Issue 76 Jan-Feb 2010

Please note: The issue content below is just a summary of the articles in the printed magazine.
The articles are not available on-line. Please refer to the printed magazine for the complete article.
COVER STORY
Wild about lighting – Gerard Lighting expands its lighting offer
The jungle drums are now beating and calling electrical contractors from up and down New Zealand to join a new tribe to light up the country. To become a member of this tribe you will have to accept being rewarded for every dollar you spend on selected lighting products from Crompton, Pierlite and Sylvania, and you will also have to accept having a lot of fun taking part in tribe events.
NEWS
Doing the 3k switch
When the new electricity regulations take effect in a couple of month’s time they will introduce sweeping changes to the way electrical safety is regulated. Gone are the days when electrical work was governed by a flexible performance based approach – what faces the industry now is a return to the clarity of full-on regulation.
NEWS
New registration categories
In 2006 the government finally threw in the towel on the registration system it had tried to scrap and replace with a licence only regime. Its parting gift to the electrical industry was to remove registration requirements and its categories from the electricity law altogether and toss them into the ether.
COVER STORY
New standard citations tighten compliance in hazardous areas
Now targeting a March release, the new Electricity (Safety) Regulations will change the compliance pathway for electrical work in hazardous areas. With AS/NZS 3000:2007 about to be mandated in these regulations, certain hazardous area standards will be mandated under Part 2 of this latest version of AS/NZS 3000.
Project post-mortem
Engineering is not necessarily a precise profession. There are a lot of elements involved in putting together a successful project. And many things can potentially go wrong or not as anticipated. In the course of a project unexpected contingencies often arise which can alter the path of events much later on. In the automation field, where instrumentation and software is continually evolving, there is always a learning curve that has to be factored in prior to its implementation.
COVER STORY
More than just aesthetics
Big changes for Aesthetics Lighting have been underway for most of last year with new ranges coming on-stream that will boost Aesthetics into a full service lighting operation.
Home Lighting Survey
A survey of New Zealand’s domestic lighting stock has confirmed what the lighting industry already knows – that energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are gaining market penetration at the expense of traditional GLS incandescent lamps.
Government scraps Electricity Commission and reviews EECA
The Government has signalled its intention to review the focus and effectiveness of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) as part of a wider review of the electricity sector.