FAQs
Always Electrical
Frequently Asked Questions
Sometimes when you are having issues with your hot water it could be an electrical issue. If the circuit breaker or RCD has tripped off, this is a sign you need to call your electrician. Other times your water might only be get warm, or it is staying cold, this could be a thermostat issue and something your experienced electrical tradesman can assess and repair.
If your hot water unit is leaking, rusted or no water is flowing from your taps, these are unfortunately not issues we will be able to fix, calling your licensed plumber is the best option in these situations.
If you have felt a shock or tingle when touching something in your home, if it is an electrical appliance, outlet or even from touching your tap, you will need to call Western Power to report the issue. Call Western Power to report an incident on 13 13 51. For more information on this head to Western Power’s Reporting Guidelines.( https://www.westernpower.com.au/safety/reporting-incidents-and-emergencies/ )
Every year! You should change your smoke alarm battery once a year, on 1 April.
The battery in your hardwired smoke alarm is used as a backup in case of power outage. In order to ensure that the battery remains operational in cases of emergency, this needs to be changed yearly.
If you have a smoke alarm that you can’t remove the battery from this means that you have a battery powered smoke alarm. These are installed with a non-removable 10-year battery to ensure that smoke can be detected when it is not possible to have a detector connected to your main power source.
RCDs should be tested every 3 months to ensure they are still functioning properly. All you have to do is press the small blue test button on each RCD in your switchboard. This will simulate a power fault and if the RCD is functional it will trip the power off. If the RCD switch does not flip, or the power does not turn off, this indicates that the safety switch is faulty and will need to be assessed and replaced by a licensed electrician.
Losing power can be very frustrating and something that you want fixed as soon as possible! Did you know there are things you can check first before you have an electrician come to take a look? Frist check in your meter box or switchboard to see if any of your RCDs have tripped. If no switches are flipped off, it is likely a Western Power outage and could be worth waiting it out or checking online to see if there are any reported issues.
If any of your RCDs has tripped it could be a faulty appliance. We suggest unplugging everything from power and then switching the power back on. Make sure you are unplugging the appliances, and not just turning them off, as the RCD can still detect an issue from the plugged appliance. If the power turns on, one by one plug your appliances in to see if they trip the power. 9/10 it is an appliance that is faulty or malfunctioning. Make sure you are unplugging new appliances too, as these can often be the cause.
If all else fails and it is not an appliance that is causing the issue, we suggest now is the time to call your licensed electrician to assess the issue and find the fault. If you need more advice on what to do, call our office and our friendly staff will walk you through the processes that need to be taken to identify any issues.
This means you have partial power to your home, and you likely have one RCD that has tripped. This means it is likely an appliance fault and we encourage you to unplug all the appliances and then turn the RCD back on from the switchboard. Once the RCD has been reset, start plugging in appliances one by one to see if any of them are triggering the power outage.
If an RCD has not tripped but there is still no power to your appliances, this could indicate a faulty GPO, which means a licensed electrician should attend to assess the situation and repair any faults.
LED lighting is brighter and more energy efficient – therefore they reduce your energy usage. LED lighting also lasts longer and more cost effective when you do need to replace the globes.
Unfortunately, we do not repair ovens, it is more cost effective and less time sensitive to install a replacement oven instead.
Unfortunately, we do not install or repair kitchen rangehoods. We can assess if there is a power supply to the unit if there is a fault or issue with your rangehood, however for diagnostics, repair or installation we recommend using a specialized service.
Always Electrical does not install air conditioners, this is something we believe should be worked on by a Tradesman specializing in Air Conditioning.
We will do limited repairs on some Air Conditioning units, however only on Evaporative Air Conditioners, not on Split System, ducted or Reverse Cycle Air Conditioning. Please call us to discuss the issues you are having with your heating or cooling system and through a series of questions we will be able to assess if this is something we can help with or refer on to a specialist.
Unfortunately, we do not supply and install Security systems. We recommend getting a system tailored for your home or business and this should be done in collaboration with a security specialist.
This is not one of our areas of expertise, however we work closely with a number of specialized businesses to create a home automation system that works for you. Please give us a call to discuss your ideas and needs further and we will assess whether this is something we are able to help with or we can refer you to one of our trusted partners.
While we do not charge a call out fee, we do have a minimum rate for attending site to complete works. All scheduled works will have a minimum charge of $140 ex GST, which accounts for 30 minutes of labour. If you want to have a more accurate understanding of what your job will cost, we encourage you to speak with our office and they will be able to put together a quote for your requested works.
Please note, that we unfortunately cannot quote on fault jobs, as the time and materials can only be determined once our tradesmen have diagnosed the issue while on site. For this type of work clients will incur the minimum charge and we can quote on the works after the initial assessment if you would like a better understanding on the cost of works.
Yes, we do! Depending on the work that you are having done or not, either we can pop together a quote and send it to you via email or one of our knowledgeable project managers can meet you onsite to run through the scope and send you a quote; all free of charge!
No, Always Electrical will issue you an invoice within a week on your electrical work being completed. This will be sent to the email address that you provided us when we scheduled your electrical works.
While we can make arrangements to complete work outside of standard working hours there will be an additional cost to you. We can organize with you to attend site late in the afternoon or on a Saturday, however the cost will need to be determined based on the requested time. Do you need out of hours or emergency work done? Call our office and we will be able to assess the additional costs.
Unfortunately, fault and repair works are difficult to quote on, as they can be caused by a multitude of different reasons and, generally, we won’t be able to determine the exact cause or issue until we are onsite. Therefore, we can’t accurately determine how long it may take, what parts are required and what the cost will be. Our starting cost for fault works is $140 ex. GST, which covers up to 30 minutes of labour. All parts and extra time spent onsite are addition to this.