We still have a lot of cold weather to come in the months ahead. We’re encouraging homeowners to schedule their annual heating service as soon as possible, if they haven’t already. It’s not too late, and this preventative maintenance service can help you, your family, and your budget in a few different ways.

This fall, one of the most important things you can do for your home is to get a heating system inspection. During an inspection, a technician will look for issues affecting the performance of your heater.

More importantly, they’ll look for anything that compromises your safety. That includes poor gas connections, faulty electrical wiring, improper ventilation, blocked vents, and a cracked heat exchanger. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a real threat when you own a fuel-burning heater, and it’s so important that you have technicians give you the okay to keep using the heat.

With a complete safety inspection, you don’t have to worry so much about your heating system breaking down suddenly in the middle of winter. If this is something that’s happened to you before (or even if it hasn’t), you know that this is something you really want to avoid.

Heating systems are most likely to break down when they’re working their hardest. Make things easier on yourself for the winter by scheduling heating maintenance ne in the fall.

When a heater gets a thorough tune-up, you can feel confident that the system is running smoothly. And that can mean greater efficiency. Your heating system is able to run smoothly with a cleaned out blower wheel, tightened electrical connections, and other adjustments your technician may make.

That translates to lower bills. And if you complete this service every year, no matter how old your heating equipment is, you can maintain high efficiency levels for years, as heaters that receive regular maintenance are more likely to last for a long time to come.

Whenever you have a short circuit, it means that there was an accidental path created in your existing circuit, which generated a connection that was not there before the short occurred. Electricity will always follow the path of least resistance, which means that it will almost always follow this new path, rather than its intended path. This typically results in an abnormally high level of electrical current. The most common type of short is when two bare wires cross, such as when old insulation deteriorates, causing a loose connection which allows two wires to touch.

An electrical short is not something to take lightly. This increased current generates a great amount of heat, which can lead to sparks and fire. One way to identify an electrical short is by hearing a popping sound whenever that particular circuit is turned on. This is the sound of the electricity taking the path along the new connection that it has found, causing the circuit to experience a sudden overload. Smoke, flames and melting fixtures can follow, leading to larger fires and risk of shock in the immediate vicinity.

Another common source of electrical shorts is improper wiring. This can occur if the metal lining of a particular switch or outlet touches one of the wires. An electrician in Burbank must always find and fix shorts caused by damage, such as storm damage.

The most important thing to do whenever you have a short is to address it immediately. Because of the potential severity of this situation, call an electrician right away to have them inspect and fix the problem for you. A short left unrepaired can lead to more extensive damage, resulting in a much higher cost than if you had fixed the problem whenever it was first detected. For more information on electrical troubleshooting and our services, visit our main page (Click Here).

By Lindsay Mirick

When lightning strikes and thunder rolls, will you be prepared for the power surges that follow? When you think about storm proofing your home, power surge protection may not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, getting caught in a power surge during a storm without protection could leave you with some very expensive, very useless electronics. Mr. Electric has reasons why...

Many homeowners have the idea that surge protection is simply a matter of plugging their devices into a low-cost, multi-outlet surge suppressor. However, we all know that the cheapest option isn’t always the best option, and making exceptions can lead to more expensive consequences in the long run.

If you think about it, adding surge protection to your home costs very little in comparison to the replacement of your electronics. A single surge can follow any wire into a house and threaten televisions, computers, appliances, satellite systems, phone and cable lines, and any other electrical devices you can think of.

The cost of replacing a single large home appliance such as a washer or dryer will likely cost you double the investment of a whole house surge protector. According to the Insurance Information Institute, insurers paid over $673 million in lightning claims in 2013 alone. In the three years prior, approximately $1 billion was paid annually to policyholders.

Most people associate power surges with lighting strikes. However, many things both outside and inside the home can cause them. Outside the home, events such as power outages and power transitions in large equipment on the same power line can introduce damaging power surges on your electric lines. Inside the home reengaging trip circuit breakers or switching of pool pumps, AC units, and other devices with large motors can also introduce power surges onto your electric wiring. To effectively protect your home from these damaging surges, you need to implement whole house surge protection .

Ask yourself if can you afford to live without surge protection. A few hundred dollars isn’t much when you compare it to the cost of replacing some of your most cherished possessions, not to mention the inconvenience of living without them until they can be replaced.

Trust us to keep your valuables safe and let us power your tomorrow. Call Mr. Electric today!