Lon’s Blog | Electrician Rochester, NY

Conserve Energy this Winter with These Simple Tips

Energy conservation is always on your mind when you are looking to save money on your electric bill, but cutting back during the wintertime can be especially important. There are so many easy, free ways to conserve energy and to see a notable difference in your electricity bill, but there are specific things you can do during the wintertime that can help you cut back even more. Some of these efforts are more expensive than others and some require more time or effort, but they are all equally effective in lowering your electric bill and conserving energy around the home.

Replace your furnace filters—Dirty furnace filters are infamous for using tons of energy, and that energy consumption can quickly pile up the expense on your electricity bill. When it comes to furnace filters, the small things really do make a big difference. To save energy, make sure your filters are in good shape or replace them right away, especially as the temperatures begin to drop.

Shorten your showers—This won’t be hard to do during the winter. Even with hot water, it can be unpleasant to have to get wet on a cold winter’s day. It’s much more tempting to stay bundled up and warm when the freezing temps hit! Shortening your showers by even a few minutes each wash can reduce your water heating costs dramatically. This is because 2/3 of your heating costs come from your shower usage.

Take advantage of natural sunlight—Although you are limited in how you can heat your home during the colder months, keep in mind that you can take advantage of natural sunlight to warm your rooms by opening all of your drapes and allowing the sunlight to filter in.

Upgrade to Energy Star heaters or furnaces—If you can spend a little extra cash, consider upgrading to Energy Star appliances and you’ll see a big difference in your wintertime electric bills.

Top Tips for Reducing Your Energy Consumption

Everyone is trying to cut back on energy consumption nowadays, and what better time to learn how than as the holidays approach? Not only can you save a few bucks on your electricity bill, but you can also be kinder to the environment while you’re at it. Whether you live in a small apartment or share a large, single family home, every little bit you save makes a difference.

Here are some top tips for reducing your energy consumption:

Make your electronic usage more efficient—One easy way to cut back on energy consumption is to evaluate how you use the electronics in your home and make changes to make their usage as efficient as possible. For example, set your computers to hibernate and whatever you aren’t using, unplug it! Use power strips for entertainment and office consoles and unplug chargers when you’re not charging something.

Pay attention to light switches—Along with using power strips when and where you can for your electronics, don’t forget to pay attention to the lights. Turn them off when you leave the room and turn off anything else you’re not using before you exit. These little efforts make a big difference.

Don’t neglect the temperature—Carefully monitoring your thermostat is another way to use less energy in the home. When you’re using the air conditioner, keep your shades and blinds drawn, especially in rooms that are not being used.

Have a professional electrical inspection—A professional electrician can conduct an electricity audit and general maintenance checkup to evaluate the efficiency of your home’s electricity. They can suggest upgrades, new installations, and can suggest repairs where necessary. This is a great way to see what you can do in your home to use less energy.

Electrical Safety Inspections for the Holiday Season

The holidays are almost here and you know what that means—decorations. Whether you go all out for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or the New Year, even the simplest holiday decorations can cause fires and electrical safety hazards around the home.

We just spent all of October sharing tips and statistics from the NFPA about the hazards of fires and how to prevent them, and although National Fire Prevention Month and Halloween are over, electrical safety is still an issue as the holidays approach.

Here are a few ways you can benefit from having your professional electrician service your home before the holidays:

Prevent fire hazards—Whether you’re already beginning to decorate or you plan on decorating soon, electrical inspection can help ensure that any exposed wires are secure and that they are in good shape. Your electrician can spot worn out or damaged wires and can make sure wires from any lights or decorations are safe as well.

Fix outlet and light fixture issues—During the holidays, it’s likely you’ll be using varied lighting sources for decorating and hosting parties. Bringing in your electrician for electrical inspection can help confirm that your outlets and light fixtures are working and are not damaged in any way.

Ensure safety and assess the home for any upgrade needs—Overall, bringing in your electrician before you decorate for the holidays is a great preventative measure. It can ensure your safety around the home and can alert you to any repairs or dangers that might require your attention. A simple inspection can help point out any areas around the home that need upgrades or immediate repair.

Keep these benefits in mind as the holiday season draws near and keep your home safe with an electrical checkup from your professional electrician!

Prevent Fires This Halloween with These Safety Tips

As the month of October comes to a close, so does National Fire Prevention Month. All month long we’ve been sharing tips and information on how you and your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers can all work together to prevent fires around the home and workplace. Now it’s almost time for Halloween, but fire prevention practices need to be priority long after Halloween and the month of October have come and passed.

Halloween is a busy holiday for families and children, and it’s also filled with potential fire hazards that can impact the entire neighborhood and natural environment if you’re not careful. Many people build haunted houses in their homes, light candles, have parties, and hang decorations that require the use of electrical outlets and electrical wires. According to the NFPA, decorations are the first source of fires in more than 100 home fires reported each year.

Keep the following tips in mind to prevent fires this Halloween:

Swap out candles and torches for flashlights—Whether you’re decorating your patio, walkway, or the inside of your home, keep candlelight and torches to a minimum and instead opt for decorations that can be operated with a flashlight instead of real candles.

Place lit pumpkins away from anything that can burn—It is best to use battery-powered light for jack-o-lanterns when possible, but if you do choose to light your pumpkins with real candles, be sure to keep the pumpkins away from flammable sources and yards. Also, costumes can catch on fire easily, so be careful about the pumpkins’ proximity to trick-or-treaters.

Know which Halloween-related decorative materials are flammable—Speaking of keeping flames away from flammable materials, make sure you know which decorative materials are very sensitive to flames: corn stalks, crepe paper, and dried flowers, just to name a few.

Familiarize yourself with these tips to stay safe and prevent fires this Halloween!

Common Causes of Fires in the Home and How to Prevent Them

Last week was National Fire Prevention Week, and the month of October is officially National Fire Prevention Month, raising awareness to help prevent fires all month long. We’ve been sharing various statistics and tips each week this month to help you and your family learn how to stay safe and how you can help prevent fires. This week we’re going to share some common causes for fires in the home and what you can do to prevent them.

Fire risks lurk in some of the most common areas of the home, and they can arise during some of the most mundane activities. Here are a few examples:

Washing and drying clothes—Did you know that one of the biggest reasons washer or dryer fires start is due to the lack of cleaning?

What you can do: Clean out the dryer lint pocket after every load of laundry you dry. Remove any materials from the floor or surrounding washer or dryer area that could burn or overheat. Also make sure the air vent pipe is not restricted in any way.

Grilling indoors or outdoors—Whether you’re grilling outside or on a small, countertop grill in the kitchen, leaving a grill on and placing it too close to other objects immediately creates a fire hazard.

What you can do: Keep your grill clean, never leave it unattended, and make sure it’s a safe distance from your home, deck railings and furniture, or from tree branches and other foliage.

Cooking in the kitchen—Did you know that cooking fires are the #1 cause of home fires? They are also the #1 cause of home fire injuries.

What you can do: Do not leave the stovetop unattended for any reason! Be alert, check on your food regularly while it’s cooking, and keep oven mitts, dish towels, utensils, and anything else that can catch fire away from the stovetop.

Tips for Preventing Electrical Fires

Since October is National Fire Prevention Month, we thought we’d share some basic tips with you for preventing electrical fires in and around the home. We’ve been sharing staggering statistics from the NFPA with you this month, and as alarming as they are, they can be prevented when homeowners and neighbors take the necessary precautions. Remember, according to the NFPA, “Unlike natural disasters, fires can be prevented.” That is both an empowering and an alarming statement. Use the following tips for preventing electrical fires to do your part and keep potential fires at bay:

Be proactive—There is a reason the NFPA and your electricians harp on this! Being proactive is the first step in preventing fires because a proactive approach is all about planning ahead and preparing for the worst.

Have a plan—Putting a plan into place is the cornerstone of a proactive approach to fires. Have a fire safety plan and a fire safety checklist in your home, and schedule regular appointments with your electrician to make sure everything is in tip-top shape.

Keep up with maintenance—Although everyone in your household should keep an eye out for potential electrical hazards on a regular basis, it’s also important to bring your professional electrician in at specific intervals throughout the year so they can properly inspect your home for any fire safety risks. They will be able to catch things you might not have caught with your own eyes.

Don’t neglect repairs—Along with spotting potential electrical hazards, your professional electrician will also be able to take care of repairs before it’s too late. A neglected electrical repair is a dangerous one that has the potential to start a fire in the home.

National Fire Prevention Month is for Everyone

Fires happen every day, but National Fire Prevention Month reminds everyone that fires affect everyone. The focus on prevention is so important because it’s the primary way we can stop fires before they even start. Prevention is all about being proactive. By informing our friends, coworkers, families, and neighbors about how these efforts can save lives, we’re contributing to the prevention of fires worldwide, not just in our own backyards.

So, before you think that National Fire Prevention Month is only for children who need to learn how to prevent forest fires, think again. National Fire Prevention Month is for everyone. Did you know that a residential fire strikes every 87 seconds? Or that every 66 seconds, a fire occurs in a structure? In fact, statistics state that fire departments respond to a fire every 23 seconds. Fires are happening everywhere, in all sorts of environments.

Everyone should pay attention to the importance of fire prevention, including:

Business owners and employees—Learning how to prevent fires in and around the workplace is essential for keeping the workplace and surrounding neighborhoods safe. Fires in the workplace can be very dangerous, so everyone needs to look out for one another.

Neighbors—Taking the time to help prevent fires is not only good for the safety of your family and fellow neighbors, it’s also important to the environment. Whether you live near a major highway, a farm, or a forest, fires spread quickly and can be devastating to surrounding wildlife and natural habitats.

Parents and students—Parents should provide learning materials to their children and begin instructing them on the importance and need for fire prevention early on. High school students and college students are also voices for fire prevention. Together, they can help keep their campuses, classrooms, and surrounding natural environments safe.

Did You Know that October is National Fire Prevention Month?

You’ve seen all of the children’s commercials, you’ve heard the cartoon Smokey the Bear tell you how to prevent forest fires, and it’s likely your children have been informed in school about October, the official National Fire Prevention Month. Despite all of the advertisements and mascots, both forest and residential fires are very real concerns, especially during the drier months of the year. All of this education and awareness is in place for a reason, with an emphasis on alerting homeowners to the dangers of residential and environmental fire risks.

If you weren’t aware that October is National Fire Prevention Month, here are some startling statistics that you should familiarize yourself with in order to prevent fires in your own home and area.

The NFPA states that:

A fire department responds to a fire every 23 seconds

A fire occurs in a structure every 66 seconds
A residential fire strikes every 87 seconds

Additionally, every 175 minutes, a fire claims a civilian life. Every 31 minutes, a civilian is injured by a fire. Now before we drill you with more statistics, keep the most important one in the forefront of your mind:

Unlike natural disasters, fires can be prevented.

Sadly, this is where many homeowners fail to take precautions. They fail to be proactive and take the necessary precautions to prevent fires from happening in the first place. Being proactive to reduce or eliminate potential risks begins with something as easy as calling your professional electrician to do a routine check-up and maintenance inspection on your home. To get ready for National Fire Prevention Month, call us today and take the first step in keeping your home, your family, and your neighborhood safe.

Residential Electrical Services that Can Improve the Look of Your Home

A professional electrician can provide more than just electrical repairs and maintenance. While regular electrical maintenance and keeping up with necessary repairs are important for the safety of you and your family, electrical upgrades and fixes have other advantages, too. There are plenty of residential electrical services that can actually improve the look and quality of your home.

If you’d like to enhance the aesthetics of your home or are just ready for some much-needed upgrades, consider any of the following residential electrical services:

Lighting Installation—Whether your current lighting fixtures are falling apart or you’d like to remodel your home, new lighting installation is an excellent way to improve the look of your home, both indoors and outdoors. For example, new landscape lighting installation is a great way to enhance the exterior of your home, and it can also make your front or backyard safer for the whole family.

Fan Installation—Installing cooling fans is not only an eco-friendly option, but it’s a stylish option, too. If you want to save money on your air conditioning costs and change the look of a room in your home, fan installation is something your professional electrician can take care of for you. Simple fan installation services can alter the look of any family room, living room, or bedroom.

Kitchen and Bathroom Upgrades—You can also improve the look of your home by bringing your residential electrician in to help you with various kitchen and bathroom fixture upgrades, such as new lighting fixtures and appliance installations. If you want to get rid of those old fixtures and appliances and freshen up the look of your home, you can make your house safer and more visually appealing with any of these electrical services.

Troubleshooting Common Home Electrical Problems

As a homeowner, it’s common to run into electrical problems around the house from time to time, but it can be hard to decipher when to attempt a DIY repair or when to call your professional electrician. Even the most common problems can be better handled by a professional, but it doesn’t hurt to assess the problem and try to troubleshoot it first.

Here are some electrical problems that can arise in a home. Although a majority of them are very common, they may require help from a professional electrician for safe, accurate repair. Try to identify the problem first, but if you find yourself at a loss, call your electrician and let them help you find a solution.

Light bulbs frequently burning out—If you find yourself replacing light bulbs over and over again, there are many reasons why you might have a high burn-out rate. If the bulbs you use aren’t the best or proper bulbs for your fixtures, it’s likely you’ll have an on-going problem. When your light fixtures can’t handle the amount of heat the lights produce or if they are left on a lot, you’ll usually see a higher burn-out rate.

Flickering lights—If you have blinking or flickering lights and the problem persists, this can indicate a poor connection somewhere in the house, along the circuit. There might even be an issue with the main wiring in your home.

Dead outlets—Whether you have a set of outlets that don’t work, only half of an outlet works, or whole outlets have completely died in rooms like the kitchen, bathroom, or in the garage, dead or dysfunctional outlet problems are common. You might have recently reset a breaker or GFCI, or the outlet itself has loosened over time and doesn’t hold a part of the cord as strongly as it once did.