Electrical Services

The Electrical Services Team provides a full range of building services, design, maintenance, inspection and energy management services to all Council services and schools to enable council strategies to be achieved and front line services to be delivered.

Lifts

The Electrical Services team provide a lift maintenance and design service. This deals with lifts in public buildings and in tower blocks. Lifts require regular maintenance and Inspection and are subject to various safety legislation.

The team provide a consultancy service that deals with all aspects of electrical and related services including lifts, CCTV, security services and lightning protection.
Also the team provides design and procurement services, including planned and responsive maintenance, testing and inspection to meet statutory requirements.


Services provided

Electrical installation design, including lighting, power and designing for disability. Some of the areas we cover are detailed below:-

• Specialist lighting and sports flood lighting
• Communal TV/radio systems - digital and analogue
• Door entry and access control systems - communal and individual
• IT infrastructure
• Planned maintenance
• Responsive maintenance/emergencies/breakdowns
• Lift installation and maintenance (includes chair lifts)
• CCTV, intruder, security and fire alarm systems, panic systems and class change systems
• Portable appliance testing
• Advice on electrical energy efficiency
• Electrical surveys, testing and inspection of electrical installations
• Lightning protection systems
• Power back-up systems
• Warden call systems
• Wireless Systems (fire & intruder alarms, and others)

Specialist Projects

If your type of scheme is not listed please contact us we will probably still be able to help or help point you in the right direction.

Our advice is independent objective advice, free of commercial bias and designed to provide best value to our clients.


Electrical Efficiency

Together with good maintenance practice, energy efficiency is always a feature of our designs. We are also able to advise on energy conservation and maintenance reduction measures for existing installations.

Large savings can be made on electricity bills by the use of modern lighting technology and energy saving devices.

Listed below are some common methods used to reduce electricity bills:

• Installation of high frequency luminaries. This modern type of luminary can be up to 30% more efficient than the older type of fluorescent Luminary. A further benefit of this type of luminary is that the frequency of light change is so fast it is more comfortable on the eyes making for a more pleasant work environment. High frequency luminaries can be used with day light automatic dimming.
• A light sensor automatically adjusts the light output level to allow for day light in a room. In a bright day light room, the luminaries will drop down to below 30 % output, making great saving on electricity bills. This method is very simple and requires no action from the building users but saves on electricity all year round.
• Installing Presence sensors to rooms. With this method lights are only on when required. This can lead to large savings on energy bills. Combined with modern luminaries described above and day light dimming, very large savings can be made (approximately 40-50 %).
• Replacing any old Tungsten luminaries with fluorescent type luminaries. A fluorescent luminary uses about a quarter of the electricity of a equivalent Tungsten type lamp.
• Installation of lighting control systems to large buildings. This type of system can give the landlord great control over the way lighting is used in a building. Lighting can be timed to come on and go off at certain times and be adjusted to suit the needs of the building users. The down side of complex systems is that they can be expensive to repair or change.
• Thermostatic control of any electric heaters or operation by presence detectors/time switches. This can help minimise wasted expensive use of electric heating. Generally heating by electric heaters is not cheap (unless by Economy of Peak storage Heating). Large bills can be run up quickly with bad controls on electric heaters.
  

Lighting design

Lighting design is a area of the construction/refurbishment process that often does not get the recognition it deserves.

The atmosphere in a room can be drastically effected by the type of lighting installed and the lighting design levels.

Get it wrong and people will often just not be happy working/resting in that area or will be unable to work safely or effectively.

Lighting designers have to be aware of various regulations such as 'CIBSE Lighting Requirements' which details methods of lighting and recommended lighting levels in different environments.

New Lighting schemes now have to comply with building control guidelines on energy efficiency.

Detailed below are some common lighting design considerations:

1. Rest Areas
If any area is being designed for people to relax in, it is important lighting design levels are not to high. Localised areas of higher lighting level can be provided for reading etc by the use of down lighters with background lighting possibly being provided by uplighters. It is very important to minimise glare as this will cause stress to the eyes and make relaxing very difficult.

2. Computer Rooms
Areas designed for use with computers should comply with CIBSE LG3/LG7 guidelines, which basically aim to ensure glare from lighting does not reflect on VDU screens. The recently updated LG3 guidelines aim to ensure that some light is thrown on the ceiling and walls to prevent the 'dark patches/high contrast effect' previously associated with lights designed to be used with computers.

3. External Lighting
This can either be designed for effect or to provide security lighting or both. many studies have shown that good lighting in public areas is a very effective way of reducing crime and also the fear of crime.
Buildings such as town halls churches etc can have lighting schemes designed for them that can really make them stand out at night time and look quite dramatic and make an areas more attractive to visitors.

4. Energy efficiency
Provision of suitable Lighting systems is now recognised as an ideal way to improve the energy efficiency of a building. Modern high frequency luminaries used with lighting controls (automatic day light dimming or PIR sensor switching) can greatly reduce the cost of lighting a building with savings of up to 40 to 50% compared with older lighting methods.

5. Emergency Lighting
Public buildings, shops etc have to have emergency lighting systems installed to meet British, European standards and Building Control requirements.This is to enable safe escape in emergency situations.

As can be seen from above Lighting design is a deep subject in its own right with many engineers specialising in it exclusively. With modern lighting and lamp technology improving all the time the opportunities are getting greater. Putting in the right lighting design input in the beginning of a project can benefit people for years to come. Please contact the Electrical Services Manager if you require any further information regarding this subject.


Electrical Security

Security considerations for building managers seem to be on the increase all the time. As an electrical services group, we regularly have to deal with these issues.

Detailed below are some of the common problems we deal with and some solutions we recommend/implement. It is very important to give a problem the attention it needs and consult specialist advice to achieve the best results in this area.

With the wrong specification such as with CCTV installations large sums of money can easily be wasted producing systems that do not achieve the desired result and so investing in proper planning/research is essential to ensuring a good outcome!

The topics below have only be covered in brief and are only intended as a quick guide. Please do not hesitate to contact the Electrical Group Manager should you have any queries or if you would like some advice on a relevant security/safety issue.


CCTV

The installation of camera systems has been one of the fastest growing areas of security work, with Britain having one of the highest numbers of cameras per person in the world.

The use of CCTV systems has in the last couple of years become more tightly regulated, with systems having to comply with the Data Protection Act. This involves amongst over things having the CCTV system registered with the Data Protection Offices.

Suitable warning notices must be displayed (with owners contact information), and Data storage/use must conform to Data Protection Requirements. This is to provide an audit trail if video evidence is required in a court of law and to provide safe guards against its miss use.

Further information on the Data Protection Act/CCTV is available from the Home Office web site or Contact internally Garry Hobbs on 0203 373 1838 or email garry.hobbs@newham.gov.uk.


Reasons for Installing cameras

Installing a CCTV system can provide a means of remote monitoring a building/area. In Newham many sites are linked backed to the Newham Control Centre where sites can be regularly monitored by trained personnel all day, seven days a week. This facility can be combined with high tech facial recognition software, where the system can alert staff to the presence of particular individuals.

The CCTV system allows images to be kept on tape or stored digitally which can be used in prosecutions if the images conform to standards laid out in home office rules. This is a good reason to ensure only suitably skilled/qualified persons are used to design CCTV systems. A bad design could lead to the images being of poor quality and useless to the C.P.S.

Installing CCTV can provide reassurance to tenants/members of the public. It can also act as a good deterrent to criminal acts or anti social behaviour and should be seen as one tool helping to deal with these problems. Where CCTV is installed it is generally essential to look at the lighting conditions in the areas involved. This will be required for good pictures, but also it has been shown that good lighting significantly helps to reduce crime and fear of crime.
You do not want a camera staring into the sun.


Digital CCTV Systems

Digital Systems are now available where the recorded images are stored on a hard drive as opposed to a video recorder. This reduces allot of the management problems associated with the VCR system, ie changing tapes etc. Recorders can be sized to allow a months recording to be stored. After this the recorder will start to over write the stored data with new.


Intruder Alarm Systems

Intruder alarm systems are installed to most council buildings.
These generally operate by the use of Passive Infra Red (PIR) detectors that detect when a person comes in their range and triggers the alarm. Door and window contacts operate the alarm when activated. Most intruder alarms will be connected via a dedicated phone line back to the Newham Security Control Centre, where the alarm is monitored.

False alarms can some times be a problem, which can be caused by amongst other things insects getting inside detectors etc. Again, great care should be taken when designing an Intruder system to ensure detectors cover all relevant areas.

A planned break in could be via a route not protected. Detectors should generally cover all Staircases and all entry points. Any room with valuables with window access generally should be protected.

Areas such as computer rooms may need special protection. Panic alarm switches can be connected to modern Intruder Panels, which can be used at reception desks and offices where people are often alone and vulnerable.


Controlled Access Systems

The electrical services group has designed and arranged the installation of many 'access control' systems through out the Borough.
These have been installed to housing blocks, some office areas and schools.

Most of these schemes involve key fob access systems. The tenant is issued a small plastic fob, which when presented to a special box automatically releases the door magnets or locks.

Tenants can automatically release the door to let in guest to the block, once they are sure it is safe to do so. When a tenant moves away from their flat, their fob can be removed from the system. Fobs can also be deleted from the system if they are lost.

These systems tend to be very reliable as there are no moving parts as such. Problems experienced are generally due to vandalism.
It is important that these systems are connected to any local fire alarm system to ensure safe access from the building is provided in the event of a fire. Schools are increasingly having access control systems fitted to allow them greater control over whom enters their buildings.


Electric Gates

Motorized electric gates are increasingly being used by schools and office accommodation areas to control access of cars to parking areas. These can be Fob controlled as mentioned above allowing control over parking in restricted areas. The gates can be linked with intercom facilities to a school office, allowing remote operation.


Panic Systems

There are a number of different panic alarm systems on the market today. Many modern intruder alarm panels have the facility to have a number of panic alarm buttons connected to them. The panel can either give local warning or send a message to a control centre via a phone line.

Wireless version are available that are often used in classrooms or social services properties. The panic switches can be repositioned regularly to their best position with ease. Pendants (panic devices) can be supplied with the system that can be worn by play ground staff etc in schools.

Design Issues for panic Alarms

Typical considerations:-

What kind of response is required when a panic switch is activated? A loud noise local to the activation (such as a electronic) sounder could cause panic, leading to maybe serious injury. A flashing beacon with a discrete sounder in a near by office, can give the opportunity for help to be got to the incident with the minimum of panic, hopefully enabling a situation to be resolved peacefully.
The position of the panic switch could be critical, and is worth giving great thought to.You do not want to have to run across the room to get to it!

Connection to a Control Centre

If you are left working alone, you will want the Panic activation to be seen some where, ideally a control centre such that Newham Security provides. They can then arrange for appropriate action to be taken upon an activation.

If you have any queries regarding any of the above or would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact the Electrical Services Manager John Ficken on 0203 373 8465 or email john.ficken@newham.gov.uk.