Category Archives: Electrical Installation

Should I Call An Electrician To Wire My Hot Tub?

Electrical Grounding, Electrical Installation, Electrical Maintenance, Electricians

Should I Call An Electrician To Wire My Hot Tub

Should I Call An Electrician To Wire My Hot Tub?

Many homeowners choose to take on the wiring themselves. They figure it will save them money and time. But hot tub installation is not really such a simple task, and it can involve all kinds of unforeseen details. In addition, you may even need to upgrade your electrical service to accommodate the increased power load.

Upgrading Your Electrical Service

When you buy a hot tub or install one, it requires a certain amount of power. Depending on how old your home is, it may not have the extra circuit breakers needed to accommodate this increased power load. That is why upgrading your electrical service is so important. This allows your new appliance to use the energy it needs safely and efficiently without tripping your breaker or burning out your appliances. If you are putting a new appliance in that will consume more power than your panel can handle, such as a hot tub or air conditioning, the entire service will need to be upgraded to accommodate this. This is especially true if the house was built more than 10 years ago and doesn’t have the required breaker space to accommodate your newest technology. This will also allow you to lower your insurance premiums and add value to your property.

The Potential Hazards

It’s best to leave the installation of a hot tub to a professional electrician. They are trained and experienced in wiring heavy-duty electronics like spas, and they know what to look for during the installation process to ensure your safety. In addition, they will ensure that your electrical system is in compliance with code requirements. For example, they will install a GFCI outlet to prevent any electrical shorts that could be harmful to anyone using your hot tub. Aside from that, they will also ground your hot tub’s wires to the earth in case of an emergency. If you don’t do this, then you risk the possibility of your hot tub tripping the breaker and causing a fire. Another common mistake is failing to bond the metal parts that carry current together and secure them to the panel. This can lead to electrocution if they’re not properly bonded, especially when touched by someone in the hot tub.

Call In The Professionals

A hot tub is a great way to relax and unwind after a long day. It is also a wonderful addition to your home and can be used year-round. But before you can enjoy the benefits of a hot tub, it must be wired correctly. The wires should run through a conduit, which can be buried under or above ground. And before you start digging, it’s important to call your city building department to learn the appropriate depth and location for your conduit. DIY wiring mistakes in this area can often pose a serious risk, exposing you to shock and electrocution if the improper wiring is not fixed. Therefore, as with any electrical wiring project, you should always hire a licensed electrician to help do it for you. 

How Often Should You Have Your Home Electrical Checked?

Electrical Fire, Electrical Grounding, Electrical Installation, Electrical Maintenance, Electricians, Residential Electrical Problems

How Often Should You Have Your Home Electrical Checked?
A common question for homeowners is “How often should I have my home electrical checked?” The answer depends on a number of factors. The main thing to remember is that a regular inspection is a preventative measure that will keep you safe from electrical hazards.

Older Houses
When you live in an older house, you may find that the electrical systems that were installed are not designed to support all the appliances and electronics that we use in our daily lives. This means that you may experience a short circuit, tripping of the breakers and fuses or overloaded circuits. If you are experiencing these issues, then it is important to have your home electrical checked and fixed as soon as possible by a professional electrician.Older houses typically have older wiring systems that do not have ground wires, which is a safety concern. This kind of wiring can interfere with your ability to get homeowners insurance or a mortgage, and you could risk an electrical fire in the house. Another common problem with older homes is jury-rigged electrical work that was done by previous owners. This is a big reason why many home inspectors recommend having your home inspected by a licensed electrician.

Remodeling/Renovation
If you’re planning on doing a major remodeling or renovation project, it might be a good idea to get your electrician’s opinion on the best ways to approach your power needs in the most efficient way possible. You might also want to take a closer look at your electric meter. While you’re at it, check out your lights, receptacles and appliances to see how much electricity they use. If you’re able to trace each device back to its corresponding circuit, you’ll be able to determine which one is the most efficient.

Severe Weather
Often, the best way to prepare for severe weather is to have your home’s electrical system checked. A professional electrician can help you determine if any electrical components need to be replaced or repaired. For example, if your house’s wiring has been damaged by a power surge, you may need to replace it. The electrician can also help you determine how to safely use appliances and light fixtures that run on electricity without risking injury. And while it’s good to be prepared for severe weather, the most important step you can take is to keep your family safe. When severe weather strikes, you don’t have much time to make important decisions. Taking the necessary steps now to protect you and your family could mean the difference between life and death.

Call In The Professionals
When it comes to your electrical system, the first thing that a professional will be looking for is whether the circuits are adequate for your needs. These circuits are what dispense electricity from your electric provider to individual devices, such as appliances and lighting fixtures. A reputable electrical contractor will be able to check to see if there are proper circuits in your home, as well as ensure that each room has the necessary amounts of general lighting and appliance circuits to meet your electrical demands. A thorough electrical inspection will help ensure that you don’t end up with costly repairs down the road.

How Can I Decrease My Electric Bill?

Articles, Business Lighting, Commercial Lighting, Electrical Fire, Electrical Installation, Electrical Maintenance, Electricians, Kitchen Electrical, Residential Electrical Problems

How Can I Decrease My Electric Bill?

Electricity is a huge cost for most homeowners, but fortunately there are plenty of ways to save energy for year-round savings.

Turn Off Electronics And Appliances
One of the simplest ways to decrease your electric bill is to unplug electronics and appliances when you aren’t using them. You’ll save a few dollars per month, but it also helps to lower your risk of an electrical fire. Among the most common energy vampires are your microwave, DVD player, VCR, cable box, or computer. They all suck electricity even when you’re not using them, and they contribute to phantom power or standby power bills that can add up to 23% of your energy costs! To combat this, you can buy an electricity monitor that plugs in each device and records their wattage usage. This can help you identify the energy vampires and save money on your electricity bill.

Turn Off The Water
Taking the time to turn off the water when you are not using it can save you a lot of money on your bill. It also can help prevent water damage in case of a plumbing emergency. Ideally, every person living in your home should know where to find the main water shut-off valve in their property. It should be a lever-type valve with a wheel control or lever handle.

Insulate Your Home
Insulation helps prevent heat from escaping your house by acting as a barrier that blocks the movement of air. Whether you are building a new home or renovating an existing home, properly insulating your walls, attic, crawl space, rim joists, and electrical outlets will dramatically reduce your heating and cooling costs, as well as increase your comfort.

Run Your Appliances During Off-Peak Hours
If you have a time-of-use electricity plan, you can lower your electric bill by running appliances during off-peak hours. These times are cheapest because they’re less busy for the energy provider. In summer, peak demand hours are typically from 1pm to 7pm on weekdays and 4pm to 9pm in some areas during the day, because people are using air conditioning. Off-peak periods are usually nighttime hours, which tend to be quieter and cheaper. You can save money on your utility bill by putting your major appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and dryers on delayed start during these times.

Install A Smart Thermostat
A smart thermostat is a great way to decrease your energy bill because it automatically learns how your home feels and adjusts to keep the temperature perfect for you. They also help you track your energy usage so you can see how much you’re saving. The savings may vary depending on the climate you live in and your energy bill, but a smart thermostat should save you about 8 percent on average. It’s a small amount, but it could mean a big difference in your monthly budget.

What Do I need To Do to Wire My house To Work From Home?

Computer Network Installation, Electrical Installation

What Do I Need to Wire My House to Work From Home?

Working from home became the norm for many people due to the pandemic. While some employees are moving back into offices, many are staying at home and fully adopting the remote work setup.

If you’ve been given the opportunity to continue your remote work setup, you may be wondering if your home is properly configured for it. Should I wire my home to work from home? That’s a valid question to ask.

A bad work from home setup can cause you to lag behind others in terms of productivity. Optimizing your remote work office would be ideal.

Included in this article are tips for optimizing your work from home setup. Stay tuned so you can learn more about implementing those important upgrades.

Install New Cables

When discussing potential upgrades that can turn a home office into a better workplace, you may start thinking about getting a new monitor, new peripherals and perhaps even a new desk. What we often gloss over is the need to improve connectivity.

If you’re looking for a way to significantly boost your home’s connectivity, investing in new cables makes a lot of sense. New cables can vastly improve the flow of information in and out of your home. You can also future-proof your home by installing those new cables.

So, which cables should you look to install?

We recommend looking for CAT-5e and RG6 cables. Those are the cables best suited to meet the data demands of today and tomorrow.

You may need some additional jacks to support your new cables. Installing a distribution box for your new connections is also a good idea.

Hire a residential electrical contractor to handle the installation and arrangement of your new cables. Leave this job up to them to ensure that it is done correctly.

Improve Your Home Wi-Fi

There’s nothing worse than having your internet connection drop out in the middle of a meeting. Having something like that happen is embarrassing. On top of that, the other people in the meeting may also have to wait for you to get back and that means you’re essentially wasting their time.

Losing your internet connection can also lead to missed deadlines and an overall drop in your working efficiency.

You cannot afford to have poor Wi-Fi if you are working from home. Ideally, the internet speed for your home office should be around 50 Mbps.

If your internet is well below that level, consider using Ethernet cables to remedy that issue. In situations where Ethernet cables may not suffice, you can set up mesh Wi-Fi networks instead. Those mesh Wi-Fi networks make it possible for you to get a strong connection in just about every corner of your home.

Switching to a new internet provider may also be necessary in some scenarios.

Utilize Multi-Port Hubs

Wires can end up all over the place if you’re working from home. To minimize the amount of clutter at your workstation, you should consider getting a multi-port hub.

A multi-port hub allows you to organize the cables and wires you’re using while working. It also makes connecting or disconnecting different peripherals way more convenient.

Don’t discount how much a multi-port hub can improve your home office setup. Dollar for dollar, it could end up being one of the best purchases you make.

Remote working can be a great option, but you need to prepare your home for that. By implementing the upgrades we detailed above, you can turn your home office into a more conducive space for productivity.

Will Homeowners Insurance Cover an Electrical Panel Fire?

Electrical Installation, Electricians

The electrical panel, also referred to as a “breaker box, ” controls the electricity in your entire home. It comes with a range of controls that allow electricians to manipulate how electricity flows and ensure there’s balance in electricity flow throughout your home. It also allows you to turn off electricity in various parts of your home whenever you need to.

Your electrical panel may seem harmless, but it is one of the leading causes of fires in homes. In most cases, you may never know until it’s too late. In this article, we will discuss how you can care for your breaker box, prevent fires and protect yourself from financial ruin in case it happens.

Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Electrical Panel Fire?

Fortunately, yes. Home insurance covers fires caused by electrical panels. However, different insurance companies have different regulations that determine coverage eligibility. The type of panel, age and residential code in your area can affect your coverage eligibility. For instance, if your panel caused fire due to wear and tear, poor maintenance or age, your insurance company may not compensate you for the damages. You will only be compensated if the fire was purely accidental.

How Often Should You Have Your Electrical Panel Checked?

Your insurance company expects you to conduct regular panel maintenance to reduce the chances of filing a home insurance claim. How often you get your electrical system inspected depends on the age of the house, the number of appliances running and the number of people living in that home. Most electricians recommend having your panel checked at least every 3 to 5 years. If your panel is older than 30 years, you might need to get an electrical contractor to upgrade it to the latest safety standards.

What Are the Signs You Need to Upgrade or Replace Your Electric Panel?

You don’t have to wait until something bad happens to change your electrical panel. During an inspection, your electrician may recommend a breaker panel upgrade or individual circuit breaker replacement. For instance, if one of your circuit breakers trips even when it’s not overloaded, it might be faulty and may need to be replaced.

However, if you have more circuit breakers tripping for no apparent reason, you may need to change the entire box as this could mean either the panel is worn out or it can’t handle the current electricity needs in your home. Another sign is if lights are flickering or dimming, especially when you connect to another appliance. You also want to pay attention to burning smells around the panel. Check if the wires are warm to the touch, if there is fire residue in some parts of the panel or a plastic burning smell.

Keep Your Electric Panel in Great Condition With Walsh Electric

Now that we’ve established that your home insurance can only compensate you for a panel fire if it is purely accidental, why not take the initiative to have it inspected, replaced or upgraded? Walsh Electric can help you with any electrical service you need to keep your panel from causing fires. Call us at (703)-451-6622, and we will be happy to help.