Scherer Electric Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Electrical Panels’

The Penny in the Fuse Box and Other DIY Electrical Panel Nightmares

Monday, February 1st, 2021
panel-replacement

Many home service contractors discourage customers from attempting “do-it-yourself” work on their home, and often with good reason. Many of these jobs are time-consuming and easy to get wrong without the proper tools and training. 

But the situation is different when it comes to electrical services. We don’t just discourage DIY work—we are adamantly against it because of the immense danger that amateur electrical work can cause. Rudimentary mistakes can mean a house is no longer up-to-code and increase the chance of electrical fires. Only licensed electricians can provide electrical repair in Amherst, NY and throughout Western New York, and you wouldn’t want anybody else to provide service for your home.

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Handyman vs. Electrician: Does It Really Matter? (Yes It Does!)

Monday, January 18th, 2021
electric-tools

We’ll admit that there is something people find attractive about the term handyman (or handyperson). It creates this image of a “jack of all trades” who can whip up solutions when there are problems. You can call on the handyman when things go wrong.

But this is not the case. When it comes to electrical jobs in a house, there’s a massive gulf between bringing in a “handyperson” and calling a licensed electrician (a.k.a. an electrical contractor). It matters who you call, because the consequences when something goes wrong, as well as the likelihood of something going wrong, is far higher with the handyman.

If you read nothing else in this post, just remember this: for any electrical service in your home, only call a licensed electrician. 

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Unsafe Electrical Panels That Might Be in Your House

Monday, December 7th, 2020
electrical-panel-working-on-one

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 A broken or outdated panel can lead to power outages around a home as well as electrical fires.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.

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Ways You Can Reduce Your Electric Bill (And How We Can Help)

Monday, November 23rd, 2020
budget-scissors

Do you have to brace yourself each time you receive your monthly electricity bill? The cost of electricity is increasing, but your high bill may be the fault of the ways you use electricity in the home or outdated fixtures and appliances. 

There are several ways you can cut down on your monthly electricity bills. We can help with some of them: call us when you need an electrician in Buffalo, NY to give you advice on the best steps for an energy-saving home.

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Is Whole-House Surge Protection a Good Idea?

Monday, November 9th, 2020
lightning-bolt

When you think of protecting valuable equipment in your home from a high voltage surge, what first comes to mind? If it’s just plugging your computer or your audio equipment into a power strip, then we’ve got news for you—that may not be enough. 

These power strips are often sold to consumers as “surge protectors.” But in most cases, they’re basically just safer versions of antiquated octopus plugs and a way to extend the reach of the electrical equipment that needs to be plugged in. Yes, they’re useful, we won’t argue that. You should use them. But to rely on them to protect all the equipment in your home from a powerful voltage surge is folly.

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The Story of the Vintage Home and The Bad Wiring

Monday, September 14th, 2020
attic-interior-fall

We haven’t written the end of this story yet, and we’re hoping to give it a happy ending. If you live in the vintage house and it’s the one with the bad wiring, you can write the upbeat ending yourself by calling us to help you with vital Clarence, NY electrician services.

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The Buzzing in the Wall—Sinister Forces, Or Electrical Problem?

Monday, August 17th, 2020
electrical-blueprints-sm

We can’t completely discount that the buzzing sound you hear coming from your wall is from supernatural or other-dimensional force. But in our long history as a Buffalo, NY electrician, we can say that most of the times we’ve received calls about buzzing coming from walls, it was an electrical problem—except the occasional wasps’ nest. We’re glad those customers called, because this buzzing sound can indicate serious electrical issues that need certified electricians to investigate and solve. (Sorry, we aren’t equipped for the wasps.)

Now you may not find the buzzing sound “scary,” but it’s irritating. Let’s look into what might be happening to cause it.

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How Long Will My Home’s Electrical Wiring Last?

Monday, August 3rd, 2020
electrical-parts

A home has two hard-working “circulatory systems,” plumbing and electrical. Because both are mostly hidden from view even as they do essential work, it’s easy for a homeowner to dismiss them as something that will last as long as the house does.

But that’s not the case. When it comes to electrical wiring in Orchard Park, NY, you do need to have concerns about the age of the wiring. Not just for as long as you’ve been in the house, but for as long as the wiring has been in the house, period. If you live in a vintage home and the wiring has never had an update, it’s important to know about how long the wiring can expect to endure.

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Replace Your Federal Pacific Electric Panel!

Monday, July 20th, 2020
electrical-panel-repairs

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. 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.

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.

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Does My Home Need Grounding Services?

Monday, June 22nd, 2020
electrical-outlet-wall

What does it mean to have your house grounded? We could go into some lengthy engineering explanations about how electricity works, but we can provide a simpler discussion of the electrical flow in your house. Electricity is always trying to “ground,” which means it gets rid of all its negative energy so it can get back to being balanced. In your home, the way the electrical systems allow electricity to return to ground is through the neutral wires. The “hot” wires carry the negative half of the polarized charge of electricity, and the neutral wires contain the positive half. These wires run next to each other through your electrical system.

For an example of this standard grounding at work, look at an outlet. One slot is the “hot” side, and the other is the “neutral.” The current flows through the hot side and then into the neutral side to eliminate the negative energy.

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