Where we live, power outages are all too common, and it’s not a problem you should have to just wait out. Many people in our neighborhood have portable generators to keep some parts of the home powered on during a short outage.

However, a portable generator is tedious to refill and hook up. Nothing beats the peace of mind, efficiency, and ease-of-use that comes with owning a whole-house generator. Here’s what you should know about this type of system.

Many homeowners still have portable generators, or else they have generators designed for use with several appliances and systems at once, but without an automatic transfer switch. It’s possible to upgrade many generators to have a transfer switch, and they come standard with an automatic standby generator.

The transfer switch monitors the power in your home. When your home no longer has an electrical current running into it, the transfer switch kicks in within seconds.

Some generators run on diesel or propane, which means you need to refill it from time to time. It could stop working unexpectedly, and the tank for these generators is quite bulky. We always recommend natural gas automatic standby generators, which use the gas lines already on your property.

Finally, you should keep in mind that your generator will not work perfectly forever. Luckily, today’s generators have self-testing features that alert you to problems before you need backup power. Still, it’s important to have regular maintenance to prevent your automatic standby generator from breaking down suddenly in the middle of a winter storm.

Call qualified technicians for routine generator maintenance on a regular schedule. You can work out a plan with your technician to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, even after the lights go out.

Chances are, the computer, tablet or phone that you are using to read this post is powered by electricity produced by coal, natural gas or nuclear energy. Currently, the overwhelming bulk of power for the nation's electrical work is generated in large, centralized plants that use those three fuels. However, with the rise of renewable energy sources as well as a transition to modern and responsive grid technology, the country's electric infrastructure is poised to move toward a more dispersed generation system. Read on to learn what that means for you.

Huge Generating Plants Vulnerable to Disruption

According to the Energy Information Administration, 39 percent of the nation's electricity comes from coal, 27 percent from natural gas and 19 percent from nuclear fuel. In addition to being non-renewable, the three fuels that make up 85 percent of our electricity production also work best in massive power plants that produce large amounts of power, which is then sent out long distances through the grid to power our electrical work.

This large-scale generation has advantages – economies of scale, for one – but it is also inflexible and can be subject to disruption. An event that causes a plant to shut down or interrupts its distribution, for example, could leave entire communities without power. The grid is also, in effect, a one-way street – electricity leaves the generating plant and arrives at your home, where it is consumed.

Renewable Energy and Advancing Technology

However, several changes are occurring that will create a more dispersed and flexible generation system to power our electrical work. For one, the share of renewable energy sources, which don't require large generating plants, is continuing to grow. Solar panels are popping up on rooftops across America, while wind power could provide as much as a third of the electricity in the country by 2050. In addition to being far better for the environment than fossil fuels, these power generators can scale down to even a household-by-household basis.

The other change that is facilitating a more dispersed power generation system is an advance in technology in the electric grid, which allows power to flow in two directions, both to your home and away from your home. That means that electricity can be generated almost anywhere and then zipped along the power lines to wherever it is needed. Breakthroughs in power storage technology will also help guide us toward a future where the power for our electrical work is created when and where it's needed, freeing us from the constraints created by large, inflexible power plants.

Generate Electricity at Your Own Home

If you want to learn more about adding renewable power sources to your property, or need any other electrical work done, call up an expert electrician today.

When you’re purchasing LED strip lights, there are numerous details and specifications upon which to base your decision. Color, length, and intensity are some of the major deciding factors, but there are many unthought-of product aspects that further customize light strips and what they’ll require when it’s time to install them. For example, a decision between 24-volt strip lights could change the products needed for your project.

While it depends on a light strip’s current draw, LED type, and number of LEDs, 24-volt LED strip lights tend to have longer maximum runs than 12-volt strips. This is because higher voltage carries more power. All strips have a maximum run, which is the length of continuous strip that can be powered without experiencing voltage drop. Voltage drop happens when the supplied energy of a power source is reduced as electric current flows through wire (or any other pieces of equipment that do not supply voltage on a circuit). If a run of strip is too long, reduced energy across the strip will lessen its intensity near the end.

Because they can handle more power, many 24-volt LED strip lights tend to have brighter LEDs, dual-row LED configurations, or single-row configurations of more LEDs. In these instances, maximum run might be the same as a 12-volt strip. However, keep in mind that these are more powerful strips with more LEDs or higher LED intensities. An identical 12-volt LED strip light would have a shorter maximum run.

Make sure to check any light strip’s specifications or description for its maximum run.

If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call us toll free at 866-590-3533. Our customer service and technical support teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.

The term “arc flash” is used to describe low impedance connections in an electrical system, which allows movement of unwanted electric discharge through the air from one voltage phase to another, or to ground. This leads to a rapid rise in temperature and pressure in the air between electrical conductors, causing an explosion known as an arc blast.

Arc blasts and the resulting heat can lead to fires, pressure waves and flying shrapnel that result in serious damage to life and property. These explosions typically occur without any warning, destroy electrical equipment completely and lead to severe injury or death of personnel present within the boundary of the arc flash.

What Are the Main Causes of Arc Flash?

Arc flash occurs when several electrical conductors are placed close to each other, with significant fault currents flowing through them. In this situation, ionization of the air can take place as a result of various factors – such as differences in potential – which leads to a low resistance path and allows current to flow through the air gap between conductors.

Many people assume that low voltage equipment is safe from arc flash, but arc flash hazard levels may be higher at low voltages, due to the high fault currents. Most incidents that occur in low voltage systems are caused by human error, e.g. a tool slipping while a technician works on electrical equipment.

Arc flash can also be caused due to:

As you continue cleaning your home for spring, now may be the time to address minor electrical problems that have been plaguing your household all winter. Issues such as dead outlets, flickering lights and a bevy of other concerns might have been bugging you all season , but between the cold temperatures and other hassles of the season, you may have avoided addressing these problems. Now that the weather is finally starting to get a little more tolerable, you can turn your attentions back to your home's upkeep.