There are some home repairs you don’t want to tackle. Here are several red flags to look for when you’re buying a home.

common plumbing problems. Water damage is the homeowner’s mortal enemy. Water causes foundation problems, rot and mold. Want to move into that mess? Probably not.

To see if your potential purchase has suffered the consequences of water damage, start outside and

When you see water damage near an electrical outlet or a light fixture, you may have stumbled onto a fire risk. But outlets aren’t the only place to look for potential electrical problems.

Look for flickering and blinking, which signals a poor connection somewhere along the circuit. Check to see if both halves of electrical outlets are functioning. Make sure bathrooms, kitchens, garages and outdoors have professional electrician should determine whether the home’s circuits or fuses provide adequate power and service. The electrician can look for burned wiring, improper connections, dead-end wiring or ungrounded switches and outlets.

Your home inspector is a font of knowledge! Have the inspector check the air quality of the home to see if any mold spores are present — if water leakage or other common plumbing problems have been an issue, mold may be, too.

The inspector can ensure that the heating and cooling systems are properly installed. The inspector can also determine how old the HVAC system is and ensure that its been maintained

Your inspector will also determine the type of pipe that supplies water to the house—old lead and galvanized steel pipes are going to need replacing.

If the house you’re considering fails these tests, it may be best to move onto the next. If you still think it’s the right house for you, despite the presence of common plumbing problems or the need for an electrical overhaul, negotiate a lower price or ask the seller to pay for needed fixes.

Questions? Thoughts? Leave a note in the Comments section orschedule service 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.

You must have heard how it’s important to unplug your mobile device chargers when they aren’t connected. That’s because these chargers continue to drain electricity. While this is a fact, the truth also is that the amount of power that mobile phones and other similar devices draw, is minuscule compared to the amount of power that larger electrical appliances and equipment in your home or commercial premises use.

The electronics we are referring to are the modern, advanced ones that have standby settings; they significantly escalate your utility bills even when they aren’t being used. These energy guzzlers can easily account for up to 10% of an average-size home’s energy consumption.

As mentioned at the start, mobile phone chargers are a very good example of energy guzzlers as they don’t perform any function when they aren’t charging the phones; and there is absolutely no downside to and ensuring they are unplugged most of the time. One more classic example is the microwave that uses more standby energy compared to a mobile device’s charger; this is because the former powers a digital clock.

But it’s common for people to leave that plugged in, as many people tend to use it to check the time when they are in the kitchen. These types of devices don’t account for sizeable energy wastage; however, video games, computer, flat screen TV and home theatre systems are entirely a different story. These appliances are becoming increasingly sophisticated and use advanced technology and over the years manufacturers have begun focusing more on the amount of time it takes for these machines to start up.

That is how the “standby mode” came into existence. That isn’t an “off” mode; when a device is in the “standby mode” it continues to draw power to keep various components and processes working; this helps “wake them” very quickly once you want to use them again. In most cases, the default standby settings aren’t the most energy-friendly, but you can customize them to suit your requirements. You will be able to find more information in the product manuals that come with these devices; alternatively, you can look in the device’s settings menu for the different power options.

Though these advanced technology electronics can be an energy-drain, the simplest and fail-safe method of preventing this from happening is to pull the plug. The sure-shot way to stop devices from driving up your utility bill is to disconnect them from the devices. If you find this too inconvenient, you can utilize power strips. When you hit the main power button on the power strip, the power gets fully disconnected even when you leave the strip plugged in.

The other way to add to the energy-efficiency of your home is to look for devices with higher energy star ratings when you are purchasing any new appliances and equipment. Check on which devices use less power when they are in standby mode as well. If you have any energy-efficiency concerns about any appliances and installations in your home, call Allround Electricals today.