66% of you own one, but are you using your smartphone to its full potential? If you are an electrician you will know you can’t go anywhere without your toolkit. Well now you have a version that fits in your pocket. We have tracked down the best apps available for your smartphone that will make the life of any electrician easier.
1. Electrodroid- Available on Android
The holy grail of Electrical Apps, Electrodroid has it all. From Ohm’s law, Voltage Drop, Decibels, and Reactance/Resonance calculators, to a full list of resources including resistivity table, capacitor marking codes, ampacity table and thermocouples colour codes. This takes the fuss out of all the complicated calculations you need to do on a daily basis.
2. Cable Calc + by Megger- Available on iOS and Android
Every electrician knows cable calculations are part of their daily job, and Megger have the app to make this easier for you. With a wide selection of cables on their database it also includes a volt drop calculator tool and is suitable for installations up to 25KW 100
3. iCertifi Available on iOS
This app describes itself as “a revolution in electrical certification”, and as bombastic as that sounds it might be justified. iCertifi produces high quality BS 7671 electrical certificates, previously only possible with expensive desktop software. As well as taking the hassle out of repetitive form filling by pre populating key information, the certificates can be personalised with brand colours and logos. Plus, the beautiful, sleek design will appeal to any professional craftsman.
4. SumUp – Available on iOS and Android
Ideal for freelance electricians, this nifty little app allows you to turn your smart phone into a card terminal and accept card payments from your customers. All you need to get going is a Sumup account and card terminal, to allow you to take payments quickly and easily, with an affordable 1.95% fee per transaction. What’s more, it’s completely secure, accepts all major debit and credit cards and will send a receipt by text message or email, so the customer has access to important information straight away.
5. Energy Cost Calculator – Available on iOS and Android
A quick and easy way to calculate the operating cost & energy usage of electric equipment or machinery by day, week, month or year. As well as totting up your own costs, it can be used to advise clients on how much their new equipment is going to cost them long term. Plus the latest addition to the app calculates your yearly carbon emissions, hopefully leading to more responsible energy consumption!
So whether you are calculating resistance, taking a payment, or creating a certificate, there is an app out there to do the job for you. While there will always be jobs that only a well-trained Electrician and his experience can achieve, a few hints along the way to make the job a bit easier can only be a good thing!