Electrical rewiring in Fairfax, VA may be the best decision you make this spring. After all, with the weather finally making the switch from snow and sleet to sun and heat, now is the time to start making some positive changes around your home. There’s no better way to start changing with the times than by improving your home’s electricity and with improved rewiring, you can live more comfortably in your home than ever before!

Are lights on your dorm room checklist? They should be.

College dorm rooms are not known for their style and charm. They serve but one purpose for the budding student – a place to study and (occasionally) sleep. Equipped with little more than a bed and a desk, an empty dorm room requires some essential supplies. I’ve put together a list of several different types of lights — some fun and some functional — that need to make it on your back-to-school checklist.

The ever-popular rear bike light from REI that will at least make you more visible when cycling across campus at night, just not nearly as awesome as synchronized LED bike tires.

Shop for Dorm Room Lights

Ceiling fans are a welcome addition to any room, providing a source of light, circulation, and warm or cool air, at the flip of a switch. Depending on the type, and style of fan you choose, they can add a pleasing, visual element to your living space, but there’s more to choosing the right fan than just looks. Adequate sizing makes all the difference to performance and comfort, while proper installation methods allow for the safe and efficient operation of your ceiling fan. When it comes time to replace your existing fan, whether for technical, or aesthetic reasons, professional installation is recommended, as the warning signs and potential issues may not be immediately apparent.

Christmas is upon us again and more than any other time of year, it’s the time of year where people put strain on their electrical system.  The lights on your house and the beautiful decorations you’ve been storing in your attic finally are brought out and plugged in for your friends and neighbors to view and appreciate.  And, of course, the vast majority of homes you visit have at least one Christmas tree.  Since most of these things are electrical, it’s probably not a surprise to you that, as a top Dallas electrician, I start getting a lot of calls this time of year.  Though it’s always nice to have the business with Christmas so close, I thought it’d be great to share with ways to avoid wiring problems with your Christmas decorations this year:

 In general, there are a few important tips that can help you avoid wiring problems.  If your lights look frayed or dangerous, they should always be replaced or repaired before using them, frayed wiring are hazardous.  You should take care that your electrical source is safe before you even begin the installation process.  To avoid the potential for overloads, you should have dedicated circuits installed for your holiday decorations.

Most importantly, you should never try to supply power for your lights without contacting a top Dallas electrician to help you install the necessary equipment and make the necessary safety precautions.  Short cuts are potentially dangerous. I can remember one example where a customer had supplied power to their lights by splicing an extension cord directly into their circuit breaker box!  Even worse, they’d shut the breaker box door, pinching the cabling!  Left unchecked, even if this hadn’t started a fire, damage from a power surge or overload could have easily destroyed their whole breaker, meaning they’d have to spend thousands to repair the damage at the absolute worst time of year!

Take a few minutes to look for and correct electrical hazards in your home. It does not take too long to check the insulation on a table lamp cord, check for the correct wattage light bulbs and install a GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter). Take the time. It will prevent an electrical safety hazard and save you and your loved ones lives.

Unsafe conditions such as overloaded circuits and damaged insulation as well as the misuse of extension cords and electrical devices create fire hazards and may result in serious electrical injury.

Studies of residential electrical fires show that the majority of serious fires could have easily been avoided. The conditions that caused the fires probably would have been detected by an electrical inspection. These problems were not detected or corrected because no inspections had been made for several years. In a number of cases homes ranging from 30 to 100 years old had not been inspected since they were built. A safety inspection should be performed by a qualified licensed electrician.

One good tip to determine when your electrical system was last inspected is to examine the door and cover of your electrical panel. The panel should contain a label or tag with a date, a signature, or initials on it. If there is more than one date, the most recent one should be the date of the last inspection. DO NOT remove the service-panel cover. This is a job for a qualified electrician. If the date is older than ten years, its time for a inspection and correction of any problems that show.

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