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That’s a Wrap

Well what a fantastic time we had at this year’s Gold Coast Home Show and Lifestyle Expo. It was great to see the Gold Coast Convention Centre filled to the brim with local businesses showcasing the best of their products and services.

It was our first time to hold a stand at this event, and we received the most overwhelming response possible. Mandy and I both went home with sore feet and a sore throat on Sunday afternoon but we will certainly be back again next year.

The theme for us this year was focusing on the hot topic of the year – energy efficiency – so on display, we had a full range of LED lighting products, an 8 star energy efficient pool pump, and a solar panel and inverter. These products are what can have the biggest impact on your electricity bill in terms of savings, so it was great to be able to talk to everyone about the benefits of this new technology and for everyone to see the products for themselves (our interactive LED lighting display board was a huge hit!).

One thing that was clear to me by the end of the weekend was just how confusing the world of LED lighting can be. Many people had questions about how to make the switch, which lights they should use, what colour they should choose and how much it all costs. So in the coming weeks I will be putting together an article on LED lighting 101 which will hopefully answer some of your questions and give you a starting point on how to make the change. In the meantime here are some quick facts that may interest you:

• The average life expectancy of an LED globe in a domestic environment is over 10 years

• LED’s produce about 75% less heat than Halogens and are therefore much safer to use

• They switch on and provide full strength light instantly

• They save you money…lots of money!

If you are interested in learning more about LED lighting, I highly recommend that you contact our office and arrange for me to come out and do an in-home (or business) consultation. There is no charge for this service, and absolutely no obligation, and it is the best way for me to answer any of your queries and provide you with a fixed price quotation specific to your needs. I’ll also be able to show you your predicted power bill savings and return on your investment.

Also, a big congratulations Scott Berechree from Gloss Work who was the winner of our $500 LED lighting prize draw. Scott will now have the chance to see first-hand just how much energy efficient lighting can save him on his power bill!

Hmmm, if only I had Scott’s future savings. I know what I would buy…

Dan Carpenter

Dan the Sparky Man

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Clean Energy Week 2013

Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend Clean Energy Week 2013, held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Clean Energy Week, which is the nation’s largest event for the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, is jam-packed with conferences, professional development sessions and presentations from industry professionals. What’s more, the event entails a schools program and great exhibitions for the public.

Held by the Clean Energy Council, Australia’s peak industry body, the week delivered the latest on policy initiatives and technology developments, as well as the opportunity to make valuable new contacts. It was so interesting to meet other people dedicated to fostering the awareness of the need for clean energy, as well as to see all of the latest innovations in clean energy products and technology.

My favourite find this year was the new SMA Solar Inverter with an Integrated Storage System. It stores some of the excess power your house generates during the day, allowing you to use it at night – ultimately saving families even more money. The Inverter has just won an award at Intersolar Europe 2013 in Munich and seeing it was on display at CEC week, it will hopefully be available in Australia soon. This is a very exciting development in the world of solar and I’m sure we will start to see other Inverter manufacturers follow suit. You can read more on the SMA Solar Inverter here.

With climate change slowly becoming a more prominent issue in modern-day society, the use of clean energy is becoming more and more prevalent in the effort to safeguard our community for future generations. So, I was happy that this event made its way to our neck of the woods so I could not only increase my knowledge on the latest and greatest energy efficient products, but also remind myself of the importance of clean energy and this industry in general.

After attending the Sydney event in 2012 which drew more than 2500 local and international delegates, I had high expectations for the Brisbane event. Overall, I’m pleased to say that my expectations were greatly exceeded, with most of the attendees finding it to be even bigger and better than last year. Clean Energy Week 2014 will be held in my hometown of Adelaide from the 23rd to the 25th of July and I will be sure to be in attendance.

Source: Clean Energy Week 2013

Dan Carpenter

Dan the Sparky Man

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Dan lights up the showroom

The Lights have been switched on, & the welcome sign is on the door, to our new interactive Showroom. Are you building or renovating? Do you have unanswered questions on the latest energy efficient products? Our newly renovated showroom is complete with specialist information on lighting, power and energy saving options that couldn’t be handier. Conveniently located in the heart of Nerang, our interactive showroom is the place to head to whether you are after inspiration or education on all things associated with electrical, Solar, LED Lighting & more. Our showroom is unique to the Gold Coast as you are looked after by a qualified Master Electrician, rather than a retail salesperson. We encourage you to bring your new house plans, renovation ideas or even your power bill so that we can assist you in a relaxed environment, where all your questions can be answered and all your options & product choices are on display. Our showroom is open by appointment only so you are guaranteed that personalised service. We are proud to have two fully operational lighting display boards, showcasing our full range of internal and external LED Lighting options. In addition, we have a Clipsal product display board displaying the very best of their range, and the solar panels and inverters we use on display also. What’s more, there are copies of the Clipsal Essential Checklist for you to take home, and tons of product catalogues and photographs of past projects for you to have a look at. So call in to our showroom at 3/25 Brendan Drive, Nerang for quality advice, assistance and tailored solutions. If I’m not there, hopefully I’ll meet you when you next drop by.

Dan Carpenter Dan the Sparky Man Come and join our social pages for the latest information, tips and products updates Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/DantheSparkyMan Twitter page: https://twitter.com/DanTheSparkyMan

Connect your Clothes Dryer to an Off-peak Tariff & Save Money this Winter

If I told you that I could reduce the running costs of your clothes dryer by about 50% – would you be interested?

Most of you know that an easy and continual way to save money is to connect energy hungry appliances to an off-peak tariff, most commonly hot water services and pool pumps. Even Energex now offers a $250 ‘Positive Payback’ reward for hooking your pool pump up to the Economy Tariff 33 (read more about the Positive Payback here: http://bit.ly/VCW9mN).

But throughout winter, it is often the clothes dryer which causes a surge in the power bill of a number of residents. So many of us use our clothes dryer on a daily basis to ensure a constant supply of clean work and school uniforms, even on the coldest and wettest of days. And with the constant rain the Gold Coast has been experiencing for the past few weeks, it’s safe to assume that thousands of families have been doing the same thing at peak times – running their clothes dryer nonstop! By connecting your clothes dryer to an off-peak tariff you can significantly reduce its running costs.

The catch? Well it just means that you can’t use your dryer during peak times* but then every time you are using it, the running costs are up to 50% off the normal domestic tariff. Not a bad trade off in my opinion.

And for another added bonus, Energex don’t always restrict your power supply. I have my washing machine & clothes dryer connected to an off-peak tariff and without even thinking, I tried to use them both at about 6pm the other night, and guess what? They operated as normal.

This just shows that Energex don’t restrict power to your off-peak appliances every single night at exactly the same time; I guess it just depends on the overall energy consumption in your suburb at the time. But in general, off-peak tariffs provide electricity for up to 18 hours a day.

*Generally between about 5pm-9pm each day, but exact timings may vary and are determined by Energex

If you want to know more about off-peak tariffs and our services, come down to our Gold Coast showroom and speak to me or one of my fantastic team members today.

Dan Carpenter

Dan the Sparky Man

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Mr Dan Takes Vietnam

I have recently had the privilege of travelling to Vietnam to undertake some consultancy and project management work for a company called Plantation Grown Timbers (Vietnam) Limited. The opportunity was presented to me by the owners, Ian and Yung Burden, who are Gold Coast residents and long-time customers of Dan the Sparky Man.

Plantation Grown Timbers (PGT) is part of a global business, dedicated to ethical design, production and supply of traditionally crafted furniture and accessories, manufactured in strict accord with international, environmental and workplace guidelines. It was started by Ian 15 years ago from the boot of his car and has grown dramatically to now export its uniquely designed reclaimed and recycled solid wooden furniture all over the world, particularly to North America, Europe and Australasia. The arts and handicrafts company also provides employment to over 850 very skilled people.

Located in Ho Chi Minh City, the PGT factory is the size of a Bunning’s warehouse and they are expanding. The increased production schedule requires more machinery which in turn requires more power. The electrical system to the entire factory needed to be upgraded to prevent their existing structure from being overloaded.

I was brought in as part of the team to ensure that all works were completed to Australian Standards whilst assisting to future proof their business and production requirements for any further growth (from a power consumption perspective).

Prior to arriving in Vietnam, my first task was to assist Ian and Yung to select a local electrical contractor with whom they should award the contract. They had all 3 quotations translated into English, provided me with the plans and scope of works and then had me select the local contractor who I deemed to be the most appropriate and skilled for the job.

The contractor was selected and two weeks later I was on a plane!

When I arrived in Vietnam, it was straight down to business. I spent the morning familiarising myself with the factory and the staff I would be working with and then as soon as production closed down at lunchtime, it was all systems go. The team of 20 Electricians was led by Hung, my direct liaison and the only person who spoke any English. Let’s just say that smiles, nods and thumbs up very quickly became the preferred communication for the day!

To complete the upgrade we were required to shut down power to the entire complex and as you can imagine, a manufacturing plant that employs 850 people cannot afford even 5 minutes of downtime. This gave us less than 48 hours to complete all works without disrupting any production requirements – talk about pressure!

The scope of works was enormous, the days and nights were long (I think the longest stretch was 20 hours straight), and the language barrier was at times quite challenging, but I’m pleased to say that Stage 1 was completed on time, with full production re-commencing at 7am Monday morning as scheduled.

It was a fantastic opportunity to work with a local team and to be so welcomed by all the PGT staff. I received amazing hospitality from Ian and Yung themselves and I very much look forward to being part of their team on any future expansions.

Now if only I could get my staff to address me as Mr Dan…

If you love my work in Vietnam and want to know more about our services, come down to our Gold Coast showroom and speak to me or one of my fantastic team members today.

Dan Carpenter

Dan the Sparky Man

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The Address, Sanctuary Cove6 star Energy Efficient rated Homes

If there is one thing I love doing, it is seeing a great project through from the beginning to the end. We have recently completed an extensive project at The Address Residences in beautiful Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast.

Being almost a year-long job, I had the opportunity to work with a number of great people and be a part of the project’s transition from concept to completion.

This residential development, which we began working on June 2012, was one of the largest under construction on the Gold Coast. Using the latest and greatest energy efficiency products, the estate transformed to be filled with 6 star energy efficient rated homes. A total of 31 luxury homes, several being lakefront, were given our ‘Dan the Sparky Man touch’ to make for a very energy efficient premier gated estate. This stage of development follows on from the first stage which we completed back in 2010.

Sunland Group is an Australian development company based in Royal Pines, on the Gold Coast, QLD. Design is paramount in everything they create is evidenced from their first residential home in 1983 to their iconic developments such as Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast and the landmark Q1, the World’s tallest residential tower. Their motto is “Creating Art Through Architecture”, which is very fitting for their residential development, The Address at Sanctuary Cove.

Here is a little bit more about The Address and what the estate has to offer.

Inspired architectural thinking and a commitment to harmonious design have ensured that The Address Residences sit gracefully within their landscaped environment. For the Lakefront Residences, the palette is raw and elemental, with stone and classic white perfectly complemented by lush, living greenery. The cool discretion of the exterior creates a contemporary and very private home, whilst still allowing natural light to spill into the living areas.

The strikingly modern Park Residences are designed to capture an abundance of natural light, thanks to the generous floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. Indoor luxury continues outdoors with each Park Residence concealing a sun-drenched private courtyard. Here, you can entertain in total privacy whilst enjoying the near-perfect weather of Sanctuary Cove’s idyllic sub-tropical location. Source: Sunland Group

I am proud to have been involved with this Sunland Group development and those lucky enough to own one of these now outstanding energy efficient homes were happy with the end result too.

Our company is committed to furthering our social responsibility to the environment and is passionate about helping home & business owners to reduce their carbon footprint. If you love our work at Sanctuary Cove and want to know more about energy efficiency, come down to our Gold Coast showroom and speak to me or one of my fantastic team members today.

Dan Carpenter

Dan the Sparky Man

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