The Alpharetta Electrician Blog

Reducing Fire Risk in Your Home with Smoke Detectors

What happens when there is a fire in your home? Statistically you will be at home when fire breaks out and most likely asleep. The fire will start with a common household activity (cooking, heating, lighting, etc.). A single flame, such as a candle, can turn into a full-fledged fire in 30-60 seconds. Temperatures in rooms adjacent to the fire will rise to hundreds of degrees before bursting into flames themselves. In five minutes, or less, one-half of your home is engulfed in flames. The fire rapidly replaces oxygen in the house with carbon monoxide and causes you to become drowsy and disorientated. Pitch black burning smoke, the leading cause of fire-related injuries, quickly fills the house, spreading faster than the fire itself. Breathing this smoke instantly damages your lungs. Your obvious instinct is to escape but visibility is low. At this point, many fire victims become lost in their own homes. Unable to see or think straight, they die within steps of an exit. Depending on where the fire starts and the rate at which the fire spreads, you’ll have 60-120 seconds to get yourself, children and pets out of the house.

Thankfully, for most readers this is only a hypothetical scenario, for thousands of others it’s an unfortunate reality. A Johns Creek, GA house fire claimed the lives of both a resident and a firefighter in 2007. The evening fire, started by an unattended candle on the porch, spread quickly throughout the house without sounding any smoke alarms. The surviving homeowner said the sleeping residents had no knowledge of the fire until the barking dog woke them from sleep.

More than 2,000 people die in house fires throughout the United States each year according to the U.S. Fire Administration and the majority of these happen in homes without smoke detection. The reason is, without smoke detectors to warn about a fire, there is little or no time to escape.

Georgia building codes have changed in recent years to require mandatory smoke detection that is hardwired into the electrical system. In 2006 the building codes where changed to also require smoke detectors in every bedroom. These smoke detectors are specifically linked with the other smoke detectors in your home for simultaneous sounding. This means every smoke detector sounds when one smoke detector “discovers” smoke. Apart from being very loud, this set-up guarantees that a fire in the basement does not go unnoticed by a homeowner sleeping in an upstairs bedroom. Every person, in every room of the house, is alerted at the same time.

This is a major upgrade because many fire victims are children and elderly who were never alerted to the fire or were simply left behind in the panic. Regrettably, a majority of homes in Georgia were built before 2006 and still lack this important upgrade.

Every homeowner should take a few minutes each year to check their smoke detector systems. Here is a helpful checklist:

1. Do you have smoke detectors? Where are they? You should have a smoke detector in the following rooms and areas in your home:
   1. Hallways
   2. Bedrooms
   3. Basement
   4. Garage
   5. Mechanical Room
   6. Bonus Rooms or Attic Rooms
2. Are they functional?
   1. Press the “test” button. The alarm should sound immediately.
   2. Check the battery back-up. Smoke detectors should be hardwired into your electrical system and also have a battery back-up function.
   3. Are they less than ten years old? Most manufacturers recommend replacing any smoke detector that is more than ten years old.
3. Are your Smoke Detectors Linked?
   1. Press the “test” button and listen for which other smoke detectors sound. Can you hear every smoke detector from everywhere in the house? A smoke detector is not effective if you cannot hear it or if it does not activate during a fire.

For additional information about smoke detectors visit www.ThrasherElectric.com

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Hitting the Ceiling

There was a great sale at the local home improvement store and you just couldn’t resist! You’ve owned a beautiful new ceiling fan all summer long . . . only it’s been in a box on the garage floor and not hung where you and your family can enjoy it.

You would have hired an electrician months ago but after a frustrating afternoon of calling everyone in the phone book, you had quotes ranging from $50 (which is more that you paid for the fan) to $600, and no appointment.

You’re not alone! We get calls from homeowners every day who have “the perfect fan” but no way to install it.

No matter what the scenario, we’ve heard it:

The handyman installed it (and it looks great) but the fan works and the light doesn’t . . . or there’s no power in the rest of the room!

The homeowners tackled it as a weekend do-it-yourself project, but it took several weekends and still no working fan!

The husband was going to “get around to it” and now the wife is calling (please don’t call on the home number) to have it installed while he’s away (shhhh . . .).

The neighbor talked big about how he “used to be an electrician” but then “disappeared.”

The in-laws said wait until they were in town (experienced in installing dozens of ceiling fans) but somehow could only remove the old fan (something about not having “the right tools”).

An “electrician” came out to the house. The price was fair but the customer got nervous somewhere along the way.

A licensed, bonded, insured electrical company with a lifetime warranty quoted the project on site but the homeowner was sure they could get a better “deal.” That was months ago and they can’t remember who came out.

Don’t give up yet! Ceiling fans are a worthwhile investment in your home’s energy efficiency and comfort. You can also begin using a ceiling fan no matter what time of the year it is installed. Ceiling fans don’t just provide a cooling breeze in the summer but are also beneficial in cooler months. They release warmer air that that is trapped in the ceiling and help circulate it downward to warm the room. This can ease the cost of expense electric and gas bills anytime of the year.

Ceiling fans are also attractive (that’s why you bought that great looking one in the first place)! They look great in bedrooms, living rooms, family rooms and even on porches.

The most important aspect of enjoying a ceiling fan is having it installed correctly. Ceiling fans that are poorly installed are unsafe, even dangerous. There are many aspects to a properly installed ceiling fan and calling an electrical company with questions about a fan may be confusing. The following definitions can help:

Fan Box. Every ceiling fan needs an adequate support box (“fan-rated” and “UL Listed”). These are metal boxes that are installed in the ceiling in place of the plastic boxes that are used for lighter and stationary fixtures. Using anything other than a fan-rated box for a ceiling fan could result in stress on the plastic box and eventual collapse.

Angle Kit. This special adapter allows the safe installation of ceiling fans on even the most slanted ceilings.

Canopy. The decorative cone-shaped piece that slides onto the down rod and hides the fan box, swivel, and wiring from view. An improperly installed canopy will result in an unfinished look to the fan and is a solid piece with a hole in the middle that must be slid onto the down rod prior to attaching the fan to the ceiling. The canopy is then slid back up into place and secured with small screws.

Down Rod. The rod that extends from the ceiling (through the canopy) to the top of the ceiling fan. These rods come in many styles and finishes; they also come in different lengths. It is very important to purchase the correct Down Rod, especially on higher ceilings, so that the fan is circulating air where it can do the most good. Down Rods are considered a part of the fan and should be selected when purchasing the fan so that they match perfectly. Ceiling fans on regular height (8’) ceiling fans usually are installed as close to the ceiling as possible and may only have a Down Rod that is several inches in length (which is included with the ceiling fan).

Light Kit. The Light Kit is often an optional element that can usually be added after the fan is installed. If your fan does not have a Light Kit, but you would like one, check to see if there is a small removable round plate where the light would go. Measure the diameter of this plate before heading to the store so you are sure to select the right kit for your fan. Light kits can be as simple as a single glass bowl that covers the bulb or as elaborate as a multi-stemmed kit with decorative glass globes.

Pull Chain. The chain that extends from the bottom of the fan. Some fans come with one Pull Chain (to change the fan speed) and some come with two (the second Pull Chain operates the light). The Pull Chains can be pre-set to the desired speed (or brightness) so that the Wall Switch will turn on the fan and/or light at the preset conditions. If you have a fan that currently operates only on a Pull Chain, a new Wall Switch can be installed for the fan and light.

Wall Switch. A Wall Switch operates the fan independently of the Pull Chain. When the Wall Switch is in the “on” position, the Pull Chain settings can also be adjusted.  A Wall Switch can be wired into a 2-gang box (a box with two switches) so that the fan and light are switched separately (the fan can be turned on without turning on the light and vice a versa), or as a single switch (the Wall Switch turns on both the fan and the light at the preset conditions determined by the pull chain).

Remote. A separate device from the switch that operates the fan and/or light settings. A Remote can be added to a ceiling fan. The Remote has two parts: the Remote (the handheld device) and the Receiver (a device installed inside the fan).

Fan Mode Switch. An adjustable setting found on the fan itself (usually near the top, or base, of the fan). One direction allows for normal warm weather operation and the other setting reverses the fan direction for cooler months.

Switch Leg/Switch Line (SL). The wiring that connects the ceiling fan to the Wall Switch. A SL is usually needed when a ceiling fan is installed from “scratch” (there is not current wiring in the ceiling), and should only be done by a licensed and qualified electrician with the proper tools to “run” or “fish” the wiring without extra holes or other drywall damage to the walls or ceiling.

Balancing Kit: A set of small self-stick or slide on weights that come with the ceiling fan or can be purchase after market. They are attached to the fan blades and are intended to “balance” fans that “wobble” or “shake” (i.e. incorrectly installed) fans. TE Certified Electricians avoid balancing kits. A properly installed ceiling fan should not wobble. If your fan motor and blades are installed professionally, no balancing is necessary. Most wobbling fans can be fixed by checking and securing all fan blades, tightening all fans connections, and insuring that the fan box is properly installed.

A ceiling fan installation should be completed by those thoroughly experienced in installing each of the above components. It is, after all, a major appliance suspended overhead! It is also important that the right tools are used for the job. This includes the right ladder. Many home accidents and poor installs happen when amateurs attempt to make installs or repairs without the right equipment. The right height ladder will prevent stretching and reaching that could result in toppling the ladder (disaster). Toppled ladders result, at a minimum, in damage to the person, walls, floor and the fixture being installed. Being able to work with comfort and proper visibility allows for a good install! If someone told you you’ll need scaffolding to replace your residential ceiling fan, they probably didn’t know what they were talking about. A good electrician should have the right ladders to safely install fans on ceilings up to 30 feet high.

TE Certified Electricians have installed thousands of ceiling fans and we know how to install them right. Plus, we warranty all our work for life, just in case there is a problem. So get that ceiling fan box off the garage floor and hung where you can enjoy it . . . even if it is the end of Summer!

Do you have enough power outlets? Unless you have a newer home, you’re probably saying “Of course not!” (One or two outlets per room is rarely sufficient for today’s high tech homeowner.)

Q. What is the number one cause of household electrical fires? A. Improper use of extension cords. Amended building codes call for more outlets in new homes, but older home still lack the number needed. Installing an easily accessible electrical outlet (not running extension cords) is the best solution. We install additional outlets for flat screen TV’s, Christmas lights, ironing boards, table lamps, floor lamps, appliances and more.  A easy to reach outlet is no only convenient, its a life-saver.

Ungrounded outlets are outlets that lack a ground wire (the extra wire in the system which protects you from electric shock). Ungrounded outlets do not have a means of diverting electrical current away from you (to an exterior grounding system) when needed. Grounding also protects appliances that have a 3-prong plug on the cord from electrical damage to the unit.

Long used by homeowners to control lighting around the home, dimmers are making headway as a “green” device.  Dimmers are no longer just for luxury and comfort. In today’s modern home, dimmers stand for economy and savings. The dual purpose of dimmers is a product of its operation.  Dimmers work by rapidly turning off and on the power to your lights. This on again off again is so fast that it goes unnoticed by the human eye and makes the light appear dim.  The more you dim, a light, the more times it turns the light off.  Because your lights only draw power when they are on, the more you dim, the more you save.  So add some ambiance to your life and keep the world green by installing a dimmer.  And remember, if you go to your neighbor’s home and the lights are turned down low, don’t get the wrong impression. Maybe, He is just trying to save some money or the planet.

When buying a dimmer make sure you match the wattage and light bulb type with the new dimmer.  Undersized dimmers can overheat and lead to fires.  Lights with magnetic or electronic ballasts require special dimmers and household fluorescent lights generally cannot be dimmed.  Of course, if you need  special help, you can always call a professional electrician.

Summer is here and it’s time to check your attic ventilation fan. Attic ventilation fans are electric fans that move stagnate hot air out of your attic circulating fresh cooler air through your attic. Replacing the air in your attic improves your air quality, lowers cooling bills, and prevents wood rot. Attics can reach temperatures of 160 degrees or more during a hot day. This trapped heat makes your a/c unit work much harder than necessary to cool your home.

Attic fans are very quiet and controlled automatically by thermostats. Because these fans are out of the way and quiet, it’s important to check your fan to make sure it’s still operating correctly every year. Bad fans lead to hot attics and high energy bills.

Thrasher Electric troubleshoots attic fans for homeowners who suspect they have a problem.  A common symptom is a hot attic or high energy bills. We find that many fans have bad motors or thermostats. TE Certified Electricians carry attic fans and thermostats on our service vans so we can fix the fans right away. Homeowners are often surprised to see how quickly their attic cools down after a fan is repaired. Many homeowners say “I just thought my attic was supposed to be this hot!”

If your attic is too hot or your energy bills seem too high, check your attic vent fan. If you need help call Thrasher Electric to troubleshoot your fan. A TE Certified Electrician will identify the problem immediately and get your fan operating like it should.

Security lighting is a great way to deter crime and increase the comfort, beauty and enjoyment of your home. Now, more than ever, homeowners report safety concerns as vandals, robbers, and worse are a constant threat. We have experienced a sharp increase in the number of requests for security lighting, particularly motion lighting. Generally, these request come after a homeowner experiences a break-in either at their home or a neighbor’s home. Thrasher Electric has discussed home security and prevention with several local law enforcement officials and their number one suggestion continues to be improved lighting.

Entrance lighting

Local building codes require homes to have lighting by each entrance or exit. Generally, these are sconce or hanging type lights and are great for illuminating the front of the home and deterring criminals. Of course, the lights have to be turned on in order to make a difference! Many homeowners rarely use their front doors and it is difficult to remember to turn those lights on and off everyday. The solution is a timer or photocell lights. Timers can be installed at the switch location to turn the lights on and off for you, every day. The best time for lighting to be on is during the early evening hours when the lights will get the most use. Motion sensor sconce lights can be purchased at local hardware stores and are a great solution because they can be programmed to come on during the evening hours and then act like a motion lights the rest of the night. This helps you conserve energy while still providing light if there is an intruder, a household or neighborhood emergency, or a late night guest.

Flood Lighting

Flood Lighting is a major crime deterrent. It’s important that it is installed and used correctly. Flood lighting should be installed on all sides of the home and especially cover vulnerable areas such as gates, windows, carports, and walkways. It’s important that the flood lights be easy to reach for bulb maintenance and that they are positioned correctly so they fully illuminate the intended areas and do not instead shine in undesirable directions or through doors or windows. Flood lights can be controlled by motion sensors, a timer, or a light switch depending on the location. We recommend installing motion type lights in entrance areas and areas that are not frequently used such as side yards and back gates. For frequently used areas such as patios and backyards we recommend controlling the lights with timers or a simple switch. This makes it easy occupy the area without the motion sensor “timing out” while you’re still enjoying your yard or patio.

Landscape Lighting

Landscape lighting is beautiful, but it’s also very functional. Properly installed landscape lighting can make a home feel inviting and warm for guests and help ward off potential criminals. Good landscape lighting highlights your home’s features and properly lights steps, pathways, and driveways while serving the dual purpose of enhancing the home and providing safe entry for invited guests. We recommended controlling landscape lighting with timers set for the early evening hours to maximize actual use and energy efficiency.

Worker’s compensation is a special type of insurance that protects employees and employers in the case of an on the job accident. Working with live wires, under houses, in attics, and on ladders is dangerous and there is always the real possibility of injury.  TE Certified Technicians attend weekly safety training and have invested in the special ladders and tools to do the job right. We have also invested in worker’s compensation insurance for all our employees.

If someone is injured at your home, you could potentially be liable for their injury even if it was not really your fault.  Homeowners often believe they are only liable for injuries to guest at their home but this is not true. A homeowner can be liable for a worker as well and are often taking big risk without even knowing it when they risk when hiring a less than professional person.

Here is what generally happens.  Mrs. Homeowner shops around and finds a price for replacing her ceiling fan in the living room. One “electrician” offers a price that is too good to be true and 1/2 that of the competition. Mrs. Homeowner is suspicious of the cheap price but wants to save as much money as possible so she ask the cheap electrician for his insurance. Mr. Cheap says “Yes, I am fully insured” and shows his insurance to Mrs. Homeowner who doesn’t look very closely because she is not an insurance adjusted and trust Mr. Cheap. Then the unfortunate happens…Mr. Cheap slips on the front steps carrying in his ladder. He breaks the glass front door and his back on the way down.  Mr. Cheap goes to the doctor and occurs $80,000 in medical bills to get his back fixed.  His personal health insurance (if he has any) doesn’t cover on the job accidents and he is broke.  The “full” insurance he showed Mrs. Homeowner turns out to be a scam.  He has worker’s compensation insurance but he “opted out” of coverage.  That means he got the insurance but elected not to be covered to avoid paying the premiums.  After all, this is how most lone man companies in Georgia operate . Mr. Cheap got to say that he had worker’s compensation insurance even though he really did not. So now Mr. Cheap is $80,000 in debt and out of work with a bad back. His personal insurance won’t cover him and he had fake worker’s compensation insurance. He then talks to a lawyer and decides that the best thing to do is sue Mrs. Homeowner.  After-all, it was her slippery steps that caused the accident and she is liable.  Mr. Cheap knows its not Mrs. Homeowner’s fault but has no other option. Plus, he knows Mrs. Homeowner’s insurance company is good for the money.  In the best seneio Mrs. Homeowner’s insurance company will take care of everything and her premiums will go way up. In the worse care senerio, the insurance company finds out that Mr. Cheap is not licensed either (he just has a business license not an electrical license) and denies the claim. This is a common clause in most home owner’s insurance programs.  This means Mr. Homeowner is left to fight Mr. Cheap all by herself.

Don’t take this risk. When you hire an electrician insist on seeing his insurance, particularly his worker’s compensation insurance. Don’t fall for the fake worker’s compensation scam.

REAL Worker’s Compensation

The Problem

Electrical outlets are dangerous in and of themselves but are especially dangerous to small children. According to www.childoutletsafety.org more than 2,500 children are hurt by electrical outlets every year at a rate of at least seven a day. Generally, these injuries are to children under the age of three and consist of serious burns and other major complications resulting from electric shock. Most often, the injuries occur when small children insert common household objects (hairpins, keys, toys, etc.) into electrical outlets. Many parents attempt to prevent these occurrences by installing “after market” covers and guards. However, these products are inadequate and are often removed because they do not work in conjunction with electrical devices. This is why most homes don’t have any child protection.

The Solution

Install tamper resistant outlets with an integrated child protection function. When a tamper resistant outlet is not in use, internal plastic guards cover the outlet openings. The guards will not open unless an electrical plug is inserted into the outlet. Therefore, the outlet will not accept keys, hairpins, or any other object a child might put into one of the openings. The guards are designed so that they do not interfere with everyday outlet use and are basically invisible. Surprisingly, these outlets have been around for quite some time but are generally only installed in doctor’s offices and daycare centers.

The New Law

In 2009, Georgia started enforcing the 2008 National Electrical Code change for residential electrical outlets. The new code adopts the nationally recognized tamper resistant outlets and requires that they be installed in all residential dwellings permitted in 2009 or beyond. Thrasher Electric is a 100 percent compliant company. This means we have been following this new code change since January 1, 2009 and every outlet we install is tamper resistant.

Tamper Resistant Outlets

If your home was built before 2009, chances are you do not have tamper resistant outlets. Check your outlets by looking at the openings for an internal plastic cover (they are easy to spot). If you see any metal inside the openings, instead of plastic covers, you have outdated electrical outlets. If you have small children (or ever have small children in your home), are planning to sell your home, or if you simply want to be code compliant, look into getting new tamper resistant outlets! The best way to get tamper resistant outlets is to call a Certified Electrician (like us!) to replace them. As a bonus, it’s a great opportunity to also upgrade the color and/or style of your home’s devices.

For even more information visit: http://tools.passandseymour.com/pstr/tamper-resistant_FAQs.cfm

1. My Ceiling is Finished and There Is No Attic: Can You Still Install Recessed Lights?
Absolutely! In fact, most of the recessed lights we install are in finished ceilings with no overhead access. We use remodel type
lights, special tools, drills, and a camera to fish the wires. Pus, we use a special saw that collects that dust as we cut (it’s pretty cool).

2. Will My Ceiling be Damaged if I Get Recessed Lights Installed?
Not if you use us! We are recessed lighting specialist (really, we are). Most of the time, we install recessed lights without any
damage to the existing ceiling. In some cases, we are forced to cut a small hole to assist with the wiring, but never without your
permission. We never remove large sections of drywall or cut multiple holes or channels. If someone told you they would need to
ruin your ceiling, they did not know how to install recessed lights.

3. What Type of Lights Should I Get?
Recessed lights come in several types and sizes. We install 6″, 5″, 4″, 3″ and even 2″ recessed lights. 6″ recessed lights are the
most common type and are great for kitchens, hallways, and sitting rooms. 4″ lights are great for theaters, bar areas, small
kitchens, and fireplaces. 3″ lights are great for dramatic lighting around artwork, arches, curtains, and cabinets. 2″ recessed lights
are great for showcases, cabinets, nooks, and arches. Call us and we will schedule a lighting consultation with an expert who can
answer all your questions and help you make a great decision.

4. My Ceiling is Sloped; Can I Still Get Recessed Lights?
Yes, you can. It may be a bit more difficult and can be messy (according to our standards) in some cases, but we do it on a
regular basis. They even make recessed lights specifically for sloped ceilings.

5. I Don’t Like The Look of My Current Recessed Lights; What Can I do?
Many recessed lights have interchangeable trim pieces (the part of the light you can see). That means we can change the whole
look of the recessed light, just by changing the trim piece. This is a great option in rooms with cheap trims that have started to yellow.

6. One Recessed Lights Keeps Burning Out; What Can I Do?
Get the light checked out. There is probably a loose wire or connection that is reducing the bulb life. Also, we find that using 130v lamps over the regular 120v lamps help.

7. I’ve Replaced The Bulb But The Light is Still Out; What Now?
The light needs to be checked out. Regular recessed lights contain thermal sensors that can go bad and shut off the light. Low
Voltage type recessed lights contain transformers that can go bad over time. Also, we find that many low voltage lights have
damaged or corroded sockets.

Why Does The Lone Man “Company” Charge Less?