Scherer Electric Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Buffalo’

Important Electrical Safety Tips for Your Home

Monday, January 20th, 2020
electrical-outlet-wall

Perhaps the most important job of a professional electrician is creating electrical safety in buildings. This is part of basic code compliance, but it’s also common sense. Electrical systems with poor installation or amateur repairs can create fires and dangerous electrical shocks.

You can trust our licensed electricians to help with the repairs and replacements to improve electrical safety in your home. There are also some basic electrical safety tips to follow that will help you and your family remain safe. We’ve listed the important ones below.

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Gas, Diesel, And LP: Fuel Sources for Generators

Monday, January 6th, 2020
emergency-home-generator

We strongly recommend our customers in Western New York invest in a whole-house generator. Long-term power losses due to bad weather or stress on the electrical grid are becoming more common, and the best defense against being trapped for hours or even days without power is to have a back-up power source.

A whole-house generator in Buffalo, NY is the best way to provide back-up power. Portable generators aren’t powerful enough to handle the needs of an entire house, and they can also create dangerous fumes inside the living spaces.

So whole-house generators are great for back-up energy. But you’ll need to make a choice about the source of energy for a whole-house generator. There are multiple options, but the three most common are natural gas, diesel, and liquid petroleum (LP).

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De-Icing Cables for Winter Protection From Ice Dams

Monday, December 9th, 2019

You may have encountered trouble from ice dams before, even if you don’t know exactly what ice dams are. Ice dams are what occurs when water running off the side of the roof of a house freezes in the winter cold before it reaches the gutter. Ice dams can build up until they overwhelm a gutter, creating problems like water backing up into the house or broken gutters. Moisture can also get under the shingles of the roof and create serious damage.

The reason ice dams occur in the first place is the uneven heating from underneath. Warmth gathers in the attic because heat rises. This melts ice on the roof, which trickles down toward the gutter, but then reaches the cold edges of the roof where it freezes.

What can you do to stop ice dams? One option to consider calling a professional electrician in Buffalo, NY to install de-icing cables on your roof.  

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Common Electrical Repairs You May Need

Monday, November 25th, 2019
electric-house-rewire

The electrical system in a house is something most of us take for granted. Flip a switch, the lights come on. Plug in the toaster and it works. Put your phone in a recharging station and its battery powers up.

But nothing as complex and important as a residential system can ever be dismissed. At some point, the electrical system may malfunction and need repairs. Only certified electricians can perform the repairs since amateur work can create safety risks. For professional electricians, like ours, customer safety is always the top priority.

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Aluminum Wiring in Your Home: What You Should Know

Monday, October 14th, 2019

The demands placed on residential electrical systems are higher than they were only ten years ago, and significantly higher than thirty years ago. With more appliances and charging stations than ever before plugged into a house’s electrical system, it makes sense to upgrade older wiring. Our Buffalo, NY electricians handle electrical wiring and rewiring for homes. Whatever amount of new wiring you may need for your older house, we can take care of the job. We also make upgrades to outlets and electrical panels.

In this post, we’re going to address a specific rewiring concern, which is aluminum wiring found in many older homes. Is aluminum wiring dangerous and does it need to be replaced?

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Prep for Extreme Weather with a Whole House Generator

Thursday, September 26th, 2019

The fall means more than just a change in temperature and kids going back to school. The weather changes can often be severe, and in the past homeowners in Western New York have had to deal with extended power outages. These blackouts are often more than inconveniences—they can also be life-threatening for homes where people depend on powered medical equipment and during extremely cold weather.

You can take precautions against the dangers of power outages. But no preparation is better than having a whole-house generator installed for your home.

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Getting AFCI and GFCI Outlets Straightened Out

Monday, September 16th, 2019
A new GFCI electrical outlet.

We have professional electricians who install AFCI and GFCI outlets in Buffalo, NY homes and elsewhere in Western New York. In fact, we strongly recommend homeowners arrange for this service if they have an older electrical system without these types of outlets. You can recognize these outlets by the two buttons located between their sockets.

If you’re already reaching for the phone to call us or you’re typing a message for a service request, that’s great. You can hang out here and read more about what these outlets do. If you still aren’t sure, we also want you to hang out as we explain the difference between AFCI and GFCI and why both are important.

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The Electrical Panel vs. The Fuse Box: What You Need to Know

Monday, September 2nd, 2019

An electrical panel, a fuse box … what’s the difference? To many non-electricians, they may sound like the same thing, and people often talk about them as if they were interchangeable. They aren’t, however, and knowing the difference between them is important if you have an older house with the outdated version.

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Knob and Tube Wiring: Should You Rewire Your Home?

Monday, August 19th, 2019

We have a long history, more than two decades, servicing homes in Western New York, so we know all about specific issues homes in the area encounter with their electrical systems. Numerous homes in the area are vintage, built before World War II, and they often still have wiring that’s of the same vintage. An early 20th-century home kept in good shape is often a beautiful place to live—but if the wiring is the old-fashioned “knob and tube” wiring, everything is not so beautiful.

We’ll answer the questions people have about knob and tube wiring. To schedule an appointment with an electrician to see if you need rewiring in Buffalo, NY for your house, simply reach out to our team.

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What Is an LED Light and How Is It Beneficial?

Monday, August 5th, 2019

We handle many types of electrical services in Buffalo, NY and throughout Western New York. Although we’re busy helping out with electrical repairs, we also take on many electrical upgrade jobs to help local homes use less energy and enjoy greater safety.

One of the best ways we can upgrade a home’s electrical system is to do a lighting retrofit to change out the incandescent lights with LED lights. You may have heard about LED lights but aren’t certain what they really are—or what they can do for you. We’re happy to fill you in, as well as take care of your lighting retrofit when you’re ready.

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