To customize and search for the standard combination of wiring devices at Sparks, try our Switches and Sockets Wizard.

But what about the cases when you want your own combination of wiring devices? You want an elite stepped plate in brushed chrome with a BT phone socket and an audio socket, or an HDMI socket. Or maybe you want a dimmer, a switch, and a telephone socket / audio socket! What about these more peculiar yet more customized situations?

The Euro Module Plates from Heritage Brass

The solution is simple – most manufacturers offer you now ONLY THE PLATE – you purchase the finish and the plate you need, and then you can select the modules you want to be on the plate! Recently we updated our website with the Heritage Brass Euro Module plates – you can select the desired finish and plate and then purchase the Euro Modules separately!

It is becoming now increasingly popular that you have in your home / office not only the classical combinations of wiring devices but more customized ones according to the need!

What you will need to take care of is that the plates and the finishes would match everywhere in the room / in the house! If you install the Heritage Brass stepped plate in polished brass, the rest of the plates of the devices in the house have to match this one! You have full power to mix-and-match the Euro modules as needed – just select the plate and the specific modules!

Take a look at the existing Euro Module plates from Heritage Brass, or take a look at the other Modular and Grid Systems – mainly the MK, GET, or other Euro Plates and modules. Please accept our apologies for the lack of pictures, but as soon as we work it out with the manufacturer, we will update this detail also.

On Pinterest it’s fun – you can follow people or only some of their boards according to your interest, you can re-pin cool pictures your friends found and shared, you can like pictures, you can comment on them… And if you use a browser, you can install a small bookmarklet which allows you to “pin the pictures” on your favourite articles, pages, etc.

But enough on that – you can read a lot about Pinterest online, and there are a lot of infographics and explanations, etc everywhere online. Below we are introducing some of our current boards – Sparks and Lights on Pinterest at SparksDirect!

Stylish Light Fittings at Sparks on Pinterest

Compiling the most stylish light fittings at sparksdirect.co.uk – either from the blogs or from our website.

Pinning the Switches and Sockets at Sparks

A large collection of switches, sockets, dimmers, and other wiring devices at Sparks and Lights.

Electrical Safety and Security on Pinterest

Pictures related the electrical safety and electrical security – collected from the internet, very useful.

Cool from our friends on Pinterest

We have many friends / followers on Pinterest, and here’s some of the coolest pictures pinned by them.

Pins of Energy Saving Devices at Sparks

Lights, light bulbs, light fixtures, and tips on saving the energy and energy efficient devices.

Where else can you find us online? Check the, Sparks Electrical on the Social Networks – in pictures!

You can use the bathroom wall lights by highlighting the area around the mirror – and it is here that we can recommend at least three wall lights from Astro Lighting. They are all energy saving, guaranteeing you don’t waste energy but are mindful of the environment. Below you can see how these energy efficient fittings from Astro look like in a modern bathroom.

The Kyoto 0386 Modern Bathroom Wall Light

The Astro Lighting 0386 Kyoto fitting is a small wall uplighter fully IP44 rated, allowing you to use it in zone 3 (outside of the reach of splashing water). Energy saving fitting with a polished chrome base and a white opaque glass shade in a tubular shape.

Mashiko 0550 above / besides mirror wall light

Energy saving strip light with a full IP44 rating, the Astro Lighting Mashiko 0550 is 36cm long and 8cm wide, ideal for being located above or beside the bathroom mirror for offering exactly the light you need to take care of your personal hygiene.

Astro Romano 0667 Bathroom Wall Striplight

The Astro Lighting 0667 wall strip light is an energy saving fitting available in 600mm, 900mm, and 1200mm lengths, ideally mounted besides the mirror or above the mirror in the bathroom. Fully IP44 rated and with a polished chrome finish, this fitting is energy saving!

Read our previous article introducing Three Excellent Bathroom Mirror Lights from Astro Lighting.

Top 7 tips for ordering stuff online

1. Contact Details – no matter how nice the website is and how low the prices may be, don’t even think of purchasing anything from a website that has no solid contact details in the Contact Us area. Don’t get fooled by a PO Box, an email address for contact, or even a Contact Form!
2. No Second-Hand products – even though you may care for the price, it is not recommended to purchase items that are second-hand, used, or that have a picture showing either of these. Purchasing something that is new (and it is clearly stated so) will insure you did your part in getting a high quality product.
3. Secure Payment – When ordering online make sure that the website has that padlock of “Secure Payments” at the bottom of the screen when you are filling in the payment details. The payment area needs to be “secure” and the URL address starting with “https://”. Don’t pay via Western Union or any other “nobody-heard-of” payment websites.
4. Price Check – If you’re looking for something that you need urgently and you can afford it, you can simply “buy from the first website in the google search results”. Otherwise, it is recommended that you research the prices of the model number / range you’re looking for. At SparksDirect we offer you the most competitive prices for many ranges – check and see for yourself!
5. Customer Reviews – Many website have customer reviews integrated on the site itself, while others use a third party customer reviews website. In any case, before you purchase from an online store that you never purchased from, it is good to research what others say about that store. Other users’ opinion matters!
6. Terms and Conditions – though you may think you know how things operate online and what the general Terms and Conditions look like, it is very good to check the TOS, the Returns Policy, and the Privacy Statement of an online store before you purchase from them!
7. Keep Records of Your Orders – do not just order online and that’s it! Make a note of the online orders you place and their promise of delivery, so as to track them and make sure they arrive on time. It is good to be organized in this respect, so that your finances would be in order and you would not lose money or time.

For this article we were inspired from our own experience and from the Shoppers Guide via ESC. Picture source: search for Safe Online Shopping.

The small size LED garden lights with a curved shape come with a wall bracket – just in case you want to mount it on the wall and not on the ground. The full IP55 rating allows you to safely install these fittings in areas where it rains, where there’s dust and particles, and anywhere in the garden.

One of the main incentives when it comes to the outdoor lighting – the garden lights, the wall lights, the garage lights, etc – is the energy consumption. The outdoor light fixtures should not consume too much energy, so the LED fittings are a logical and most welcomed solution for both domestic and more commercial use.

The curved head of these lamps gives the impression the light is being shed only downwards, but the whole area around these fittings is being lit up. The new LED garden lights use 32 cool white LEDs with a 4000K, in total a 3W LEd lamp. The material they are made of is diecast aluminium – solid, robust, and weatherproof!

Before you buy them, take a look at this picture article introducing the new curved LED garden lights, or check out the smaller curved LED light in silver grey and the Longer LED garden light in silver grey. On our website they can be easily found via,

• Longer LED curved garden lights in silver grey or in dark grey;
• Curved LED ground / wall shorter lights in silver grey or dark grey.

1. The POWERLED – can be supplied with current more than 100mA with typical values of 350mA, 700mA, 1A e 1,5A.
   Referring to white, blue and green LEDS with a maximum forward voltage of 4V, the above current values correspond approximately to 1W, 3W, 4W, 6W power. These type of LEDs must be controlled precisely in current, therefore must be connected in series.
2. The SIGNAL LED (“MINILED”) – whose supply current is about 20-70mA and therefore corresponding power is of 0,1-0,3 watt.
   Also coming in white, blue, green signal, these leds have a typical forward voltage of 4V (only 2V for red and yellow leds). The strip and LED modules with signal leds are designed for constant voltage supplying, 12V-24V typically and for parallel connection.

Power supply and dimmers for LED modules

Basing on above considerations there have been two power supplies families that have been developed:

1. The power supplies for POWERLED for constant current driving (CDT “Current Drive Technology) and serial module connection. The typical driving currents are 350mA, 500mA, 700mA, 1A with an output voltage depending on number of modules and power supply chosen with a maximum of 48V.
2. The power supplies for Signal LED “ MINILED” for constant voltage driving (or VDT ”Voltage drive Technology). The typical voltage values are 12V and 24V and the needed output power of drivers depends on number of modules.

Within the range of of POWERLED and MINILED power supplies there are specific “dimmable LED” types. The dimming can be of 0-10V signal type or potentiometer and “push” by push button. Besides, both for standard and dimmable types, multipurpose models are provided with constant current and voltage output selectable by means of jumper connection or dip-switch.

To control the RGB (red-green-blue) modules, suitable 3 channels power supplies and regulators are designed. The control signal may be “push” by button, by potentiometer or remote control and with special protocol like DMX. Also here for RGB POWERLED is provided current driving and for MINILED voltage driving.

Standard references for LEDs

• Safety reference standard: the EN61347 and related annexes.
• Electromagnetic Compatibility requirements the reference is for Radio interferences the EN55015 standard,
• Harmonics: the EN61000-3-2,
• Immunity: the EN61547.

General warnings related to LEDs

• The LED power supplies must be installed in suitable situations according to max ambient operating temperature ta indicated on catalog.
• The number of LED modules connected to a driver must not exceed provided power and voltage limits.

Source: this information is based on the LED specs and explanations from Relco Group (one of our suppliers).

A specific category of bathroom lights are the Bathroom Mirror Lights, some of which come with an incorporated bathroom cabinet for the hygiene items and the pills you need to take regularly. On our website we have a wide range of bathroom mirror lights and some of most stylish are manufactured by Astro Lighting. Below we are listing 3 of the most excellent bathroom mirror lights from Astro Lighting, available on our website.

Imola 0406 Bathroom Mirror Light from Astro

The Astro Lighting Imola bathroom light is a a switched wall mounted fitting coming with the mirror in the middle and two fluorescent strip lights on the side. Excellent bathroom mirror light from Astro.

The Livorno 0360 Cabinet Mirror Bathroom Light

The Astro Lighting Livorno fitting is a bathroom cabinet with a mirror cover and two strip lights on the side. Stylish bathroom cabinet with two energy saving strips on the sides, ideal for a modern bathroom.

Astro Galaxy Square 0440 Illuminated Mirror Light

The AX0440 Galaxy Square Mirror for bathroom use is an illuminated mirror with a pull cord switch – excellent Astro Lighting bathroom mirror light. IP44 rated fitting for bathroom use, excellent fitting.

Read more about these excellent fittings from Astro via:

• The Livorno cabinet wall light (an excellent choice);
• Livorno: high quality bathroom mirror lights via Sparks;
• The Livorno 0360 Mirror Cabinet for bathroom (NewLights);
• The switched 0440 Galaxy Square Bathroom Mirror Light (NewLights);

A few weeks ago we were a bit disappointed when – in spite of the lovely weather outside with the sun shining and the cool breeze – the online orders went down drastically and people preferred the park to the Sparks and Lights showroom. We can’t really blame the weather or take the weather as our helper, but you can say that when it rains, it is good for business!

Rainy days are profitable!

Don’t take this the wrong way, we LOVE the sun, we love the nice weather, and we are looking forward to the summer. But based on some recent development of events – both in our company and in some other companies we know – it appears that rainy days are profitable for business! Here are some observations on this topic:

• when it rains, there are more online orders; when the sun is out, people “forget about online” and enjoy the sunlight.
• n a rainy day we have more people coming into the showroom in Archway – at least to escape the rain and to warm up a little. Here they get the advice they need from our consultants over the counter.
• when the sun is out, we “hate it being indoors” – it is so much better to be outside, enjoy the nature… at least having lunch out in the back yard or in the park Though the online orders may decrease during this time, we are still open as usual and our online store is working normally

In conclusion – if there is any conclusion to this – sometimes we need to look at the bright side of life, even when it rains! It is raining – enjoy doing something indoors! The sun is out – take a walk in the park and enjoy the nature!

As a FUN FACT: Follow us on Pinterest, especially the following boards with nice pictures pinned from our website and our friends like, Stylish light fittings at Sparks, Switches and Sockets, Electrical Safety and Security, Cool from our Friends, For the home, and Energy Saving Devices.

Picture source: rainy days in London (via, the guardian).

We have recently added several round or square bulkheads in a stylish silver finish on our website – in the “open version” and in the “impact guard protection grill” version. The IP65 rating insures these bulkheads are waterproof – when used with the waterproof glad supplied and a polycarbonate opal diffuser. They can be placed even in areas where the rain is falling or water is splashing, or where there is a lot of dust and particles.

New Energy Saving Bulkheads for Outdoors

• Silver finish bulkheads for wall or ceiling mounting;
• Lamp used: 1 x E27 max. 20W compact fluorescent lamp;
• IP rating: IP65 rated bulkheads, waterproof fittings;
• Dimensions: see each model, depending if round / square;
• Materials: diecast aluminium construction;
• Diffuser: polycarbonate opal diffuser, with stainless steel allen key screws;
• Energy saving fitting, using CFL lamps; non-dimmable;
• Soon to be introduced via, New Lights at Sparks and Lights;
• Models available:
  # Round Bulkhead with impact guard / without impact guard;
  # Square Bulkhead without impact guard / with impact guard;

In case the mains power fails, this fire alarms also has a back-up rechargeable battery. Also, the Aico Ei107RF has a built-in high intensity Xenon strobe with lens that provide wide-angle light output (specially designed lamps).

The vibration pad – coming in the Aico Ei107RF version – has a simple plug-in connector and is designed for placing under a pillow to wake up the people who fail to respond to the visual strobe. The RF signaling is robust and reliable – using the highest coding technology available, RadioLINK.

Aico Fire Alarm for Deaf / Hard of hearing – Features

• The alarm comes with an integral high intensity strobe;
• The plug-in vibration pad is optional (included in Ei107RF);
• Wireless interconnection to other RadioLINK units;
• Visual RF transmission and power indicators
• Using the unique House-Coding, easy to install and program;
• Mains voltage alarm with a rechargeable battery back-up;
• Low battery power warning;
• Auxiliary sockets for connection of additional devices;
• Warranty: 5 year guarantee;
• Available models:
  # the Aico Ei171RF hard of hearing strobe fire alarm;
  # the Aico Ei170RF hard of hearing strobe fire alarm with vibration pad.

Read more about this new range of Aico Hard of Hearing / Deaf fire alarms via the, Domestic Fire Alarms section on our website.