Covenant Heating and Cooling Blog: Archive for the ‘Electrical’ Category

Why Smoke and CO Detectors Should Be Hardwired

Monday, August 3rd, 2020

wires-and-electrical-toolsEach and every year, thousands of people die or are injured by unintentional CO (carbon monoxide) exposure or house fires. It’s a harsh statistic, but one that amplifies the importance of having properly installed smoke and CO detectors in your home. In fact, it’s the law that homes have these two devices in them when you move in, and illegal to tamper with these devices in most jurisdictions too.

Of course, you probably have them both up in your home, and your batteries are likely fresh (are you changing them every 6 months?) But what if there was an extra precautionary step you could take?

Well, there is! You can have your CO and smoke detectors hardwired into your electrical system. Read on as we uncover not only the importance of these systems, but also why you should consider hardwiring yours.

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3 Reasons Why You Should Invest in a Solar Attic Fan

Monday, July 6th, 2020

top-view-of-a-metal-fanWhen summer temperatures are at their peak, there is only so much you can do to keep your house as cool as possible. You can keep your air conditioner well-maintained, keep the blinds on south-facing windows closed during the day, make sure you’re well equipped with the right indoor air quality products, and invest in a solar attic fan!

Wait, what’s that? You haven’t heard of a solar attic fan?

Let us be the first to bring this efficient and helpful piece of equipment to your attention. Not sure how it helps? Well, consider this scenario—the sun has been beating down on your roof for hours, and no matter how low you turn the thermostat down, it doesn’t seem to help. Not only that, but since you have the thermostat set so low, the AC just continues to run, draining your energy and causing your bills to rise. Fortunately, investing in a solar attic fan can help!

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Is Your Home in Need of Electrical Rewiring?

Monday, May 25th, 2020

electrical-partsOf all the issues that can impact various areas of your home, electrical problems can be the most dangerous. A plumbing problem can inflict a lot of water damage, but an electrical problem can potentially cause house fires or electrocution. It’s essential that you have a professional electrician check the wiring in your home at least once every few years. Otherwise, you’re substantially increasing the likelihood that a problem will occur.

Even with routine maintenance appointments, there’s still a chance that an electrical problem can happen in your home. You should be familiar with some of the telltale signs of an electrical problem, so that you can contact an electrician as soon as possible. We’ve named some of these signs below.

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Power Surge Protection: Do You Know Your Risks?

Monday, May 11th, 2020

power-stripIf your home is anything like the average American home, you have a lot more electrical equipment and appliances in it than ever before. You probably have multiple devices connected to your power supply and electrical grid at any given time, right? That’s great, but it’s important to know the best way to protect your appliances and power charging stations.

Power surges, also known as voltage surges or voltage spikes, can do irreversible damage to electrical components, causing you to replace them much sooner than you would have had to otherwise. Think you can avoid this because you have power strips located at all your outlets? These do offer a layer of protection, but they’re not the end-all solution—more on that below. The good news is, there is more you could do to protect your home’s electrical system and the appliances connected to it.

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What You May Not Know about Outlet Installations: AFCI vs. GFCI

Monday, April 13th, 2020

new-gfci-outlet-imposed-on-white-backgroundYour household’s electrical grid is easily one of the most important components in the living space. Each of your appliances requires this system to work—even gas-powered heaters use an electric starter. If your electrical system is malfunctioning, you can experience all kinds of problems.

Safety is a concern, too, when your electrical system is malfunctioning. Electrical problems of any type can pose a serious threat to your living space, and to your family. Electrocution is a real threat, which brings us to our topic for this post—making sure you have the right outlets in place to protect your appliances, electrical equipment, and your home’s occupants.

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4 Signs You Need an Electrical Panel Upgrade

Monday, March 16th, 2020

electricians-working-on-electrical-panelAlso called the circuit breaker panel, the electrical panel of your home serves as the central hub for your entire electrical system. It’s where the incoming electricity is routed to the different circuits. The breakers are designed to shut off circuits in case of a voltage overload. If you have an aging circuit breaker panel, it’s wise to ensure you aren’t overdue for an upgrade, given the higher electrical demands we have all put on our homes in recent years.

But when is it actually time to upgrade? After all, modern circuit breakers can last a really long time—typically 25-40 years. We have provided 4 signs below that tell you it may be time.

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How to NOT Use Your Ceiling Fans

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

ceiling-fanCeiling fans don’t seem like that complicated of an appliance right? When you want your home to be cool, you turn your ceiling fans on, and that’s that, right?

Well, what many homeowners don’t realize about ceiling fans is that they actually do not “cool” the air in the room of which they’re running—that is, they do nothing to lower the temperature. Therefore, leaving your ceiling fans on in the home all day even if you aren’t home is exactly how not to use them.

So then, you might be wondering now, is there any point to using ceiling fans at all? Of course! However, there are optimal ways to utilize this appliance, and then wasteful ways to use it, too.

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Avoid This Ceiling Fan Mistake!

Monday, January 20th, 2020

ceiling-fan-on-grey-ceilingCeiling fans are often talked about this time of year—and we’ll get to why we’re talking about them now later in this post—but something that a lot of homeowners don’t really realize is that celing fans do not actually cool the air in the room where they’re running.

In the summertime, individuals often leave their ceiling fans on all day, only to find that the room they come home to isn’t any cooler than it was when they left. It may feel less stuffy than other parts of the home, but this feeling can be achieved within 5 minutes of turning on the fan, versus leaving it on all day long.

You may be wondering about a couple things by this point:

  1. Is there a point to using your ceiling fans?
  2. Really, why are we talking about this in the wintertime?

Bear with us! We’ll get there.

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Does Your Home Need to Be Rewired?

Monday, January 6th, 2020

pencil-drawing-lightbulbElectricity is one of those home comforts that is pretty easy for any of us to take for granted nowadays. After all, we’ve had it available to us in our households throughout our entire lives—it’s always there! But… taking things for granted often means we can forget about the dangers involved if we don’t properly care for them. And electricity can certainly pose such a danger.

Keep reading as we dive into some of the warning signs that you might notice if your electrical wiring is in trouble. These warning signs are not all indicative of an emergency situation by any means, but any resolutions with any type of electrical system problem should always be addressed swiftly.

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If You’re Putting Holiday Lights Up This Season, Consider This!

Monday, November 11th, 2019

string-of-lights-outdoorsThe holiday season is just about here, and if you’re like many homeowners in our area, you might be decorating your household, inside and out. Many times, this includes putting holiday lights up and around your home.

One of the most common calls our electricians get this time of the year is in regards to certain outlets not working throughout the property. This might include bathroom outlets, garage outlets, and outdoor outlets. And those holiday lights might be to blame! What happens is that they trip the GFCI outlet or circuit breaker.

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