As a top Dallas Electrician we know that your family’s safety is one of the most important things on your mind throughout the day, so we decided that now would be a good time to re-visit the subject of Smoke Detector Replacement and maintenance. As the weather is cooling off, and we are coming into the holiday season, when heaters, cooking, and decorations can bring more potential safety hazards into your home, it is very important that you are certain your family is protected in the unfortunate event that you experience a house fire. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, “Each year fires occurring during the holiday season claim the lives of over 400 people, injure 1,650 more, and cause over $990 million in damage.” Remember these lucky 7 tips to keep your family safe this holiday season by ensuring that smoke detectors are installed correctly in your home, and that they are all in working order.

Smoke Detector Battery Replacement: At least once a year

One of the most important things to remember, if you already have smoke detectors installed in your home, is to replace the batteries at least once a year. An easy way to remember this is to change the batteries in your smoke detectors when you change your clocks for daylight savings time every year. Picking up this helpful habit makes it much easier to remember.

Smoke Detector Replacement: Every 5 to 7 years

Many smoke detector manufacturers recommend replacing the smoke detector unit itself every ten years, but a smoke detector’s reliability will actually decrease after 5 to 7 years. While this may seem like an extra cost, it is certainly a small price to pay for making sure that your family will have the most reliable method of early warning in the event of a fire, providing vital time for everyone to get out safely.

Smoke Detector Cleaning: At least twice a year

Dust, cobwebs, insects, and other airborne particles that make their way into our homes can collect on sensors and contaminate the circuitry inside your smoke detector, causing it to be less effective at sensing smoke. This is one of the most forgotten factors simply because many homeowners aren’t aware of the effects that dirt and dust can have on a smoke detector. Think about how dirty the blades of your ceiling fan would get if you never cleaned them. The same dust that accumulates on your fan blades will accumulate inside your smoke detector. At least twice a year, use your vacuum cleaner wand attachment to carefully remove dust and other contaminants from the inside and outside of your smoke detector.

Smoke Detector Types: Ionization, Photoelectric, or Both

There are two commonly used types of smoke detectors, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. Ionization style smoke detectors are more responsive to quick moving, high flaming fires, while photoelectric smoke detectors are more responsive to smoldering fires that produce more smoke. You can never know what type of fire will happen in your home, so a great option to ensure the best protection is to choose smoke detector units that provide both ionization and photoelectric detection of smoke and fire.

Smoke Detector Location: Key guidelines for safe placement

Smoke detector placement is highly important in order for them to work properly. When installing smoke detectors in your home, it is ideal to have a smoke detector in each room, but at the very least, you should install smoke detectors on every level of your home, and in hallways near each bedroom to increase the likelihood that your family will be able to hear them even while sleeping. Smoke detectors should be placed 6 to 12 inches from the ceiling, and you should avoid installing them near vents, fireplaces, or kitchen appliances to reduce the accumulation of dust, soot, and oily residues from cooking.

Interlinked Smoke Detectors: Whole house warning

Modern smoke detector systems are more than simply individual detectors. It is recommended to install a system that allows all of the smoke detectors in your home to communicate with each other causing all of the detectors to alert of the fire if any single detector senses one. These systems can be wired directly into your homes electrical system, or allow wireless communication between each smoke detector. This has been a major advancement in smoke detector technology, allowing more time for residents to escape if a fire begins in any area of the home. These systems are especially valuable in late-model homes where the master bedroom is often on the opposite side of the house from children’s rooms.

Smoke Detector Testing: At least twice a year

We often take for granted that a smoke detector will simply work as designed once it is installed, but as you can see from this list, there are a lot of factors that go into a reliable smoke detection system. At the very least, make sure that you test your smoke detectors twice a year using the test button that is located on the smoke detector unit itself. When testing interlinked smoke detector systems, be sure to verify that all of the other detectors in your home alert when you test each unit individually. Even if a unit alerts when you test it, if it does not cause the other units in the home to alert, that means that there is an issue with communication between the units, and it should be inspected by a licensed Dallas Electrician.

If you have any concerns about your smoke detector system, or any other electrical projects in your home, the top Dallas Electricians at ElectricMan Inc. will be happy to help. Reach out to us by phone at 972-792-7270 or through the “Contact Us” page on our website at www.ElectricManInc.com, and let our professional electrical technicians ensure your family’s safety by guaranteeing that the job is done right!

Are you trying to think of the perfect gift to give your family? Maybe you are planning for the future and thinking about your goals for 2017. Each year, we get a chance to make a difference. In fact, we can make a difference every single day, but we often feel as if the new year is a clean slate. Whatever the case may be, this is your year to make a difference in the world. Yes, you can do a little something that will impact the environment around you. It is all about energy conservation. There are many ways to do that, but something you could consider spending your money on this year is going solar with the help of an electrician. Glendale homeowners who want to get some freedom from the vulnerable power grid can have solar panels installed and save money on their electric bill while having a positive impact on the environment. The team at The Electric Connection can help.

There has been a big push in recent years by big business and governments all around the world to find alternative sources of power. Your Glendale electrician wants you to know it isn’t all that difficult to make the transition to alternative power. In fact, you may not even notice the difference at all. Today’s systems are installed with the idea of using the solar energy for the majority of your electricity needs, but remaining connected to the power grid just in case enough energy wasn’t generated. This gives you the best of both worlds and makes the transition a little easier.

An electrician in Glendale can go over all of the basics of solar power with you. Imagine giving yourself the gift of smaller electric bills and teaching your family that every person can make a difference. A little gift that will go a long way. Give The Electric Connection a call today and talk with a professional about giving the gift of energy conservation.

Modern technology has significantly changed the process of getting a quote for solar panel installation, much less the technology itself. If you’re contemplating a solar array at your home, you can translate your speculation into a firm quote in a very short amount of time.

It all starts when you call us. We’ll use satellite pictures of your home to get an idea of the available square footage for an array. Some sides of your roof are going to be better than others for sun exposure, depending on the orientation of your home. Using the surfaces that face the sun first, we can reduce the overall cost of installation.

Understanding your goals with a solar array are critical. Do you plan on going off the grid completely? Or are you more interested in subsidizing your energy bill? Of course, the more extensive your aspirations with a solar array, the larger such an array will be. In some cases, it might be necessary to install more complex infrastructure to accommodate a system that meets your needs.

With that information, we can move forward with quotes into the realm of financing. Traditionally, investing in a solar array is a big investment, but times are changing. Gracious tax rebates and incentive programs exist to give homeowners unprecedented savings on solar installations. Depending on the area you live in, these deals can amount to a solar leasing arrangement with little to no money down. The cost of the array is paid back over the years, as you enjoy decreased energy bills.

As you can see, turning your dreams of a solar installation into reality can happen very quickly, when you talk to the right people. Let us help you explore the potential of a solar array at your home. It all starts with a quick phone call and it could change your energy bill for the rest of your life.

Finding a reliable electrician that you feel as though you can trust is hard enough, without having to go through the process again and again. Different types of electrical work take different skill sets. Those specializing in new construction have different skills than those that handle existing electrical systems or specialize in electrical troubleshooting. Far better to find a electrician Santa Monica CA contractor that has the experience and skill to handle a broad range of electrical projects, one that is able to handle your present needs as well as those that you’ll have in the future.

The Electric Connection is a full service electrical contracting company that has been doing a broad range of electrical projects throughout the area for three decades. They’ve built up quite a reputation for the high quality of their work. The Electric Connection handles electrical systems for new construction, maintains and repairs existing systems, does commercial electrical work, residential electrical projects, and is trusted with property management related electrical work. Through years of deliberate effort, they’ve built a solid Santa Monica electrician team, well rounded, with plenty of complementary skill sets. This strategy allows them to take on the wide variety of work that they do successfully.

Electrical services include whole house rewiring, electrical upgrades, and a wide assortment of other maintenance and repair tasks for existing electrical systems. The Electric Connection also does home and business remodeling and renovation electrical work, as well as electrical work for new additions and new construction. This Santa Monica electrician company also installs back up generators, surge protection, smoke detectors, and security lighting, as well as other types of exterior lighting, like landscape lighting. They do all sorts of indoor lighting installation and handle a wide variety of custom lighting and electrical system upgrades. The Electric Connection also have experienced electrical troubleshooting experts on staff.

They’ve built up an excellent reputation for customer care and satisfaction through the years, something they’ve been able to do because of the quality of people that they hire. An electrician in Santa Monica CA that is in the employ of the Electric Connection is expected to be highly skilled, with a professional demeanor, and to the minute prompt. In fact, if you arrange for an electrical service call with the Electric Connection, if your Santa Monica electrician is even just a single, short minute late, that electrical service call is free. That is is a fine example of the high standards they expect their electricians to meet.

They care about their customers, and demonstrate that in a wide variety of ways. On their web site, they feature a wealth of information relating to trouble shooting electrical problems and the proper care and maintenance of an electrical system. They offer free over the phone help to their customers, and are readily accessible and easy to contact. The Electric Connection web site features a variety of discount coupons for electrical services and they run regular specials. With every job that a Santa Monica electrician from the Electric Connection does come a free electrical safety assessment, that check such things as the main electric panel, the grounding, and other important safety related features.

The Electric Connection offers a lifetime guarantee on all of their work, and that’s a guarantee that holds some weight, because they’ve been working successfully in the area for 30 years. They have no plans to go anywhere, and no time to think about it. They are far too busy doing electrical work throughout the region, and making sure that each electrician in Santa Monica CA working for them provides the sort of high quality service the company is known for.

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There was a time during childhood when, at a friend’s house, the best thing to do was to play with the dimmer switch. At the time, this was the coolest thing in the world. When you had nothing like it at home, you got to enjoy the little things. It was so great; you could dim the lights for a movie or turn them up when you wanted to socialize. Whatever the occasion was, these would set the mood. It was great! It was time to convert more home switches from flicks to dimmers.

If you have never tried to do anything electrical yourself, it can be a wild ride. First you need to find the right hardware. Take a quick trip to the hardware store and find someone who can help. That’s always easier than doing these things alone. The experts can explain how dimmer switches work and how they can save money. None of that matters for this project; you just need the switches changed to relive a personal childhood pleasantry. Finally you find a model with a cover that will look fabulous in your home.

The Moment at Hand

Soon, you are ready to head back and take things apart. It’s easy to get the faces off, but then comes time for the technical parts. It takes a steady hand to work with electronics, but none of that matters if you forget something important. What may happen next is unexpected: a jolt of electricity sends a reminder that the breaker panel has not yet been turned off downstairs. It hurts, but it is nothing serious. It’s time to call in an expert.

When it comes to electricity, no matter how small the job, it’s best to let the trained professional do it. Otherwise you may just wind up hurting yourself.