Serving the Buffalo Area since 1995
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Serving the Buffalo Area since 1995
When it comes to the electrical systems in our homes, the phrase “up to code” is often thrown around. But what exactly does it mean for your electrical system to be “up to code,” and why is it so crucial? In this blog post, we’ll explain the basics of the National Electrical Code (NEC), explore how it works on a local level, and help you understand why having a licensed electrician in Amherst, NY is essential for keeping your home compliant.
The title of this post is a bit redundant: it should be “Why You Should ONLY Hire Electricians.” The reason is that any one who’s an amateur electrician is not an electrician!
You can’t have an amateur lawyer or an amateur doctor—when you say “lawyer” or “doctor,” you mean someone who has a law degree or a medical degree and a license to practice. The same criteria applies to electricians.
Unfortunately, homeowners often make the mistake of thinking an amateur who claims to be an electrician is someone they can trust with important work.
Hiring an amateur “electrician” to fix wiring for your house makes as much sense as hiring a “medical enthusiast” (or whatever title a bogus doctor uses) to handle your surgery.
We hope this explanation has convinced you to only hire a (professional) electrician in Cheektowaga, NY. If you want to learn more about why to avoid amateurs (and that includes you) for electrical work, follow us below.
If you’re asking this question, it probably means that you know what GFCI outlets look like and you know your home doesn’t have them.
The simple answer to the question is “yes.” You don’t need these outlets in every room (in fact, we don’t recommend that), but they are important safety devices to have in some key rooms such as the kitchen and bathrooms.
We understand as well as anyone why “do-it-yourself” work has appeal for so many people. After all, we’re technicians who enjoy our work, and many of us first got interested in home services because of doing tasks around the house on our own.
However, handling electrical jobs as a DIY project is something we have to warn against trying. It’s not like changing the aerator on a faucet or fixing a loose table leg. For any electrical job more complicated than replacing a lightbulb or resetting tripped breaker switches, you must have a licensed professional electrician in Buffalo, NY. There are several good reasons why.
Among the many services we offer as a top electrician in Lancaster, NY is the installation of fans for homes, including attic exhaust fans, bathroom exhaust fans, and ceiling fans. For homes that have the space to install ceiling fans, we highly recommend them: they’re beneficial for comfort and energy savings, and they look attractive as well!
It’s important that you have professional electricians handle installing ceiling fans for your house. This is not a DIY project or one you want to let an amateur handle. We’ll get into that more below, but first we’ll explain why ceiling fans are beneficial.
Any Orchard Park, NY electrician can tell you that the secret to having a safe and effective electrical system isn’t much of a secret: it starts with having an updated electrical panel. The panel is the switching station for a residential electrical system, the point where the incoming current divides into separate circuits. The panel protects the rest of the system from suffering damage with breakers that cut off voltage flow in case of overloads. A broken or outdated panel can lead to power outages around a home as well as electrical fires.
One of the important jobs we handle for our customers is installing new panels to replace outdated ones. If you live in a house built before 1990 and you still have the same electrical panel, calling us for an inspection to see if it’s time to upgrade the panel. In fact, you may have something worse than an outdated panel—you might have one that was never safe to begin with! Below are three of these potentially hazardous panels we recommend you have us replace.
The electrical panel for your home is the vital “switching station” where the voltage entering your home divides into separate circuits. The panel protects the electrical system in case of shorts and other electrical troubles by tripping breakers. It’s important that your house has a working electrical panel that will keep your home safe. Upgrading to an upgraded electrical panel increases your home’s electrical capacity, allowing more devices and appliances to run simultaneously without overloading the system. If you have an old, outdated panel, or one that has suffered damage, it’s time to schedule an electrical panel replacement in Buffalo, NY. A smaller electrical panel may not support modern appliances or future electrification projects, and upgrading provides flexibility for expansions, renovations, or additional electrification needs.
There is a specific case where we recommend you call us right away for a panel replacement, and that’s if you have a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) circuit breaker panel installed. Many homes still have these panels, and they pose significant fire hazards. Insurance providers may charge higher premiums or refuse coverage for homes with outdated fuse boxes or risky panel brands. Routine maintenance by a licensed electrician is crucial to ensuring the circuit breakers will trip as intended and to prevent safety concerns.
If you’re unsure if you have an FPE panel, check for the Federal Pacific name or the “Stab-Lok” label on the panel. Unusual noises or smells from the electrical panel, such as buzzing or burning odors, are clear signs of potential electrical issues that need immediate attention.
Upgrading an electrical panel enhances home safety by reducing the risk of electrical fires and ensuring compliance with modern standards. It improves energy efficiency, potentially lowering energy bills, and increases property value. Signs like frequent circuit breaker trips, flickering lights, and insufficient power supply indicate the need for an upgrade. Hiring a licensed electrician is essential for a safe, code-compliant installation, and many utilities offer incentives or rebates to help offset costs, which typically range from $2,000 to $4,000 depending on panel size and installation complexity.
We watch out for the safety of our customers. Keeping electrical systems running without hazards for a house is an essential part of the job of any professional electrician. But our electricians in Orchard Park, NY have a special safety focus, which is replacing outdated electrical panels. Assessing the current electrical panel for age, condition, and compliance with modern codes is crucial before deciding to replace or upgrade.
There are many older homes in Western New York which still have their original wiring and electrical panels. Those panels may have been fine decades ago, but they aren’t right for modern electrical demands. The current panel may not support modern heating, cooling systems, or new technology like electric vehicles and solar panels. The amp panel’s capacity often falls short as homes require more electricity due to increased electricity usage and electrical use from new appliances and devices.
And then there’s the Federal Pacific electrical panel, which presents a significant fire danger for homes—and is found in far too many of them! If you have a Federal Pacific electrical panel in your house, please schedule service with us as soon as possible to have it replaced. Unusual noises such as buzzing or crackling from the existing panel or main panel are warning signs that it may need to be replaced. The circuit breaker inside your home’s electrical panel plays a key role in ensuring safety by protecting against overloads and preventing electrical fires.
Routine maintenance of your home’s electrical system is important to prevent hazards, ensure safety, and support future upgrades.
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.
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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