Author: wpadmin

While we can’t control the weather we can prepare ourselves for what it causes.

We’re all familiar with how insane Texas storms can be. Power outages are often the result of such harsh weather as high winds and lightning strikes. If you’re like me the first thing that comes to mind when we lose power is how long will my power be off? Utility crews are often on standby and work as fast as they can, but sometimes there can be delays.

We need our power for more than just lighting, cooking, and refrigerating our food. So to help you decide if a home generator is a good idea for you we put together a list of reasons how they can help when we’re in the dark.

1. Food can spoil quickly when we lose power. The USDA recommends discarding perishable foods after just 4 hours of your refrigerator losing power.  Keeping the refrigerator running can save you the expense of restocking once the power is back.
2. Does your house have well water? If you have a municipal water source no need to worry, but a well that provides water to your property will need the power to run. You will be able to continue using the water in your home for a short amount of time. Once the remaining water from your good storage tank is depleted you will not have access to fresh water until the power is restored.
3. Does a loved one depend on a medical device? If you or a family member is dependent on a medical device, such as a heart monitor, an oxygen tank, or a rechargeable power chair, planning is vital. When life is on the line, it’s especially important to be prepared.
4. Are you still working from home? Over the past year, many of us began working from home. A power outage can result in a complete work shut down. If you are working from home you’ll need those PCs, WiFi, printers, and internet running. Let’s not forget how important it is to have a fully charged phone.

Today more than ever it is essential to keep the lights on, along with so many other electrically powered devices in our homes. A home generator is a good idea for any home. Being prepared when a storm knocks the power out can in some cases be a lifesaver. Contact us for more details.

Electricity has become another basic necessity of life because most of the devices that make life easier are powered by electricity. Unfortunately, many people struggle to meet up with their monthly energy bills and the climbing cost of energy isn’t helping Americans. According to STAISTA “Annual year-on-year growth in residential electricity prices in the United States from 2000 to 2020, with a forecast until 2022.” It is projected that the residential electricity price in the United States will increase by 1.3 percent between 2021 and 2022.

Hence, a lot of people are looking for ways to reduce their energy bills. Here are some simple tips, given by some Fort Worth electricians.

1. Ensure all your electrical appliances are in topmost condition

When any electrical appliance is not in perfect condition, it will consume more power to give less output. This is easily noticeable in an air conditioner and HVAC system. When an air conditioner is no longer performing optimally, you’ll observe that the area it is being used in will no longer as cool as it used to be.

During this period, it will consume more energy than it usually does. In other words, when some appliances are no longer in good condition, they will consume more power to give less output. This is why it is necessary to routinely check your electrical appliances as often as you should. And when any of them is faulty, let a professional Electrical Panel Upgrades in Dallas . We cover the Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas for all of your electrical needs.

2. Always turn off appliances that are not in use

Make it a habit to leave only the units in use on. Shut down the others. You should always check around your house or apartment for idle appliances that are on. Do this several times a day. Turn off any appliance that is not in use.

3. Use an energy-efficient lighting system

There are bulbs that conserve energy. You may want to change your lighting to these energy saver bulbs. You could consult an electrician to guide you on this.

4. Leverage sunlight

When the sun is shining brightly during the day, you could turn off all your bulbs and open your curtains for natural illumination. With this idea, you won’t need to use your lights for 24 hours anymore. Although this method will not save a large amount of power, the little difference will add up and save you a large amount of money over the years.

5. Take shorter hot showers

Nothing consumes power like an appliance that generates heat. So, your hot shower isn’t cheap. You can decide to take hot showers only when it is necessary. In the alternative, you can cut the duration of your hot showers. Here is why. If two people in your household can cut their hot shower time by only 2 minutes each, it will save about $60 in a whole year. Does it make sense now?

6. Unplug idle appliances

According to some licensed electricians in Fort Worth, plugged electronics consume power even when they are not being used. It is called standby power. Hence, don’t just switch off electronics. Also, turn off the outlets/sockets and unplug them until when you want to use them.

A good example is your computer. Once people shut down their system, they do not unplug. In fact, some people don’t even shut down. They just hibernate their PCs. All these will continue to consume energy. Once you’re through with your computer, shut it down and unplug it.

7. Ditch your desktop for a laptop

Once a laptop is fully charged, you can unplug it and still continue to use it, but a desktop computer consumes power all through its usage. Even when a laptop is being charged, it does not consume as much power as a desktop computer. Therefore, it makes economic sense to replace your desktop with a laptop. And if you have both, great! Use your laptop more.

8. Replace old/archaic appliances

There’s one feature common with modern electrical appliances. It is low energy consumption. Brands continuously produce units that will consume less power and give out more output. This is applicable to TV sets, refrigerators, air conditioners, and more.

Newer models usually conserve power more than older models. So, you should be planning to change any appliance that is older than 5 years in your home.

9. Alternate the use of your air conditioners with fans

For this method to work, you need to insulate your home to prevent cool air from escaping. We all know that fans consume much less energy than air conditioners. In fact, a single unit AC is likely to consume more power than all the fans in your home.

So, instead of running your air conditioner for six straight hours, it might be a good idea to run it for only the first two hours. After that, you can switch it off and switch on your fan for the next two hours. You can switch the AC back on after another two hours.

10. Use the oven only when it is necessary

By virtue of our experience, we can tell you that each time you cook or bake in your oven, the temperature in your apartment will increase by 10%. And when the temperature increases, your cooling unit will go into overdrive. It will have to work more intensely to keep the room temperature down to its original level.

In doing this, your cooling unit will consume more power. Although the increase in energy consumption may be infinitesimal, it can accumulate quickly into a tangible amount in the monthly energy bills. So, we will advise you to reduce your usage of the oven. Instead of using it indoors, you may grill or bake in your backyard. You can cut down your oven usage and see how your monthly energy bill drop.

11. Wash with cooler water for your laundry

In case you don’t know, the washing machine uses 80% of the energy it consumes to heat water. So, it is logical that if you wash with cooler water, the energy consumed by your washing machine will drop tremendously, and your monthly energy bill will follow.

Conclusively, you can take the time to apply all the 11 tips given above and see how much you’ll cut off from your monthly utility bill. Try the tips now and thank us later.

lot of people have heard about an electrical short circuit, but only very few people understand the nitty-gritty of the issue. Chances are you’ve probably heard the term countless times, but can you explain it in simple terms? Scratching your head? We expected that.

No worries. It’s okay if you don’t know much about it. After all, you’re not an electrician. However, you may want to learn a few things about it for the sake of safety. So, what is a short circuit? This is a situation in which electricity strays away from its original pathway, shortening the circuit.

When your home is wired, a pathway is provided for electric current. It flows from the source into all the wires, from which it is tapped into outlets. The flow ends in the ground. Naturally, when an electric current sees any other pathway that is shorter and has less resistance, it strays into the path fast and at a higher volume.

Of course, a short circuit is dangerous. It can destroy the electrical appliances plugged into your outlets, and cause an electrical fire or an explosion. That’s why you must know a little about it so that you can avoid it. Thankfully, many modern appliances are resistant to short circuits. They are designed to shut down immediately they sense a short circuit.

Types of Electrical Short Circuit

Normal Short Circuit

This occurs when a wire that is carrying electrical current comes in contact with a live wire or another current-carrying wire. When that happens, the resistance of the circuit drops tremendously, and the volume of current spikes dramatically.

With little or no resistance, the current gains the freedom to pass through unexpected and shorter pathways.  And what happens? You may see sparks, flames, or even fire.

Ground Fault

This type of short circuit occurs when a current-carrying wire touches the grounded part of the circuit. The grounded part could be bare copper wire, a grounded part of an appliance, or a grounded metal box. When this happens, the resistance drops to zero.

However, this may not lead to flame or fire, but it is equally dangerous. Instead of sparks and fire, ground fault throws electric shocks around. If you’re standing barefoot on the floor, a ground fault could throw a fair share of electric shocks right at you.

We can tell that now that you have learned about the dangers of an electrical short circuit, you probably want to know the likely causes. You can find the causes of short circuits below.

Causes of a short circuit

Liquid Issue

In case you don’t know, water conducts electricity. So, if water finds its way into any electrical system, it could bridge the system and lead to a short circuit. This is the reason you should never handle electrical works with wet hands.

Damaged wires

To prevent short circuits, electrical wires are covered in rubber insulation. So, if two hot wires accidentally touch each other, their insulation will prevent a spark. Nails or punctures can also cause wire coating to deteriorate.

Sometimes, this insulation can chip off due to the age of the wire, and it can be chewed off by common pests like squirrels, mice, or rats. When the naked part of a hot current-carrying wire touches another naked part of a live wire, you already know the likely results.

Faulty or loose connections

When certain connections are loose, faulty, or not properly installed, a live wire may find a way to “kiss” a neutral wire. This is one of the reasons you should allow only a professional electrician to handle your electrical works. It is always smarter, safer, better, and cheaper to hire one of the best electricians Dallas offers for electrical problems. A little mistake could cause collateral damage.

Power surge

There could be a sudden power surge from the grid or an abnormal spike in the current that flows in your home’s electrical system. Imagine if this happens when no one is at home. The enormity of damage is better imagined.

Telling you about the causes of short circuits is only half of the gist. Of course, how to avoid the catastrophe is the second and more important half of the story.

Lightning strikes

In rare cases, lightning can cause a short circuit. When lightning strikes, a huge amount of current is released into the atmosphere, and it can lead to a sudden power surge.

How to prevent an electrical short circuit

You don’t have to shake with fear. We can assure you that there are several ways to keep short circuits at bay. In fact, you should encounter these issues if your home is properly wired. Electricians can install certain devices to prevent short circuits. On that note, here are some ways to prevent a short circuit in your home.”

Install units that prevent short circuits

There are several types of devices that push electrical circuits back into homes. You can see how each of them works below.

Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI): This unit breaks the circuit when an electrical arc is detected.

Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI): This device shuts off the electrical power supply if it detects a ground fault or an upsurge in the current flowing within the system.

Circuit Breaker: As its name implies, this unit breaks the circuit when an abnormal current is detected in the system. Sometimes, it breaks the flow of current when there are other problems in the circuit.

Fuse: This is a very small appliance with a very fragile metal strip. When the current increases abnormally, the metal strip will melt off, disconnecting the flow.

Get your electrical connections inspected

You may also want to get your home’s electrical connections inspected by a professional electrician. We cover the Dallas, Fort Worth, and surrounding areas for all of your electrical needs.

Some connections may be faulty or loose, and some of your electrical wires may be damaged. We suggest that you do it at least once a year.

During the inspection, damaged components are repaired or replaced, while potential faults are averted.

Switch off unused appliances when it’s raining

When it’s raining, the chances of striking lightning increase. So, it is better to switch off and unplug electrical appliances that are not in use. In case a short circuit occurs, its damages will be minimal.

Key Takeaways

In conclusion, the best way to prevent a short circuit is to get licensed electricians in Austin to handle your electrical works, get your system inspected, and install devices that can prevent a short circuit. We cover Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and surrounding areas for all of your electrical needs.