If you’ve ever watched the show “Holmes on Homes” on HGTV, you’ve likely seen the problems associated with old or faulty wiring.  Mike Holmes tends to get very agitated by safety issues, and for good reason.  Each year, over 40,000 homes suffer fire damage due to home electrical problems.  These electrical fires account for hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries.  And what’s the main culprit?  Old wiring!

If you live in a classic home built before 1940, chances are you have old wiring in the house.  You may have knob-and-tube or Romex wiring, both of which can become brittle over time.  The insulation dries out and starts to crumble, causing the inner wire to become exposed. The cloth insulation around the wire deteriorates with age and eventually becomes unsafe.

But perhaps one of the biggest threats of Romex and knob-and-tube wiring is that these types of wires aren’t grounded.  That means if one of your appliances shorts out, you could become the path to the ground for the electricity.

Even if your home is only 20 or 30 years old, you could still experience electrical problems at home due to a lack of capacity.  Most homes built more than 10 years ago are not designed to handle the amount of electronics we use today.  Think about it:  if your house was built in 1980, it was built before home PCs and laptops and HDTVs and surround sound and all of the other toys and gadgets we use today.  These appliances can draw a lot of power, and your current electrical wiring may not be up to the task.

If you own one of the one million houses in the DFW area that’s more than 20 years old, it’s a good idea to have a licensed electrician come out and take a look at the wiring.  He or she can make sure that your house will be safe and productive for many years.

ElectricMan Inc. is one of Plano’s most trusted electricians. Nick Schaeffer, Mr. ElectricMan himself, has quite the resume for a master electrician. He started the company by himself in 2004 and hasn’t looked back since! For more information about Electricman’s list of electrical repair services, please visit www.ElectricManInc.com

A solar array, in the simplest of terms, is a group of connected photovoltaic solar panels. These panels, or groups of cells are strategically linked and arranged so that they function as if they were a single panel. In some cases, the term solar array is also used to denote a similarly arranged group of mirrors that are used to reflect and focus sunlight onto an array of photovoltaic panels. There is no set size for a solar array, and sizes range from a small array designed for home use to a solar panel array that is several acres large and consists of hundreds or thousands of panels.

On a more base level, each solar panel array is made up of an array of photovoltaic cells. These cells are responsible for taking the sunlight and converting it into electrical current. Because of an increased interest in renewable energy and environmentally friendly electricity sources, solar panel installation is on the rise.

Solar installers install most arrays in a fixed position. Depending on your particular location, most arrays are installed facing due south. In some cases, however, a solar panel array could be attached to a group of highly efficient motors that are designed to turn the panels to face the sun throughout the day. The motors do use a small amount of energy, but not nearly enough to offset the amount that has been generated. Although this can increase the amount that solar panels cost, it can greatly increase the amount of electricity that is generated in an average day.  The

If you are interested in adding a renewable energy source to your home or business, solar installation is the way to go. To learn more about your options for installation, financing and purchasing your solar panels, visit the Solar Panel Info website.