For many homeowners, the presence of a smoke alarm within the home equates to pretty much background noise. You might ask about it upon purchase, or make sure there is one within your home that may or may not work. This shouldn’t be the case! A smoke alarm just might be the single factor between heading off a dangerous situation and major property loss. At Hoffman Electrical, your safety always comes first, and we would like to take a moment to let you know why adequate smoke alarms within your home are of the utmost importance to your safety.

For professional  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), there are nearly a million home fires in the United States each year. That’s nearly one in every three hundred United States homes! That is a concerning statistic, and damages include property damage and loss, and possible injury or loss of life. Ensuring you have the best chance possible of detecting, preparing for, escaping or mitigating a home fire is absolutely crucial.

If you’re in need of fire alarm installation, don’t hesitate to call Hoffman Electrical! The longer you wait, the greater the chance of extensive property damage and injuries! When you choose Hoffman Electrical, you receive:

Christmas is upon us again and more than any other time of year, it’s the time of year where people put strain on their electrical system.  The lights on your house and the beautiful decorations you’ve been storing in your attic finally are brought out and plugged in for your friends and neighbors to view and appreciate.  And, of course, the vast majority of homes you visit have at least one Christmas tree.  Since most of these things are electrical, it’s probably not a surprise to you that, as a top Dallas electrician, I start getting a lot of calls this time of year.  Though it’s always nice to have the business with Christmas so close, I thought it’d be great to share with ways to avoid wiring problems with your Christmas decorations this year:

 In general, there are a few important tips that can help you avoid wiring problems.  If your lights look frayed or dangerous, they should always be replaced or repaired before using them, frayed wiring are hazardous.  You should take care that your electrical source is safe before you even begin the installation process.  To avoid the potential for overloads, you should have dedicated circuits installed for your holiday decorations.

Most importantly, you should never try to supply power for your lights without contacting a top Dallas electrician to help you install the necessary equipment and make the necessary safety precautions.  Short cuts are potentially dangerous. I can remember one example where a customer had supplied power to their lights by splicing an extension cord directly into their circuit breaker box!  Even worse, they’d shut the breaker box door, pinching the cabling!  Left unchecked, even if this hadn’t started a fire, damage from a power surge or overload could have easily destroyed their whole breaker, meaning they’d have to spend thousands to repair the damage at the absolute worst time of year!

Businesses cannot afford an interruption in their equipment use and faulty wiring or wiring that is not adequate could ultimately cost the business money. Lighting that does not work properly is also bad for business. It reflects negatively on the establishment and could very well turn customers away. If you want to avoid lost revenue, you will need to fix any electrical issues promptly. The Electric Connection is one business who understands your needs and has the experience necessary to do commercial work.

Picking the Right Electrician for Your Commercial Job

When looking for a commercial electrician, you want to ensure your business is represented by somebody who is professional and courteous. In many cases, the electrician will be in sight of customers and may need to interact with them from time to time. You will want to pick a company whose technicians are neat and tidy. The last thing you need is an individual who is disheveled and making a mess of your space. Another important tip when it comes to choosing an electrician in Glendale is to consider your budget. It is important to get quotes about a job before you hire anybody. Contractors and electricians will have to work together and coordinate in order to get the job done according to schedule. Any electrician who will be performing work should be licensed, bonded and insured. It doesn’t hurt to check the company rating with the Better Business Bureau as well.

An important component in your main electrical service panel is commonly known as the breaker. If you’re a homeowner, surely you have visited yours a few times over the years. But what exactly is it? And what does it do? Let’s go over the importance of the breaker and what its doing for your home.

If you read our article on the home electrical system a few months back, you will know which step the service panel comes in receiving electricity for your home. The service panel is the gateway for all electricity in your home. After electricity comes through underground or overhead power lines, it goes to your electrical meter and then to the service panel. Electricity branches off from here and travels to the rest of your home. Within the panel are circuits for different areas for electricity to travel. Shutting down a circuit can cause power loss to a part of the home, maybe a room or two. But because the home is on many different circuits, power can remain active in the rest of the house.

After electricity arrives at the service panel, it travels to a circuit. The circuit is a loop in which electricity travels from one end to the other. The breaker splits up to 100 amps or more into the circuits to distribute the power. Usually each circuit in a common residential home operates at 15 amps. The breaker is designed to “trip” if it receives an excess of electricity. If a power surge occurs on the outside of the home, for example a lightning strike, the service panel will stop the flow and turn off. If a surge happens on a circuit within your home, the breaker will also shut down that loop to protect the rest of the house.

Over time if work on a service panel is not completed correctly, the circuits could blow more frequently due to overloading. Parts in the panel can become outdated, loosen, or get burned out. If a service panel is not maintained and up to code, it also poses specific risks, making your home more susceptible to fires and electrical surges.

For some, flickering lights are an annoyance and can be a distraction. Others don’t notice the inconsistency in the lights. But, that fluctuation in light can signal problems in the circuitry or light fixtures in one’s home. Depending on the source of the problem, it could lead to serious safety issues in a home.

All lights flicker to some extent, based on the amount of power that is coming into the lines in your home.  If your lights flash or flicker regularly, it’s often a sign that there’s a problem – either in connection or power use. Situational flickering – like when an air conditioner starts – is a sign that there’s an issue with power supply. Simply put, the dip of the lights when the AC unit starts up occurs because the AC pulls the available electricity supply from the light. It’s usually temporary. It may also be a sign that the outdoor AC unit isn’t wired for maximum amperage. If the flickering lights aren’t related to a large appliance powering up and running, it’s a sign that there are issues – home may be brighter and more comfortable.