Ever wonder what a professional electrician does every day? Rostron Premium Home Services receives hundreds of calls every week with varying requests from our Jersey Shore homeowners. What’s the work we’re most proud of, you ask?
Keeping our customers safe, of course!
Keep Your Home Safe From…
House Fires
Electrical faults are responsible for more than 32,000 house fires in the US each year. Pretty crazy, right? Especially when you consider that a majority of your home’s electrical system is completely hidden from your eyes. So, what does our electrician recommend to protect from house fires?
Update Electrical Panels: There are actually some brands of electrical panels that are outlawed because of how frequently they caused house fires. Don’t believe us? Just search Federal Pacific or Pushmatic. Check regularly for burn marks or loose breakers. With every year that passes, more and more devices are reliant on electricity. Make sure your panel is ready to provide your home with what you need!
Run Dedicated Line: There are times when a breaker trip is a fluke, but if you are noticing consistent issues with a specific part of your home, you may need to run a dedicated circuit to specific appliances to allow the proper amount of power.
Add Outlets: We’re just going to rip off the bandage. Extension cords are meant to be used as a temporary solution. Don’t be ashamed, we’ve all been there. Adding a proper outlet to provide permanent power to specific area is essential to keeping your home safe from electrical fires.
Smoke Detectors: They may not prevent housefires themselves, but they can certainly minimize damage and even save lives! Hardwiring smoke detectors are a great way to ensure they’re always ready to assist.
Dryer Vent Cleanings: Your dryer works hard to push all that dry lint through your vent, but it isn’t always successful. Make sure you clean it regularly, as dryers are a common starting point for house fires!
Electrocution
It’s mainly something you’ve probably seen in movies, but you can absolutely be electrocuted in your own home. In fact, it’s not as uncommon as you’d think. Our electrician has the following recommendations:
GFI Outlets: These special devices are designed to be installed anywhere there could be moisture, including bathrooms, kitchens, and even outdoors. These special devices will “trip” when there is an imbalance in the electrical current.
Outlet Caps: Make sure unused outlets are capped, especially if you have young children in your home.
Avoid Touching Your Electrical Panel With Both Hands: If there is an issue with your panel such as a loose connection, you will likely get a shock from the panel. When a person makes contact with both hands, they create a “circuit” and make that shock a lot more serious, even resulting in death.
Intruders
Protecting yourself, your home, and your family is likely a priority for you. The best way to do that is to prepare before something happens. Statistics show that taking the steps to secure your home will actually deter any suspicious activity. That’s right, adding security measures will decrease the likelihood that you’ll need them in the first place!
Outdoor Lighting: Advances in technology have certainly made the world a safer place. What was once an expensive, luxurious addition to a home has become more available to the everyone looking to keep their home safe.
Motion-Activated Doorbells: We asked a number of cat burglars, and they all said they were 99.99% less likely to break into a home with a motion-activated doorbell. (Don’t quote that statistic, we’re only kidding.) Doorbells equipped with cameras are a great way to keep you and your family safe, even when you aren’t home!
Rising Energy Costs
You’ll never escape the constant increase of energy costs, seen on your electricity and gas bills. Although, you can take steps to limit the impact your family feels when these prices inevitably do go up. How our electrician can help:
Ceiling Fans: Replacing light fixtures in bedrooms are a great way to give your HVAC system a little love. Circulating air makes it feel cooler, meaning you may not need to run your AC system on those warmer, stuffier days.
Light Fixtures: As with everything else, new advancements with technology have made lighting your home much more efficient. For example, LED light bulbs use 90% less energy compared to incandescent or CFL bulbs. An added bonus, they are safer and have a lifespan that is 15-25 times longer than your old bulbs.
Upgrade HVAC Units: Both heat and AC utilize electricity, while your heating system will often utilize gas as well. Replace your old, outdated units with something more efficient. We bet you’ll be more comfortable and you’ll see those savings directly on your bill and through rebates.
Power Outages
For some, loss of electricity is a nuisance. For others, who depend on electricity to cope with medical conditions, it can quite literally be a matter of life and death. Don’t worry, though, Rostron Premium Home Services has got your back!
Install a Generator: Generators come in all shapes and sizes. Just want your refrigerator and some of your lighting to stay on during outages? We’ve got smaller units to cover you. Live in an area where the power goes out frequently and don’t want to be affected anymore? Get a unit to cover your whole house!
Surge Protectors: Power outages themselves don’t damage equipment or appliances. When electricity is restored, a large bit of power is run into your home. If your AC unit, furnace, oven, or refrigerator aren’t built to handle that amount of power, it leads to costly repairs. Select which appliances you’d like to protect using dedicated surge protectors, or opt for a whole-house option to protect any plug in your home!
Knowing what you know after reading our recommendations, is your home in tip-top condition electrically? If you’re located in New Jersey, specifically in the Monmouth or Ocean County area, give us a call to schedule a consultation with our licensed electrician.
Rostron Premium Home Services offers heating, cooling, plumbing, and electric services to the Jersey Shore and surrounding areas.
