Category Archives: Residential Electricians

Electrical Maintenance Checklist for Colorado Homeowners

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As a homeowner in Colorado, maintaining your electrical system is crucial for the safety, efficiency, and longevity of your home. Regular electrical maintenance can prevent potential hazards, reduce energy consumption, and extend the lifespan of your electrical components.

Tripped Circuit Breaker

Schedule Annual Electrical Inspections

Start your electrical maintenance routine by scheduling an annual inspection by a licensed electrician. A professional inspection will identify any potential issues, safety hazards, or outdated components that require attention. This proactive approach will ensure that your electrical system meets safety standards and local codes.

Check GFCI Outlets

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets are essential in areas exposed to moisture, such as kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoor spaces. Press the “test” and “reset” buttons on each GFCI outlet to ensure they are functioning correctly. If a GFCI outlet fails to reset or test properly, contact a licensed electrician for immediate repair or replacement.

Test Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Alarms

Test and replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide alarms regularly. These devices are critical for early detection of potential hazards and should be fully operational at all times.

Inspect Electrical Cords and Cables

Check all electrical cords and cables for signs of wear, damage, or fraying. Replace any damaged cords immediately to avoid electrical fires or shocks. Avoid using extension cords as a permanent solution; instead, have additional outlets installed if needed.

Examine Light Fixtures and Switches

Inspect light fixtures, switches, and dimmers for loose connections, discoloration, or flickering lights. Tighten loose screws and replace faulty switches or dimmers promptly to prevent electrical issues.

Test Circuit Breakers and Fuses

Test your circuit breakers by tripping them manually and resetting them. If you have a fuse box, make sure you have the correct amperage fuses installed for each circuit. Contact a licensed electrician if you experience frequent circuit breaker tripping or if fuses blow frequently.

Check Outdoor Lighting and Security Systems

Ensure that outdoor lighting, including landscape lighting and security systems, is functioning correctly. Clean light fixtures and replace burnt-out bulbs promptly to maintain adequate lighting around your property.

Inspect Surge Protectors

Examine surge protectors for any signs of damage or worn-out indicators. Surge protectors are vital for safeguarding sensitive electronic devices from power surges and should be replaced if compromised.

Contact Always On Electric at (970) 309-2616 today or visit us online for more information about how we can help with your electrical in your home in Colorado.

Why Regular Electrical Maintenance Is Crucial for Businesses and Homes

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In both businesses and homes, electricity is the lifeblood that powers our daily activities. From lighting and appliances to critical equipment and communication systems, a reliable electrical system is indispensable. However, to ensure the safety, efficiency, and longevity of electrical installations, regular maintenance is essential.

Licensed electrician

Ensuring Safety

Safety should always be the top priority when it comes to electrical systems. Over time, electrical components can deteriorate, wiring may become frayed, and connections can loosen, leading to potential hazards such as electrical shocks, fires, and even electrocution. Regular electrical maintenance allows for the identification and prompt rectification of these issues before they escalate, ensuring the safety of occupants and preventing costly and potentially devastating accidents.

Preventing Unexpected Breakdowns

In businesses, electrical malfunctions can lead to costly disruptions, causing downtime, loss of productivity, and even revenue losses. Likewise, unexpected electrical failures at home can be highly inconvenient and, in some cases, dangerous. Regular maintenance helps identify and address potential problem areas proactively, reducing the likelihood of sudden breakdowns and the accompanying inconveniences and expenses.

Improving Energy Efficiency

Electrical systems that are not well-maintained often suffer from inefficiencies, leading to higher energy consumption and increased utility bills. Businesses and homeowners can benefit from regular electrical maintenance by optimizing energy usage, identifying energy-wasting components, and implementing energy-efficient solutions. Upgrading to modern, energy-saving technologies can not only reduce operating costs but also contribute to a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach.

Extending Equipment Lifespan

Many electrical devices, such as HVAC systems, computers, and appliances, depend on a reliable electrical supply. Routine maintenance helps ensure that the electrical infrastructure supporting these devices is functioning optimally, thus prolonging the lifespan of expensive equipment. By safeguarding your investments, regular electrical maintenance saves businesses and homeowners from premature equipment replacement expenses.

Complying with Regulations and Codes

For businesses, adherence to electrical safety regulations and codes is not just a matter of best practice but a legal requirement. Failure to comply with these standards can result in fines, penalties, and even the closure of operations. Regular electrical maintenance ensures that businesses remain compliant with safety regulations and industry standards, providing peace of mind and protection against legal liabilities.

Preserving Property Value

In the case of homes, regular electrical maintenance is essential for preserving property value. When potential buyers or renters inspect a property, a well-maintained electrical system adds to the appeal and desirability of the home. Additionally, many insurance providers consider the condition of electrical systems when determining coverage rates. A properly maintained electrical system can lead to lower insurance premiums and better terms for homeowners.

Looking for a trusted electrician? Contact Always On Electric at (970) 309-2616 today or visit us online for more information!

How to Prepare Your Colorado Home for a Power Outage

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Power outages can occur unexpectedly, leaving your Colorado home without electricity and disrupting daily life. Whether caused by severe weather, equipment failure, or scheduled maintenance, being prepared for a power outage can help you navigate through the situation more comfortably.

Licensed electrician

Assemble an Emergency Kit

Create an emergency kit that includes essential supplies such as flashlights, batteries, a battery-powered radio, a first aid kit, non-perishable food, bottled water, and any necessary medications. Store the kit in a designated location that is easily accessible to all family members.

Invest in a Backup Power Source

Consider installing a backup power source, such as a generator or uninterruptible power supply (UPS). These devices can provide temporary electricity during outages, allowing you to power essential appliances and devices. Ensure your backup power source is properly installed, regularly maintained, and fueled or charged in advance.

Maintain Adequate Lighting

Place flashlights and battery-powered lanterns in easily accessible areas throughout your home. Test them regularly to ensure they work properly and keep extra batteries on hand. Avoid using candles, as they pose a fire hazard.

Safeguard Heating and Cooling

Prepare for extreme temperatures during a power outage. In cold weather, ensure you have alternative heating sources such as a fireplace, wood stove, or portable propane heater. Make sure to follow all safety precautions when using these heating sources. In hot weather, create cross-ventilation by opening windows and using battery-operated fans to maintain airflow.

Preserve Refrigerated and Frozen Food

Minimize the frequency of opening refrigerator and freezer doors to keep the temperature as cold as possible. During a power outage, a refrigerator will typically keep food cold for about four hours, while a full freezer will maintain its temperature for about 48 hours. Consider storing perishable items in coolers with ice packs if the outage is prolonged.

The best thing you can do to safeguard and protect yourself from power outages is to reach out to a professional electrician. Contact Always On Electric at (970) 309-2616 today or visit us online for more information!

Energy Efficiency: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Electricity Consumption

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In today’s world, where energy demands are soaring and concerns about climate change are growing, adopting energy-efficient practices is crucial. By reducing your electricity consumption, not only can you contribute to a more sustainable future, but you can also save money on your utility bills.

Exterior Lighting

Upgrade to LED Lighting

One of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce electricity consumption is by switching to LED lighting. LED bulbs use significantly less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs and have a longer lifespan. By replacing your old bulbs with LED equivalents, you can achieve substantial energy savings while enjoying the same quality and brightness of light.

Unplug Electronics and Appliances

Even when electronics and appliances are turned off, they can still consume standby power. This is known as “vampire power” or “phantom load.” To eliminate this unnecessary electricity usage, unplug devices when not in use or use power strips with on/off switches. By cutting off the power supply, you can prevent standby power consumption and save energy.

Optimize HVAC System

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are major energy consumers. To improve energy efficiency, consider the following steps:

  • Regularly clean and replace air filters to ensure proper airflow and efficiency.
  • Use a programmable thermostat to regulate temperature settings based on occupancy patterns.
  • Seal air leaks around windows, doors, and ducts to prevent heat loss or gain.
  • Maintain regular HVAC system inspections to identify and fix any inefficiencies.

Maximize Natural Lighting and Ventilation

Utilizing natural lighting and ventilation can reduce the need for artificial lighting and air conditioning. Open curtains and blinds during the day to allow natural light to illuminate your space. Additionally, consider installing skylights or light tubes in areas with limited access to windows. For ventilation, use ceiling fans or strategically placed fans to circulate air and keep rooms cool.

Efficient Appliance Use

Appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, and dishwashers are essential but can consume a significant amount of electricity. Follow these tips to optimize their energy use:

  • Set your refrigerator’s temperature to the manufacturer’s recommended level and keep the coils clean.
  • Wash full loads of laundry and use cold water whenever possible.
  • Air dry dishes instead of using the dishwasher’s drying cycle.
  • Use energy-saving modes or timers on appliances, such as TVs and computers, to minimize their power consumption.

Insulate and Seal Your Home

Proper insulation and sealing can greatly improve energy efficiency by preventing heat transfer. Insulate your home’s walls, attic, and floors to reduce heating and cooling needs. Seal gaps and cracks around windows, doors, and electrical outlets to minimize air leakage. By enhancing insulation and sealing, you can maintain a comfortable indoor environment while minimizing energy waste.

If you’re looking for any electrical work, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Contact Always On Electric, Inc. at (970) 309-2616 today or visit us online for more information!

5 Signs Your Colorado Home Needs Electrical Upgrades

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As a homeowner in Colorado, it’s important to ensure that your electrical system is in top-notch condition to maintain the safety, efficiency, and functionality of your home. Over time, electrical systems can become outdated or experience wear and tear, posing potential risks and inconveniences.

electrical outlet in home being re-wired by professional electricians

Frequent Circuit Breaker Tripping

If your circuit breakers trip frequently, it may indicate that your electrical system is overloaded. This could be due to outdated wiring or an insufficient electrical panel. Upgrading your electrical system will provide the necessary capacity to handle your electrical demands.

Flickering or Dimming Lights

If your lights flicker or dim unexpectedly, it may be a sign of faulty wiring, loose connections, or outdated fixtures. These issues can lead to electrical hazards or insufficient lighting. Upgrading your wiring and fixtures will ensure consistent and reliable illumination.

Outdated Electrical Panel

If your home still has an old fuse box or an inadequate electrical panel, it’s time for an upgrade. Modern electrical panels are equipped with advanced safety features and can handle increased electrical loads, ensuring better protection against electrical hazards.

Non-Grounded Outlets

Older homes often have ungrounded outlets, which can be dangerous, especially in areas where electrical devices require grounding. Upgrading to grounded outlets will enhance electrical safety and provide additional protection against electrical shocks.

Inconsistent Power Supply

If you experience frequent power surges or voltage fluctuations, it’s crucial to have your electrical system assessed. Inconsistent power supply can damage sensitive electronic devices and appliances. Upgrading your electrical system will provide stable and reliable power throughout your home.

Recognizing the signs that your Colorado home needs electrical upgrades is crucial for the safety, functionality, and convenience of your property. Whether it’s addressing outdated wiring, upgrading the electrical panel, or installing additional outlets, investing in electrical upgrades will enhance your home’s electrical system and provide peace of mind.

Contact Always On Electric, Inc. at (970) 309-2616 today or visit us online for more information on how we can help you with your electrical upgrades in your home.

 

Too Many Things Plugged Into Power Boards and Outlets

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In today’s day and age, we tend to be always powered to our devices. When living in a home, we forget that even when our devices are plugged in and not being used, they still can cause issues to the circuits. This is what we call a circuit overload. There can be many problems when you plug in too many things in your home. Your home can’t handle too much all at once, so it’s important to be smart when using electronics and other appliances.

Electrical plug with many plugs in it

Overloading of Power Boards

What happens frequently in homes is the overloading of power boards, which then causes circuit tripping. If you have several electrical outlets in use doing quite a bit of work supplying power to entertainment units, power strips with many things plugged in, and other big items, this can easily cause circuit tripping in your home.

How do you avoid this problem?

  • Remove all devices that aren’t in use (charging chords still draw power when not connected)
  • Don’t over burden a single circuit. Spread out your devices
  • Pay attention to the necessities. Unplug things after you use them

If you’re experiencing frequent circuit tripping even after you’ve taken the steps to unplug the unnecessary items, contact a professional electrician like Always On Electric Inc. We have the capabilities to help even with new home builds. When homeowners buy all new appliances, we come in to help with the setup of electrical needs including light fixtures, ceiling fans, electrical upgrades, and more!

We can help get to the bottom of your electrical problems in a flash. Please don’t hesitate to reach out when you’re experiencing circuit tripping or any other electrical problem. Contact Always On Electrical Inc. at 970-309-2616 today or visit us online for more information!

What Can I Do to Fix My Circuit Breaker?

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Fixing a Circuit BreakerThe circuit breakers in your home are among the most important things in your entire house. They’re designed to prevent the electrical wiring in your home from overheating. If they ever sense that too much electricity might be passing through your electrical wiring and putting it at risk, they’ll “trip” and shut off the electricity in the part of your home that is experiencing the problem. Here is how to fix a circuit breaker that has tripped.

Find out which circuit breaker has tripped.

If you ever lose power in a portion of your home, the first thing you should do is run down to your breaker box and take a look at your circuit breakers. If one of them has tripped, you’ll notice the lever for it will be located in between the “on” and “off” positions. You can push it back into the “on” position so it restores electricity to the portion of your home where the power went off. When you do this, see how the circuit breaker responds and then check to see whether or not the power has been restored.

See if a circuit breaker might be loose.

While you’re in the process of resetting a circuit breaker, jiggle it around a little bit to see if it feels loose to you at all. If it moves around more than you think it should, it could indicate that your circuit breaker is faulty and that it needs to be replaced. You should consider leaving the circuit breaker in the “off” position until you’ve had a chance to replace it with help from a residential electrician.

Call an electrician if a circuit breaker continues to trip.

You’ll want to reach out to an electrician right away if you ever notice a loose circuit breaker in your breaker box. You’ll also want to get in contact with one if a circuit breaker continues to trip over and over again once you’ve returned it to the “on” position. It’s not out of the ordinary for a circuit breaker to trip every now and then. It’ll sometimes happen when you plug in a vacuum cleaner or a blender in a part of your home where you already have a bunch of other things plugged in. But if you have a circuit breaker that’s tripping all the time, it could be an indication of a larger issue that will need to get looked at right away.

There are some circuit breaker problems that you can fix on your own. Nevertheless, there are also plenty that’ll require the services of a professional electrician. Always on Electric will provide you with the electrical services you need in your home. Call us at 970-309-2616 to schedule an appointment with an electrician.

Myths About Saving Electrical Energy at Home

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Energy Saving MythsWould you like to cut down on how much energy you use in your home on a daily basis? If so, there are many ways for you to do it. However, there are also a lot of energy-saving myths out there that can lead you astray when it comes to scaling back on your home’s energy usage. Avoid these myths at all costs since they won’t save you much energy at all.

Myth: Turning a light off and then back on uses more energy than just leaving a light on.

For years, some people have been under the impression that it makes more sense to leave lights on in their houses as opposed to turning them on and off all day long. But this is, of course, not true. Turning a light on doesn’t use up any more energy than letting a light sit on. It’s why you should get into the habit of turning lights off when you’re not using them to conserve energy.

Myth: Running an AC all day to keep a house cool uses less energy than turning an AC on at the end of the day when a house is hot and stuffy.

Many homeowners leave their AC systems running all day long to keep a house that no one is in cool. They do it because they think it’ll help them steer clear of having to waste energy later by attempting to cool off a stuffy house with an overmatched AC system. It will take your AC system some time to cool off a stuffy house, but it’ll still require far less energy to take that approach than it will to keep your AC running throughout the day. If you’re concerned about coming home to a warm house, consider installing a smart thermostat that you can turn on about an hour before you get home.

Myth: Appliances don’t use any electricity when they’re plugged in but not turned on.

Many older appliances used to shut down when you had them turned off and not waste energy. But these days, many appliances and other gadgets continue to use up energy unnecessarily when they’re not being used. It’s a great idea to unplug appliances that don’t need to be plugged in all the time if you want to save energy.

If you’re serious about wanting to save energy, don’t buy into any of these myths. Instead, let Always on Electric show you some ways to bring your energy costs way down. Call us at 970-309-2616 to schedule our residential electrical services.

Signs You Need a Residential Electrician

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Residential ElectricianDo you have electrical circuit breakers in your home that are tripping on you all the time? This could potentially indicate a big problem with your home’s electrical system. It’s important for you to call a residential electrician right away so that they can take a closer look at the issue.

There are also other signs that you need to touch base with an electrician sooner than later. Check them out below.

Flickering lights

If the lights in your home flicker every once in a blue moon, it might not be the end of the world. Nevertheless, if you notice that your lights are flickering or even turning off completely on an almost daily basis, you shouldn’t ignore it. This is more than likely a sign that you should have a residential electrician come to evaluate your electrical system.

Warm outlets or switches

Feel the outlets and switches in your home every now and then to see if they’re warm. If they are, there is a decent chance that you have some kind of electrical issue on your hands. If the problem starts to spiral out of control, it’s not uncommon for the wall surrounding an outlet or switch to get warm, too.

Old electrical wiring

The electrical wiring that you have in your home is not supposed to last for decades and decades on end. Most electrical wiring is only designed to last for about 25 years before it needs to be replaced. It’s a good idea to have a residential electrician inspect and possibly replace old electrical wiring before it causes issues for you.

The next time you notice one of these signs of trouble, let Always on Electric come out to your home and provide you with residential electrical services. Call us at 970-309-2616 today to set up an appointment.

The Advantages of Having a Standby Generator for Your Business

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Backup Generators for BusinessesLooking for a Standby Generator for Your Business?

Always on Electric provides electrical services for local businesses and homes throughout the western Colorado region. With the Fall and Winter seasons closely approaching, a standby generator have major benefits on your business. Snowstorms, colder temperatures, and other elemental weather can cause power outages. Knowing your business won’t shut down due to having a standby generator will leave you with a sigh of relief.

Benefits of Having a Standby Generator for Your Business

When faced with a natural disaster or power outages in your area, the last thing you want to worry about is not being able to service your customers, which will result in loss of business and money. There are several reasons why a backup power source will help you stay in business through unexpected power loss.

  • Safety– To ensure your safety and the safety of your employees, invest in a quality generator that will keep your lights and security systems operating and protect important electronic data.
  • Security– In the event of a power outage, sensitive data you store electronically can be lost. With the use of a standby generator, you can ensure that your personal business information and customer information is not lost when the power goes out.
  • Building Trust with Customers– When an outage occurs in your area, customers will look for businesses that are able to continue to provide services despite the current outage. If your business is able to operate in these conditions customers will remember this in the future for other needs they may have for your services.

Choosing the Right Generator for Your Business

While searching for a generator, there are different factors that must be considered before choosing the right generator for you. These factors can depend on your personal business practices, the size of your business and ability to provide maintenance on the generator.

The four main types of power generators are:

  • EMD Generators– Electro-Motive Diesel is a low maintenance and low risk generator that has flexible functionality.
  • Diesel Generators– A diesel generator operates with the use of a diesel engine and electrical generator. Diesel generator are best used for emergency power.
  • Portable Generators.- Portable generators typically operate using gasoline as fuel and are portable which makes it ideal for commercial or industrial use.
  • Natural Gas Generators– Natural gas generators operate using natural gas for fuel. Natural gas generators help reduce the amount of pollutants released into the environment because it is the cleanest of all the fossil fuels.

From floods, tornadoes, blizzards and earthquakes , Colorado has experienced it. Allow Always On Electric to ensure that your business can withstand whatever nature brings our way! Contact Always On Electric at (970) 309-2616 today or visit us online for more information!