Ceiling fans are a welcome addition to any room, providing a source of light, circulation, and warm or cool air, at the flip of a switch. Depending on the type, and style of fan you choose, they can add a pleasing, visual element to your living space, but there’s more to choosing the right fan than just looks. Adequate sizing makes all the difference to performance and comfort, while proper installation methods allow for the safe and efficient operation of your ceiling fan. When it comes time to replace your existing fan, whether for technical, or aesthetic reasons, professional installation is recommended, as the warning signs and potential issues may not be immediately apparent.

Did you know there could be unknown home safety issues lurking in your presumed safe haven? Your home’s age, installation issues, wear and tear, and overlooking safety devices could put you at risk.

Does your home have any of the following home safety issues?

Code and Wiring Updates Wiring codes in the U.S. are updated every three years to ensure electrical safety across the country. As a result, families living in older homes are at an increased risk of electrical safety issues due to:

Ensure home safety with an electrical home inspection  Don’t let home safety issues result in property damage or present a danger to your family. Find and address home safety hazards quickly and efficiently with an electrical home inspection. Mr. Electric® can provide a detailed, prioritized written checklist of all areas of your home requiring immediate attention, areas for improvement, and potential upgrade possibilities to ensure the safety of your home. Ensure peace of mind by proactively addressing home safety issues. Contact Mr. Electric today. Our professional electricians are dedicated to the safety of your home and family.  

If you’ve ever known someone who had a house fire break out in the middle of the night, or had a circuit breaker issue at 3 AM, then you know how important 24 hour electricians are. Like many issues related to being a homeowner, electrical problems rarely occur neatly between the hours of 9 AM-5 PM, Monday – Friday. Even when they do, it’s rare that an electrician can be dispatched to fix them right away, which can leave the homeowner and their family vulnerable to dangerous conditions.

Even in this day and age of modern technology and electricity, many house fires are caused by a fault in the home’s electrical system. It could be due to old or faulty wiring; it could simply be a bad wire that has created a spark, or it could be an overload. Whatever the reason, the results can be devastating.

In addition to house fires, faulty wiring can also cause less serious but still risky issues such as frequent blackouts or circuit breaker problems. This may not be life-threatening the way a fire is, but it can cost you money in both electrical repair costs and costs to replace appliances. When appliances are constantly exposed to electrical outages and surges, they can wear out much faster, meaning they need to be repaired or replaced more often.

If you contact a 24-hour electrician as soon as you notice a concern, you can head off many major electrical problems while they are still small. While the cost may be greater than calling for an electrician during business hours, a 24 hour electrician can provide peace of mind during situations that can be very stressful. They can replace circuits, make repairs on wires and wiring systems, and ensure your home is safe to inhabit. In the event larger repairs are required, they can make sure the parts you need are obtained and installed before too much time passes.

If you’ve never had to call for an electrician, plumber, or another service at any time besides business hours, you might be unfamiliar with how the process works. Here’s what happens when you make that 3 AM call for an emergency electrician:

No one likes to think about needing an emergency electrician. After all, the cost for an after-hours appointment with any service will be high, and the news may not be positive. However, when it comes to your home, major electrical problems can cause house fires and other issues which will cost you money over the long run. Reaching out to an emergency electrician at the first sign of trouble can help save not only your home but your life as well.

By Spencer Cutright

Let’s face it: no summer vacation is complete without plenty of pictures. With the invention of the “selfie stick” and apps like Instagram and Snapchat, taking pictures has never been so user friendly, and photography has never been more prevalent than it is today.

However, this would not be possible if flash photography had never been invented. It’s hard to believe, but flash wasn’t always as common or safe as it is today. Here is a brief look at the history of flash photography.

Flash photography originally began as an unsafe and incredibly intricate device known as the flash lamp, which was invented in 1899. Photographers would fill a pan with flash powder, which was then ignited, leading to a small explosion that produced a quick flash. The flash lamp is known for being very unsafe, and many photographers who used it were either killed or injured in the process.

Around the 1930s, flash bulbs replaced flash powder. Oxygen-filled bulbs were electricity ignited, producing a quick bright flash. However, the bulbs could only be used once, and they were often too hot to handle right after the flash.

Thirty years after the flash bulb, the cheaper and more efficient electronic flash was invented. Electronic flashers are often attached to a camera and produce an instantaneous and very bright flash through a flash tube when a picture is taken.

Found on camera phones as early as 2000, LED flash uses high current LEDs to produce a quick flash when a picture is taken. LED flash makes flash photography efficient and miniaturized.

So next time you pull out our camera or smartphone to capture a special moment this summer, keep in mind all the inventors who made modern photography possible.  The future of photography is certainly bright with many possibilities ahead.