Electric lighting raises important safety concerns in two areas. Firstly, the installation of the lights inevitably involves dealing with electricity. The number of deaths and injuries caused by faulty electrical wiring – much of it installed by unqualified DIY enthusiasts – should act as a reminder to everyone of the importance of safety during all electrical lighting work.

Important Safety Regulations

In addition, the potential danger of electric lighting demands a basic knowledge of fire extinguishers, particularly those suited to electrical fires. It’s also important to remember that the light itself can pose a number of hazards. It may be too dim or poorly positioned so as not to illuminate essential areas sufficiently. This may cause discomfort due to glare, brightness or shadows.

Correctly installed lighting not only minimises the risk of harmful repercussions, but actively enhances the environment in which it is located.

Consulting a Qualified Electrician

The number of deaths and injuries caused by faulty electrical wiring (the majority of it installed by unqualified DIY enthusiasts) is reason enough to hire an experienced electrician, but not the only one.

Since 1st January 2005 any electrical work carried out in the home has to follow the strict rules set out in the Building Regulations ‘Approved Document P’.

Part P Building Regulations

Part P, as it is commonly referred to, gives you two choices when undertaking an electrical project in the home.

• Employ a Part P qualified electrician to carry out the work and provide a signed record that it is all in accordance with the regulations.
• Carry out the work yourself and ensure it is thoroughly inspected and subsequently approved by your local authority building inspector

What is Included in Part P?

Significant electrical work, such as rewiring a house or making additions to existing circuits in kitchens, bathrooms or outside the house will fall under Part P of the regulations. If you have any doubt over exactly what is included in the regulations, be sure to consult your local authority.

Qualified Electricians

When employing a qualified electrical contractor to do the work, your best protection against being let down by a ‘cowboy’ contractor is word-of-mouth recommendation.

As well as verifying their Part P status, look for an electrician that has completed projects successfully, on schedule and within the budget. Similarly, don’t be afraid to ask an electrician for references from past projects. If they are at all reluctant to give you the full details of a previous job then you would be well advised to look elsewhere.

Common Fitting Problems

A lamp’s light output diminishes over the time due to the effects of dust and general wear and tear. To ensure the desired level of luminance is maintained, a routine of maintenance and regular lamp replacement is necessary. In addition, there are other factors which affect the light quality emitted from lighting fixtures – some of which raise important health and safety concerns.

Glare

When brightness goes beyond maximum recommended levels, disturbing or debilitating glare can occur. There are a range of things that can be done to minimise this glare:

• Use larger numbers of low wattage fixtures rather than fewer high wattage ones
• Locate control panels and PC monitors away from windows or bright fixtures
• Elevate high wattage fixtures above the normal field of view and aim some light toward the ceiling to disperse any glare.

Shadow

Shadows cast over any area where people require light can be overcome by using larger luminaires or simply increasing the number of light sources used.

Stroboscopic Effect

The stroboscopic effect (caused by the flicker of fluorescent lighting) creates the illusion of motion or non-motion; especially where moving machinery is concerned. Modern fluorescent tube design has largely overcome this potentially dangerous problem by significantly minimising flicker.

Colour Effect

An object that is blue for example will only appear this colour if the light falling upon it contains blue in its spectrum. Therefore it is important to bear in mind that colours can appear different under various types of lighting. For instance: a red object will appear brown under a sodium street light. With this in mind the choice of lamp is crucial if colour is important in the appearance or function of the room being illuminated.

Fire Extinguisher Types & Placement

Fire extinguishers are classed according to the different types of fire that each is designed to tackle.

• Class A: Solids (paper, wood, plastic, etc)
• Class B: Flammable Liquids (paraffin, petrol, oil, etc)
• Class C: Flammable Gases (propane, butane, methane, etc)
• Class D: Metals (aluminium, magnesium, titanium, etc)
• Class E: Electrical Apparatus (electric heaters, industrial control equipment, etc)
• Class F: Cooking Substances (oil, fat, etc)

The main body of each fire extinguisher is red and features more specific colour coding related to the class of each extinguisher.

Water Fire Extinguishers

• Class A fires
• Colour coding: Red
• Cheapest & most widely used
• Do not use on fires involving liquids or electricity

Foam Fire Extinguishers

• Class A & B fires
• Colour coding: Cream
• An expensive, but more versatile alternative to water
• Not recommended for electrical fires, but a safer option than water if inadvertently sprayed onto live electrical apparatus

Dry Powder Fire Extinguishers

• Class A, B & C fires (most suited to running liquid fires – Class B)
• Colour coding: Blue
• The ‘multi-purpose’ extinguisher
• Isolate the gas supply before extinguishing such a fire
• Warning: when used indoors, powder can obscure vision and cause damage to goods and machinery

CO2 Fire Extinguishers

• Class E fires
• Colour coding: Black
• Can also be used to extinguish class B liquid fires
• Warning: with liquid fires, the CO2 extinguisher has no post fire security and the fire could re-ignite

Wet Chemical

• Class F fires
• Colour coding: Bright Yellow

Metal Fires

• Class D fires
• Colour coding: Blue
• Specialist extinguisher for metal fires such as sodium, lithium, manganese and aluminium when in the form of swarf or turnings

Charles Barnett Managing Director

Charles started Lyco in 1995 with just 4 enthusiastic employees and has grown it considerably over the past 25 years. Charles is also the Managing Director of Lighting Direct and newly acquired Online Lighting. He now has a team of 50 lighting experts working on growing Lyco Group to be the UK leader in lighting for both businesses and homes. Away from the office he is a keen cyclist and is proud to have cycled 1017 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats to raise money for a new residential centre for adults with multiple learning difficulties.