Halogen lights vs LEDs

Halogen lights vs LEDs

Halogen down lights are commonly installed by electricians in newer homes – but they are far from efficient. This means they consume a great deal of power for the light they produce, and the additional heat can pose a fire hazard.
We recommend changing halogen down lights over to LEDs, which run at a fifth of the cost of halogen bulbs.
Available in a range of options including cool, warm-white and natural, LEDs provide the same lighting that you enjoy.
While LED lights are more expensive than halogens to install, in the long run they are far more cost-effective. For instance, the bulb life of a typical halogen down light is often only 100 to 1,000 hours… but with LEDs, the bulb life is up to 50,000 hours.
The initial cost of LED lights can also be made more manageable by installing them first in the high-usage areas of the home. Implementing LED lights in rooms such as the kitchen and family room and leaving halogen lights in the rooms that are rarely used (such as the garage or laundry) means that changeover costs can be much lower.

All Tech Electric & Contracting LLC: Electric FiresProtect your home from danger this w...

All Tech Electric & Contracting LLC: Electric FiresProtect your home from danger this w...: Electric Fires Protect your home from danger this winter. With the winter upon us, this is the time of the year with the highest percent...

Electric Fires

Protect your home from danger this winter.

With the winter upon us, this is the time of the year with the highest percentage of home fires occur.You can avoid the potential by following a few precautions.
1. Make sure you have working smoke detectors in all areas of the home including each bedroom. Smoke detectors should be of the type that will set off all of the detectors if any one goes off. Check the detectors to make sure they are working and replace if the detectors are more than 10 years old. They should be replaced every 10 years according to the manufacturer and the National Fire Prevention Association. Never disable a smoke detector, if it chirps it means they battery needs changing or the detector is bad, which needs to be replaced. If you need a new battery operated smoke detector, call us for a free one.
2. It is easy to overload circuits and invite fires. With the winter season here many people plug in portable heaters into undersize extension cords which can over heat and burn before the circuit breaker trips. Also be aware of plugging in multiple items in "power strips". This can easily over load the circuit causing the cords or house wiring to heat and burn. This is especially true in older homes. (1970's and older). Homes built between 1969 and 1974 have the potential to have aluminum wiring which is a potential hazard as it can create loose connections on receptacles and switches which can create overheating and burning. Due to this aluminum wiring was no longer allowed for home construction since 1974. If you have concerns, please call for home safety inspection.
3. Homes older than 20 years should have a safety inspection to determine that all switches and receptacles are in good condition and connections are tight. Arc fault circuit breakers are now available and required in new homes. These breakers are designed to trip if the is the slightest arc or spark due to circuit failure. These items alone can prevent injury or loss of life due to electrical fires.

Attic Fans and Ceiling Fans

Each one provides a different function but both can save you money.

Summer is the time to think about installing attic fans and ceiling fans.

The attic fan is installed either in the roof or gable end of the attic, it is controlled by a thermostat and sometimes a humidistat as well. The attic fan has more benefits than just cooling down the attic, though that is the primary function.
An Attic can reach as high as 135 degrees in the summertime, an attic fan can reduce that by as much as 25 -30 degrees. This is still very warm but reducing the attic temperature that much your cooling costs will be reduced and it will make you A/C unit work less hard. Along with heat in the attic comes humidity, this can damage stored items such as clothing by creating mold and mildew. By moving the air and reducing the temperature the humidity gets reduced as well.
Another little known benefit of reducing the attic temperature is that it can increase the life of you roof shingle. Heat and humidity are enemies of the shingle by reducing the heat from below it can increase the life of roof shingle by as much as 25%. The time to install these devices is now before the blistering heat of summer arrives.
A ceiling fan is another household item that can benefit the home owner as well. We all know ceiling fans will help cool you down. By moving air even though the temperature is still the same but it gives the perception of being cooler. When air moves across the skin it helps cool, as a result you can keep your thermostat set a little higher while staying cooler. This allows your cooling system to work less and saves money. These fans can save money in the winter as well. By reversing the fan blades it draws the air up not blowing down on you making you feel colder. It moves air from below towards the ceiling and that moves the trapped warm air down to the living space. Your heat pump, furnace or baseboard heaters work less and come on less saving heating costs. Many times these items can pay for themselves in the first year.

All Tech Electric & Contracting LLC: Importance of Uprading your Electricial Panel

All Tech Electric & Contracting LLC: Importance of Uprading your Electricial Panel: Many homes built before 1974 have electrical panels that have potential problems or even safety hazards. Very early homes still have old fu...

Importance of Upgrading Your Electricial Panel

Many homes built before 1974 have electrical panels that have potential problems or even safety hazards. Very early homes still have old fuse style panels, these panels require the home owner to change fuses when they get overloaded and blow. This creates issues because the home owner may not have the proper fuse and may put in a fuse that is too large. Or the home owner may not have a spare fuse at all leaving the circuit off until one can be purchased.
Fuse panels when they were installed were state of the art and still in theory work just fine today, the issues come up due to age. They will invariably corrode and deteriorate over time and causing loss of power or burning of the panel.
Changing to modern day circuit breaker panel will eliminate the hazard of corroded or deteriorated panel, plus there is no fuse to change just reset the breaker.
Some other style of older panels is a brand called Federal Pacific, These can be identified by the red handled circuit breakers. These panels were installed from the 1970's up to 1983. These Federal Pacific breakers have reputation of not tripping when required to do so causing the overload to burn or the breaker itself to burn in the panel. There is a lot of information on line about these panels.
Another style of panel is called a split bus panel, these can be identified because they have no main circuit breaker and have 6 double breakers on top and many single style breakers below. The main problem with this style is again age, also it is difficult for the home owner to know how to shut the panel down if they need to.

By upgrading to a newer modern style panel you are assured of safety and convenience. A new panel may be able to have more room for additional circuits if required. Most older home were built with 100 amp electrical services. This was more than adequate in the day but with all the electronics and appliances an upgrade to 200 amps is a wise decision. It not only allows for future expansion of the home but can allow for new heat and cooling systems to be installed. This will also be an enhancement to the home should you ever decide to sell. There are many good reasons to upgrade now, Safety, convenience and value.