Service Panel Upgrades Archives • Safe and Sound Electric

AFCI Breakers Prevent Fires, Increase Home Safety

July 17, 2017

Are arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) worth the cost? Short answer: Absolutely. When Wade Anderson awoke one day to find no electricity in his Sherwood, Oregon, bedroom, he traced it to a burned-out open wire — a fire hazard. He called an electrician to add a new circuit and install arc fault circuit interrupters, also known as AFCI, to his breakers. “Had I installed AFCIs in that bedroom earlier, the bad circuit would have been revealed sooner, avoiding a close call on a fire,” the Angie’s List member says. “Arc faults are more likely as wiring ages, so AFCIs are a wise upgrade for older homes.” Experts say AFCI breakers can prevent fire hazards by cutting off power in the breaker box as soon as they detect the “electric signature” — sharp spikes and drops in voltage — that indicate a fault. Arc faults occur when electricity discharges at unintended points, such as corroded or loose wires, creating dangerous sparks or excessive heat. […]

7 Electrical Safety Tips Homeowners Should Know

January 25, 2017

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Learn how to identify the electrical safety hazards you can’t see before problems arise. I often wonder what they would have thought of microwaves, entertainment centers, dishwashers and the armies of other gadgets we take for granted on a daily basis. But your home’s electrical system may have a few things going on that might shock you too. Enlighten yourself with these tips that can help you be a more aware homeowner and may alert you to dangerous electrical problems that need to be fixed by Safe and Sound Electric. 1. Throw your home a birthday party For electrical safety reasons, it’s good to know how old your home is and to celebrate its birthday with an electrical safety inspection. Older homes weren’t built to handle the electrical load our contemporary lives carry. Knowing whether your home’s electrical system has been updated to safely handle all the electrical current your family uses is imperative. 2. Know your electric panel Even as […]

4 Outdated and Unsafe Electrical Panels That Could be Hiding in Your Home

January 22, 2017

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If you own an older home (built before 1990), you might have one of these outdated main electric panels/boxes hiding in your home. And these outdated panels don’t just make you uncool like a pair of outdated bell-bottoms might. They can also be extremely unsafe. You see, electrical panels contain safety devices (either fuses or circuit breakers) that trip and shut off the power when too much electricity flows through them. This helps prevent fires caused by overheating wires. Yet many Sarasota-area homes have old, outdated panels that might not work as intended, leaving them vulnerable to a house fire. Here are 4 types of unsafe panels you should consider replacing if you have them… Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Panels For a long time (1950s-1980s) Federal Pacific Electric was one of the most popular manufacturers of electrical panels in the United States. And they were installed in millions of homes. But these panels are extremely unsafe. Why they’re unsafe: FPE […]

Flickering Lights repaired by Safe and Sound Electric

Six Tips for Diagnosing Dimming or Flickering Lights at Buildings

January 10, 2017

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In diagnosing the cause of flickering or dimming lights at a building the following diagnostic questions can help narrow down the cause of the trouble. Is the dimming light problem happening in just your building or do neighbors see the same problem at exactly the same time? If your neighbors are seeing flickering or dimming lights too, chances are the problem is in the electrical supply network or possibly at local electrical wiring in your neighborhood or its power transformer. If your neighborhood often loses electrical power contact Safe and Sound Electric to install a backup power generator. Is the dimming problem showing up in the whole building or just parts of it? If all lights in the house dim then the problem is probably in the electrical panel or at the service entry cabling to your building. The electrician will look for a problem in the electrical panel, at the main breaker, at the service entry wiring connections or at […]

Tesla Powerwall 2 Installed by Safe and Sound Electric (Tesla Motors © 2017)

7 Ideas to reduce energy consumption

January 9, 2017

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Perform an energy audit An energy audit is an inspection of your home for ways to shrink your utility bills, normally by eliminating unnecessary usage. For instance, if you see a space above your outside doors, you can assume that, in the winter, cold air from outside is entering, and hot air is escaping. A simple energy audit you could perform yourself includes looking for air leaks (open space around doors or windows), checking insulation levels, tallying light bulb wattages and checking and changing filters in your heating and cooling units. You can also hire a professional energy auditor, or if you are a renter, ask your apartment manager (or landlord) to send a maintenance team member to perform an audit. Also, consider calling your utility company, which often employs an energy auditor who will come to your home for free. Install a digital thermostat Heating your home is expensive, so there’s no reason to pay for your heat when […]