Household Electrical Appliances

Blog

  • How to choose the best microwave

    A microwave is a common appliance in many households. It can be handy to quickly warm up a dinner later in the evening, cook beans or to make more complicated meals. The best microwaves make light work of heating and defrosting, and you can rely on them to cook and thaw food properly. Some Microwaves double up as mini ovens which can be handy if you are trying to cook a lot with only a small oven space.

    You may assume that the best microwaves will be the most expensive but this is not always the case. Each microwave had a power rating in KW’s. The higher this rating is the quicker it will be to cook, or warm food. To truly find out which microwave is best for you, you need to do your research and read plenty of reviews. For simply tasks such as cooking a jacket potatoes, reheating food and defrosting, a standalone microwave is probably the best option. If you want to be able to do a bit more such as roast or brown food, then you will probably find a combi microwave (which combines a conventional microwave, grill and oven in one), the best. These are usually more expensive but has a vast amount of functions available. They are often a little hard to use to start with, but once you learn how to do each of the cooking styles, it can make life a lot easier.

     

     

     

  • Taking your electrical appliances camping

    If you are going camping then you may want to take a few of your home luxuries with you. If you have electric hook up then you can often use a kettle or toaster without having to worry about boiling water on a stove or grilling toast on an open flame. These simple appliances can make camping a much more pleasant and relaxing experience and most electric hook up sites will allow enough power for you to run them.

    When using any electrical appliance there is always a risk to fire. When camping this can be even more so, so it is recommended that if the appliance is over 12 months old you get it checked over by an electrician. Never leave an electrical appliance on in a tent when you are out for a period of time.

    If you are going in the cooler seasons you may want to take a heater with you. You can get gas heaters or can take an electric heather. Electric heaters again should not be left on when you are not in the tent but can safely be used when you are there. Try and get one that has an automatic shut off after a certain amount of time or will turn off if knocked over.

     

     

  • Installing an outdoor socket

    If you are using electrical items outside then ideally you need to have an outdoor socket. You do not want to be using extension leads if at all possible and sometimes these will not work anyway and can cause the power to trip out.

    You should always use a qualified electrician to install an outdoor socket and someone who has experience in this. The sockets themselves can range from £7 or ££8 up toward £50 depending on which one you want.

    You may find it cheaper to buy this yourself or ask the electrician how much he would charge for the part.

    If you are using a heater in a hot tub for example, then it will need to go into the socket outside as using extension leads can often be a fire hazard. If you do ever use an extension lead for the lawn mower for example, then you need to ensure that it is completely unravelled each time you use it and inspect it for damage.

    When you are not using the outside socket be sure to leave the cover closed so no water can get in there. Ideally always use the socket, to start, with when you are in the property to check that it is all working as it should. The unit or the socket needs to be RCD protected to ensure that it will trip out and not give an electric shock should there be a fault.

     

  • Online shopping in the UK

    Online shopping has grown and grown over the last decade and some people now do the majority of their shopping online, often from the comfort of their own home without even having to leave the house. The average online shopper spends £40 each month on clothes and 55% of female shoppers buy clothes online. This year (2018) has seen an increase in online shopping from 74% to 80%! With this trend, it is no wonder that many of the high street stores are starting to struggle.

    So will there always be a need for the high street store? This is a question many people are starting to wonder. High street stores, at present, are needed as there are still some people that would prefer to go and look at something or try it on before they buy. Also with most stores offering delivery between 1-7 days, if you need something urgently then you may need to go to a store to get it rather than wait to have it delivered. Companies like Amazon are already trailing drones that could deliver items to people the same day, maybe within a few hours. If and when this happens, it may mean even more people turn to online shopping that hitting the high street.

  • Saving money on your gas and electricity bills

    Gas and Electric bills are often one of the largest outgoings a family has on a monthly basis after the mortgage or rent. We all need some way of heating our homes and running our electrical appliances but often we forget that even just by switching off a few things we can save a fortune on our fuel bills.

    Many people leave their televisions and set-top boxes on standby overnight, often not giving it a second thought. But did you know you can save over £80 per year on average by switching appliances off rather than on to standby mode?

    Smart meters are rolling out across the country and can help you realise how and where you are spending. It may be that you boil your kettle then forget to make a drink so boil it again a few minutes later. Doing this repeatedly over the year can rack up unnecessary electricity charges.

    Another way to save money is by checking if you should change suppliers or at least the tariff you are on. Some people save in excess of £400 a year just by switching to a new supplier.