Local Electrician offers Tips for hiring an Atlanta Residential Electrician

licensed electrician working

Although there are a lot of resources out there for the DIY electrician, there are numerous benefits when working with a licensed electrician who’s also specialized as a residential electrician.

First, a lot of technical knowledge is needed, and it can really help smooth over the entire end-to-end process of whatever the licensed electrician is there for.

They are highly experienced

Before they can even consider becoming a residential electrician or a licensed electrician, they need to go through extensive training just to be approved to start their journey.

This course is around 100 hours, and once they are qualified with the book portion of being an electrician, they can start their path of becoming an apprentice, then a journeyman, and a master level of skill. To be either a journeyman or master requires several thousand hours of practical experience.

It’s not a clean job

Being a licensed electrician means going into the guts and foundation of the house to get to where the wiring is. You might feel that putting in a new electrical socket or light switch is all a residential electrician may do, but the real work comes in where all the dirt, cobwebs, and dust are behind the scenes.

They’ll need to get there and either fix wires on the spot or need to re-wire throughout the entire home.

You’re covered with a licensed electrician

Another thing about residential electricians is that they will always stand by their work. As long as you’re working with a professional contractor that has the right types of insurance, whatever electrical wiring or job a licensed electrician performs, insurance will cover any significant mishaps in most cases.

Regardless of insurance, many professional licensed electricians will come back and check on their work to confirm that they did the best job possible.
They’ll also ensure to get the proper building permits that may be needed (depending on the State) and will make sure that their wiring job complies with any types of building or municipal codes at the same time. This is another headache you can easily avoid when working with a licensed electrician.

It will save you money in the long run

Although it may seem as if a residential electrician comes in, does the job quickly, and charges you a significant amount, it’s well worth it. That’s an investment into your electricity at your home that can make everything run smoothly, keep your home safe and give you the correct power needs you require.

You want to also make sure when selecting the right type of licensed electrician that they have a good reputation and good reviews to go with everything. This way, you’ll be in safe hands for someone handling your wiring through this residential electrician.

Understanding similar past work and how they were able to handle it goes a long way to a successful residential electrician doing the job right the first time.

Please see our reviews and contact us for help with your residential electrical services.

Important reasons for hiring a licensed electrician

licensed electrician rewiring home

Sometimes you might head online and watch a few videos and think that you’re ready to handle a complete rewiring or new wiring in your home. Often this is the result of electrical wiring issues you notice around your home. You may think it’s straightforward, you get to use some cool tools, and you’ll have a functioning wired home before you know it. It’s not as simple as that. Let’s look at a few of the reasons that make hiring a licensed electrician perhaps a better option.

It’s a dirty job

Doing electrical work means getting into the guts of the home. You’ll be navigating between the walls, under the floorboards, and through the attic as you start to gut out and pull the old wire while replacing it with new wire.

This can be hazardous and dangerous work, and for your own safety, you’re better off working with a professional when it comes to this. Also, no one wants to be diving into these dirty, out of sight areas.

Being an electrician is a highly-skilled role

To become a licensed electrician means going through thousands of hours of on-the-job training and around 100 hours of classroom training. That’s a lot of experience needed just to be approved.

This is because there’s a certain way to handle electrical wiring, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Due to the danger of getting electrocuted or potentially causing a fire hazard, working with a professional licensed electrician is always a good idea.

They also know all the right tips and tricks to even possibly save you money with their experience.

They’re worth the price

Sometimes we do DIY to save costs, more than feeling that sense of accomplishment. What a licensed electrician may cost well outweighs what it might cost if you don’t use one.

Consider an electrical malfunction happening in your home, causing damage, burnouts, fires, and the like. If you do it yourself or your unlicensed handyman friend does it, insurance will most likely not cover you for it.

Another reason you’ll consider their price point is the fact that they’re actually going to save you a lot of time. Many licensed electricians can work quickly with whatever the job entails, can read circuitry maps faster, and can do the installation job with expediency.

You’ll also not need to go to get the building permits to do the work, or to handle the inspection after the fact, as a licensed general electrician will also handle all that and be able to stand by their work.

You’ll have your wiring done right

A licensed electrician will know things a lot better than you will, and thus they will do their work correctly the first time. On the off chance that doesn’t happen, many licensed electricians will come back and correct any issues as they’ll stand by their work.

Doing it yourself or with those friends will mean learning as you’re going and making mistakes (that can be costly) along the way. So unless you’re extremely dedicated to learning about wiring your home, go with a highly reviewed licensed electrician every single time.

Energy Saving Tips You May Not Have Thought About

energy savings light bulb with a leaf inside

The rapid change of climate brings its inconveniences. We notice them the most in the summer months when it seems there’s no air to breathe, only steam and fire. Gladly, there’s air conditioning and dehumidifying tech that saves us. But it doesn’t save our finances.

That being said, you don’t have to freeze or boil to achieve considerable electricity savings, working hard on your power of will not to switch the A/C on. There are easier, more convenient ways.

Maintain Your A/C Regularly

Maintenance shouldn’t be performed only to make appliances work for a longer time. First of all, the efficiency of their operation depends on how good their condition is. Call a technician every now and then to look at your A/C and update/upgrade its parts.

And don’t forget to check the air filter with every maintenance session. This part alone can save you up to 15% of the power the A/C is using to heat or cool the room. A dirty filter slows the capacity of the appliance, thus increasing electricity bills.

Seal Your House (Works for Summer Too)

Sealing your house isn’t only effective for the cold months. Cool air also tends to escape through the same pathways as the warm air in winter. Seal your home, and you’ll need much less heating or cooling.

Aside from the main living part of the house, make sure to check the attic and basement. Most of the time, the most dramatic leaks occur there.

This will allow for considerable electricity savings throughout the year, which you should aim for.

Change Regular Bulbs to LED Ones

LED lights are the deciding factor when it comes to cutting electricity costs. They use 75% less energy than regular bulbs and last 25+ times longer. There are savings all around if you’re opting for LEDs.

Did you know that common incandescent bulbs only use 15% of the power to light your house? And do you know where the other 85% are going? Almost all of that power goes into heat. As a result, you can’t cool the room down without excess energy use, and you waste a lot on the actual lighting. LEDs solve all those issues.

Unplug Everything You Don’t Use

When not in use, every appliance has to be not only turned off but unplugged. Each one generates just a little bit of heat when plugged in. While a single charger won’t heat the house much, when you add up everything that’s been in use, you’ll see a difference in several degrees.

Buy a Smart Thermostat

Smart tech can save you a lot of money. A smart thermostat will make it easier to manage the temperature at home, automatically adjusting settings when needed. As local governments encourage installing such technology, you can find lots of options for sale, which will save you even more.

Use every appliance wisely, keep in mind the heat they are producing. Switch everything off when you leave home and change regular technology for smart, LED, etc. At the end of the day, you’ll have electricity costs cut without lots of effort while living a comfortable life in the microclimate you find the most suitable for you and your family.

Top 7 Tips to keep your home generator ready when you need it

Not many people remember to maintain their home generator.  As a result the home generator may not work when needed because it was not properly maintained.  Like any other appliance, your home genrator must be checked frequently and repaired when needed.

We all think it’s not going to happen to us. However, even the most stable areas have power outages. And the next one may be just when you need electricity the most. The best solution? A working home generator.

But how you maintain one properly? Below are 7 great recommendations on the topic.

1. Test Your Generator Regularly

Even when you don’t need it, test the appliance. This should become a routine check to see if there are any areas that need more attention in further maintenance or repair. There’s also a feature in many generators to self-test. If you don’t know whether yours does that, call a technician and ask about it.

2. After Use, Check Oil Levels

After every test and actual use, check if the oil levels are alright. Most modern models don’t use much of it, but it’s still easy to forget to refill. Plus, there may be leaks that need to be fixed for your safety and the proper operation of the appliance.

3.  Enusre that the housing does not block ventilation

Protective housing is important for any generator. However, it doesn’t have to block the air supply or any other part. This may break the appliance or make it operate poorly. Plus, if you want additional coverage to block noise or for another reason, make sure to call an expert and consult with them first.

4. Have Additional Fuel on Hand

Many generators use natural gas to operate, but if your house doesn’t have this kind of fuel, make sure there’s enough gasoline, diesel, etc. to last for a lengthy power outage. In case of a natural disaster, you never know how long electricity will be out.

5. Check the Electrical System Regularly

It’s also important to check how the generator starts to work when an outage occurs. It should be on the automatic mode, when it starts to operate at the moment the main power source turns off.

However, issues may occur that will make the generator work dangerous. If you don’t know how to check the electrical system yourself, it’s better to contact a specialist.

6. Check the Air Filter

You should clean, fix, and/or replace the filter when needed. Make sure there’s a replacement by hand at any moment. If the filter is neglected, the generator may get damaged, which is dangerous for your house.

7. Test Smart Features Frequently

If you have a generator with smart features like smartphone operation, check whether they work regularly. This includes updating applications in time, connecting to the appliance every now and then to test settings, etc.

Check every element and feature of your home generator to make sure that in case of emergency, you’re fully covered. The climate is changing, which gives way to unusual natural disasters in areas where there wasn’t a hurricane in years.