Halloween is no doubt one of the most festive times of the year and decorating for the season is a fun and cherished pastime enjoyed by many families. Unfortunately, as almost all Dallas Electrician, ElectricMan Inc. would like for you and your family to enjoy the ghoulish festivities while practicing electrical safety, so here are a few tips for making the most out of decorating for this exciting time of year.

The Hazards of Halloween Decor

When people talk about Halloween decorations, they’re often thinking about lots of lights combined with smoke machines, spiderwebs and paper decorations, all of which can be cheaply made. The down side of these homemade special effects is that many of these decorations are made of highly flammable material which, if left unattended and in close proximity to electrical lighting, can be anything but fun.

Another problem that often arises from Halloween decorating comes from using electrical lighting and components with electrical wiring that has become cracked and damaged over time. Any cracks in the insulation or damage to the wires can prove frightening and sometimes even deadly. Furthermore, heavy usage of lighting and decorations that require electricity can put a strain on extension cords, power strips and electrical outlets in your home, straining your home’s circuits.

Tips for Safe Decorating

You don’t have to leave the Halloween spirit behind to celebrate safely. Follow these easy-to-remember safety tips when Halloween decorating with your family for the ultimate ghoulish celebration:

Whether you have recently moved into a new home or have decided to remodel, there is one thing most people do not consider until it is too late: the placement of the light switches in each room. While it may seem like a miniscule worry, having practical and accessible light switches in your home can actually make a huge difference. Although some light switch positions may never make sense– who put that switch behind the door, anyway?– one of the main reasons many homeowners are interested in relocating light switches is because the intended usage for each room may differ from the previous homeowner, and the purpose of each room will certainly influence the type and size of furniture in the room which may also affect lightswitch placement.

From adding a light switch to the master bedroom closet to moving a light switch outside the bathroom to inside, a residential electrician from Electrical Gurus can help with all of our house wiring issues and home electrical installation projects. And while you may feel like you have enough home repair experience to handle installing or moving a light switch, the reasons your Des Moines home has light switches in strange spots is probably because someone took a shortcut the first time. Having an experienced and licensed residential electrician will not only save you the headache from trying to undo someone else’s workaround, you will also be certain that the job is done properly and up to local electric codes. Contact us online today or call Electrical Gurus at 515-446-7040 for help with relocating your light switches.

A lot of serious contractor related problems can be averted by doing just a little research. After nineteen years in the trade, I have found that if both home and business owners follow these tips, they almost always have a pleasant experience:

1. Check the license. Never hire an unlicensed contractor or electrician in any capacity. It may look like a good deal, but it may end up costing you more than extra money in the end. Unlicensed contractors are not bonded and have not taken any kind of exam to be assured they have the knowledge to perform the type of work you may need done. Also, it is very unlikely they have liability insurance (more on that below).

2. Check for insurance coverage. By law, Hawaii licensed electrical contractors will have liability insurance coverage. The bond that is required for electrical contractors in Hawaii is generally $7000 – an extremely limited amount. Look for an insurance policy of at least $1 Million.

3. Ask for a Journeyman card for proof of license. All electricians are required by law to be a journeyman, having passed all Hawaii State requirements. Ask to see the card of anyone performing electrical work on your home or business. This is very important and makes sure you have qualified workers.  Your persons and property are at risk if they are unlicensed.

4. Ask what kind of work the electrician has done in the past. It is usually a pretty good indication of what you should expect in the future.

5. What is the electrician’s real concern as you speak with them about your project? Are they concerned about what you are trying to accomplish on your project? Are they up front and confident about pricing? Do they care about your needs and the needs of your property?

Following these tips will give you the ability to find the right electrician for you. Blue Sky Electric is happy to provide you with more information. Give us a call with any questions and we will be happy to assist you.

Department of Energy. In the summer, keep your thermostat at a minimum of 78°F—no higher. And in the winter, try 68°F.

Most people are actually perfectly comfortable at this temperature—more so than they may think. When elderly relatives or small children live in the home, these settings may not be possible, but they can help most people save money while they are home.

Here is one of the most common misconceptions about heating and air conditioning systems: turning down the temperature all the way will help the home cool off faster, and turning the heat up as high as possible warms a home faster. This simply isn’t the case.

With time, lower temperatures will make the house colder, but it won’t happen any faster. Your air conditioner runs nonstop to reach the setting on the temperature, which is less than what you need to be comfortable. Then, you end up paying way more than you should, and you may not really be comfortable.

The same is true when you continuously get up to adjust the thermostat settings. The AC/heater simply becomes overworked, and this is something you want to avoid. Use your programmable thermostat to keep temperatures stable instead.

When you leave the home, it’s important to use the programming settings on your thermostat to keep temperatures about 10° lower (in the winter) or higher (when it’s hot outside). This way, you don’t waste energy cooling or heating a home that is unoccupied.

However, you don’t want to change the temperature by too much. Let’s say it’s summer and you are away for the day. You shut off the AC completely and turn it on when it gets home. Now, the air conditioner has to work hard to get back up to speed, which may use up even more energy than keeping it at a higher temperature for the day.

Many people are unsure of how to effectively use their thermostats for energy efficiency. Get to know your thermostat by spending some time reading the thermostat. You may be able to use programming options to set different schedules on weekends and weekdays, or to make changes throughout the day.

If your thermostat is over 10 years old, it may be time for a new one. New smart thermostats allow you to set schedules or make changes directly from your smartphone. Ask a local technician about your options.

Where we live, power outages are all too common, and it’s not a problem you should have to just wait out. Many people in our neighborhood have portable generators to keep some parts of the home powered on during a short outage.

However, a portable generator is tedious to refill and hook up. Nothing beats the peace of mind, efficiency, and ease-of-use that comes with owning a whole-house generator. Here’s what you should know about this type of system.

Many homeowners still have portable generators, or else they have generators designed for use with several appliances and systems at once, but without an automatic transfer switch. It’s possible to upgrade many generators to have a transfer switch, and they come standard with an automatic standby generator.

The transfer switch monitors the power in your home. When your home no longer has an electrical current running into it, the transfer switch kicks in within seconds.

Some generators run on diesel or propane, which means you need to refill it from time to time. It could stop working unexpectedly, and the tank for these generators is quite bulky. We always recommend natural gas automatic standby generators, which use the gas lines already on your property.

Finally, you should keep in mind that your generator will not work perfectly forever. Luckily, today’s generators have self-testing features that alert you to problems before you need backup power. Still, it’s important to have regular maintenance to prevent your automatic standby generator from breaking down suddenly in the middle of a winter storm.

Call qualified technicians for routine generator maintenance on a regular schedule. You can work out a plan with your technician to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible, even after the lights go out.