electri-safe.com Blog

Just got the word from the Independant Magazine, Electri-Safe is one of the finalists for the annual Indy Best Of The Triangle issue! Thanks for all who voted. Looking forward to see where we placed.

Aaron from Footbridge Media created this Youtube video for our company.  Take a look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1KleEJGh5g

Electri-Safe is now on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Raleigh-NC/Electri-Safe-Electrical-Service-Contractors/195669224201?ref=sgm

Look for some big things to be happening with Electri-Safe this coming month.  The first big news is that we will be unveiling the new website sometime next month.  Although it has been fun working on the website myself, we thought we would go to a professional for the new design, and are greatly looking forward to having a much cleaner and customer friendly design to our page.  Also, next month we will be rolling out a new benefit for our customers that no Electrician in North Carolina has ever had, and I dare our competition to match it (I don’t think they will.)   Stay tuned………

In this time of economic uncertainty, many people wonder what they can do to save on their homes energy costs.  There are some steps you can take that have a high up front cost, such as adding insulation in attics and crawlspaces, or changing out your appliances and other electrical fixtures to more energy efficient units.  Another common, low cost method of saving on energy costs, is to switch out your light bulbs to Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL’s.) This is a great way to reduce your lighting bill.

CFL’s consume 60% to 75% less energy than incandescent lamps.  Not only do they use less power, but they also last up to four times longer.  Before you go around the house changing out all of your lamps, though, there are a few tips you need to follow, to make this change as safe and efficient as possible.

While many CFL lamps advertise the long life of an incandescent bulb, there are certain instances where the life of a CFL lamp may be greatly reduced.  If you look at a CFL you will notice the round ceramic base between the socket threads and the glass piece.  This contains a tiny transformer, and a small electronic circuit that strikes the arc, inducing the phosphorescence in the glass piece which creates the light.  Too much heat build-up on the electronics can cause them to fail prematurely.  For that reason, for maximum longevity, CFL’s last longest when placed in open style light fixtures, where there is very little heat build-up inside.  Fixtures in which the lamp is in an area fully enclosed by glass are more likely to suffer premature lamp failure.  A good example of an enclosed glass fixture is the “mushroom” type fixture that many people have in their homes’ bedrooms and hallways.  Enclosed fixtures in which the lamp is pointing straight up, as in many wall sconces, seem to fair much better, as the heat created by the lamp primarily radiates up and away from the electronic base.

For safety and longevity, lamps for outdoor fixtures that could be exposed to damp conditions, such as the floodlights on the corners of your house, should  be replaced with CFL’s rated for a damp location.  These CFL lamps will typically look similar to the lamps they are replacing, except they have the typical CFL “curly Q” inside the lamp, instead of an incandescent or halogen filament.  Always look for the notes “suitable for damp location” on the box when you purchase lamps for an outdoor fixture.

Another type of fixture you need to be careful about changing over to CFL’s are any type of fixture that is on a dimmer.  Light dimmers work by affecting the voltage going to your lamp.  This can interfere with the electronics in your CFL and cause premature failure of the lamp, as well as providing an uneven light level.  If you are installing CFL’s in a dimmed fixture, the lamps MUST be marked “dimmable” or “rated for dimming.”  This notation is usually listed prominently on the label.  Dimmable lamps generally cost 20% to 40% more than a regular CFL.

One other thing you should note about CFL’s, is that they contain a small amount of mercury.  Since mercury can be a toxic substance, care should be made in properly disposing of the lamps.  Lowe’s, Home Depot, and most other hardware stores where you buy CFL’s, should have a program to recycle these lamps properly for you.  Simply drop your old lamps off at the same store in which you bought them.  If you drop or smash a CFL in a small room, make sure the room gets plenty of ventilation for 15 minutes or so.  Manufacturers recommend that you clean up the debris not with a vacuum cleaner, but with gloves and a damp rag.  Although this sounds a bit excessive, as exposure to the amount of mercury in a single lamp is not potentially dangerous, repeated exposure could be, so it may be best to take these precautions.

The packaging on Compact Fluorescent Lamp’s makes little mention of the information here, so make sure to share these tips with your family and friends.  By taking these steps, you can help save energy, reduce your power bill, and leave more money in your pocket.

Welcome to the Electri-Safe.com blog.  In the near future, I will be sharing tips with homeowners regarding the safety and functionality of their homes electrical system.  Upcoming posts will include…..

-Tips on using CFL and LED lamps to save on energy costs.

-New Homeowners guide to their home’s electrical system.  Explaining the electrical system technology in newer homes, along with a time line of what features the average home has, depending on when it was built.

-Searching for the truth regarding the hazards of aluminum wiring.