the last thing that you need to do, connect your installed smart switch to your home network or Wi-Fi. First, download the app that is needed for your smart switch. After that, you can now control your lights digitally.

Now that you have installed your smart switches at home, find out how to check if your electrical installations are functioning properly.

How to Check if Your Electrical Installations Are Functioning Properly

To avoid any minor problems in your electrical installations turning into electrical emergencies, it must be checked regularly. You can check if your electrical installations are functioning properly by taking note of the following: 

Check If They Overheat When Being Used

Singapore homeowners need power sockets to use their electrical appliances. However, they can get warm if their electrical wiring is faulty or if they become overloaded. When these issues happen, the sockets can spark and their wires may eventually incur damage. 

Check If Your Electrical Wires Are Loose or Frayed

Electrical wiring may become loose or faulty over time. To prevent any form of damage to your wires, make sure that they are properly connected. You can also choose high-quality wires that have been tested and certified

Take Note of Any Odd Smells

In case of a power trip, installations like electrical switches and sockets will produce a burning smell that is indicative of a loose electrical connection or short circuit. This smell can be a sign that the plastic surrounding the electrical components of your installations has melted. 

Check If They Emit Smoke

Short circuits and other similar issues are usually easy to notice because of the smoke. Once you detect smoke from your devices therefore, you should contact an emergency electrician as soon as you can to prevent your short circuit issues from escalating.

If They Produce Any Odd Noises

When electrical switches have loose contacts, a buzzing sound can often be heard. Whatever noises your electrical installations produce, it is best to have a professional electrician perform electrical troubleshooting instead of trying to do electrical repairs yourself. 

Check If Your Circuit Breakers Constantly Trip

Repeated power trips with your circuit breaker may mean that there is something wrong with your electrical system. Whether it is because of faulty or loose wiring, you should consult with an EMA-licensed electrician so that they can perform a circuit breaker replacement.

If you want to prevent encountering all the issues listed above, you should read through to know effective ways to take care of your electrical installations:

5 Ways to Take Care of Your Electrical Installations in Singapore

Singapore homeowners tend to overlook the state of their electrical appliances. As a result, some of them end up experiencing unexpected accidents, hazards, and electrical damage which will need to be fixed by an emergency electrician. 

Here are some ways you can take care of your electrical installations at home:

Replace Outdated Electrical Wiring

If not changed regularly, your electrical wirings at home may become faulty and can cause other electrical installations to become damaged as well. Outdated wiring is also subject to low electricity resistance, making it vulnerable to high surges of electricity when power trips occur. 

Do Not Forget To Clean Your Electrical Appliances Regularly

Installations like power sockets and light fixtures can accumulate dust and other particles as can appliances like your ceiling fan and aircon. To keep them all functioning, it is important to properly clean them as meticulously as possible. 

Keep Your Electrical Appliances Cool

Overheating can be avoided by following simple steps such as leaving the device exposed so the heat can escape from the device. Most devices or appliances also have manuals for proper care and maintenance which you can follow to make your device last longer. 

Regularly Inspect Your Electrical Appliances

Electrical safety hazards should be followed at all cost to prevent unwanted damage to your devices. As a precaution, your circuit breaker and electrical wirings should also be checked regularly so you can confirm if they are functioning normally. 

Avoid Performing DIY Electrical Works

DIY troubleshooting with your electrical devices must be avoided if you do not have the proper skills and training. Half of Singaporeans attempt to do this with the success rate only reaching as high as 31%, meaning that less than half of the total attempts are successful.

As mentioned, you should regularly clean your electrical installations. However, there are proper ways to clean your electrical installations that you should be knowledgeable of. 

Proper Ways to Clean Your Electrical Installations

Over time, electrical installations can accumulate dust and other particles on their components, causing malfunction. If you lack the time to perform the regular checking and cleaning, you can hire a commercial or HDB electrician. 

Otherwise, be sure to take note of the following ways to clean your electrical installations properly.

Light Switches

Light switches are used every day by most homeowners to turn on and off their light fixtures. Since they are frequently touched, they often accumulate heavy amounts of dirt. You can use a disposable napkin and microfiber cloth to wipe off grime and dust from the switch plate. 

Power Sockets

When cleaning power sockets, you should disconnect them from their power source, or turn off your circuit breaker. You can use a detergent solution to remove the accumulated dirt.  Allow the components to dry properly before putting them back.

Light Installations

To clean your light installations, turn off your light switch and remove the bulb from the socket. Afterward, wipe it with a damp cloth until all signs of dust are eliminated. Make sure to dry the bulb properly before screwing it back into its socket to prevent any electric shocks. 

Circuit Board

Circuit boards inside electrical devices must also be cleaned. These devices can malfunction when dirt gets stuck on their components. If you are unable to remove the dust particles on your circuit breaker, feel free to use soft-bristle paint brushes, and cleaning agents.

Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans can easily gather dust on their blades due to the friction they create when they turn. Use a dusting tool and a microfiber cloth to clean it. For a ceiling fan with light installations, the bulbs and other light fixtures should also be cleaned. 

Conclusion

In case you are looking for electrical installation services, you should not hesitate to contact us at Everyworks Singapore, we strive to provide the best home maintenance services for Singaporeans. Our trained electricians can give you the best electrical service while also being able to supply you with quality bulbs, power sockets, and lights required for each service. We also offer services such as electrical repairs, electrical switch services, circuit breaker services, electrical troubleshooting, light switch services, HDB electrician services, power socket services, and power trip services.

Everyworks Singapore gives you the quickest solution to resolve all home maintenance issues faced by the busy modern individual. Fast response, fast arrangements and quality workmanship at reasonable and affordable prices. As a leading trusted service provider in Singapore, we have served over 20,000 customers delivering outstanding service with hundreds of highly-rated reviews on both Google and Facebook for our professional plumber, electrician, aircon servicing technicians and handyman teams. Read through our articles and browse our past works to find out more about our home services in Singapore. To find a quick solution to your home repair woes, contact our dedicated and fast response customer support with a picture or a quick text by Whatsapp at +65 82410032.

Case Study

Light Switch Installation Electrician Singapore HDB – Bishan 

Power Socket Installation Electrician Singapore – Condo Bukit Batok  

Light Installation LED Light Panel Replacement Electrician Singapore – Condo Geylang 

Ceiling Fan Installation Service Electrician Singapore – Condo Bukit Timah

Electrical Wiring Installation Electrical Wiring Services Electrician Singapore – HDB Serangoon