Across Nokesville and the rest of Virginia, parents and their kids anxiously await the arrival of Spring Break. The school year can be particularly stressful for everyone, both parents and kids, so we hope that you and your family are able to take full advantage of your downtime to relax. If you’re planning a getaway for your family, don’t forget to safeguard your home against potential threats. Getting adequate rest during this time is crucial for finishing out the school year strong. The last thing we want is for you to have to cut your vacation short because something went wrong at home. To get the most of your Spring Break holiday, follow these tips on keeping your home safe!

Whether you’re going to be gone for a few nights or the entire week, ask a trusted friend or neighbor to check on your home once or twice a day. Perhaps your neighbor can even keep a car parked there for the time being. You will also want to have your newspaper and mail picked up, as nothing says “I’m not home” like a driveway full of newspapers and a stuffed mailbox.

If you’re leaving pets behind, it’s especially crucial to have someone look after them. It’s always difficult determining just how much food and water your furry friend is going to need. For the safety of your pet – and for your peace of mind – make sure they’re properly taken care of!

Homeowners often make the mistake of leaving certain lights on at all times. While this may seem like an effective deterrent, it actually does quite the opposite. Wouldn’t you find it strange, too, if the same hallway and front room lights in a home were left on for several consecutive days? The goal is to make it appear as if someone is always home, so you want to follow a normal light pattern. You can do this by installing timers so that you can program your lights to turn on and off at designated times.

In addition to gaining control over your lights, by installing smart controls throughout your home, you can check to see if you remembered to lock the front door, close the garage, or turn the heat off. Even if you do have a friend or neighbor watching over your home, you might feel even better knowing that you can check on it too, even while hundreds of miles away.

You may not be aware, but you can have Lower Electric Bills by changing how and when you use electricity during times that the electric company considers “peak demand” or “peak usage” hours.  Electric companies have been initiating peak usage fees for some time now, essentially charging customers more to use electricity when the demand is higher.  This is usually when more people are at home and actively operating appliances, for instance, during a hot summer month when everyone’s air conditioning is running, or around dinner time when TV’s and ovens are working along with the air conditioners. This allows the electric company to make more profit and increase revenues when most people can’t help but use more electricity as a part of their daily life. Luckily, licensed Top Dallas Electrician, ElectricMan Inc. can offer a way to avoid these charges, and Lower Electric Bills by making sure that you are using the least amount of electric company power as possible during peak times.

An Indoor Generator is a unique solution that allows you to store power, either from your power grid when it is cheaper, or utilizing other renewable energy sources, and decide when you want to use it. This highly intelligent equipment allows you to program when and where you get your electricity, providing incredible independence and capabilities for Lower Electric Bills.

Take this as an example.  One local electric company uses a general rule of enforcing peak usage fees between 4pm and 8pm, so programming your system to use power stored during off peak hours at these times will allow you to stop paying these peak usage fees, and only pay the standard rate for electricity during normal usage hours.  This is a far more effective solution, since it is impractical for most home owners to change their schedule and stop using power during these times.

Once you have an Indoor Generator system in place and programmed, the system will automatically switch to your stored power during the times that you have chosen, leaving you worry free about when you are using your electricity!

For more energy saving tips on how to Lower Electric Bills,  information on an Indoor Generator for your home, or any other services provided by Top Dallas Electrician, ElectricMan Inc. visit our website at www.electricmaninc.com, or give us a call at 972-792-7270 to talk about how we can help!

You may not think about it often, but the power coming into your home travels a long way before it gets to your refrigerator, air conditioner, or any of the other appliances in your home. On the way, electrical current encounters fluxuations and interference from things like other appliances, machinery, and low quality wiring. That “Dirty” power can cause inefficiency and disturbance in your appliances, making things like the motors in your refrigerator and air conditioner, the circuits in your television, and all of your other electrical gadgets work harder than they need to, and wear out faster than they should.

A Power Conditioner will take the electrical current coming into your home and “clean” it, using filters to isolate power outlets and remove interference. This provides the correct voltage level to sensitive electrical equipment, allowing it to work safely and efficiently at the correct voltage.

Because power conditioners help your appliances run more efficiently, they can also lower the overall cost of running these appliances, and extend their lifespan. For more information about home power conditioners or for help on any electrical project in your home, please reach out to www.electricmaninc.com

The commercial electricity for HVAC systems accounts for about 50 percent of a building’s total energy consumption. Being one of the major energy costs in a manufacturing facility, it dominates the building’s peak electricity demand. As such, improving the system’s efficiency, in order to cut energy costs, should be every facility manager’s priority.

The energy consumption depends on the climate, comfort preferences, building design, insulation, the timing of use, the size of the HVAC system, heat generated by electrical equipment, and other site-specific factors.

Building owners and businesses can reduce their energy costs by combining several measures that increase an HVAC system’s efficiency while reducing the demand for heating and cooling.

When selecting HVAC systems, pay attention to its design and controls. Components such as motors can impact heavily on the running costs of equipment because some are usually oversized to meet peak demands. An ideal system should have more variable speed control, inverter controls, economizers, demand controlled ventilation, advanced sensors and monitoring, as well as superior diagnostics. In addition, the system should be the appropriate size; not too small or oversized.

By controlling and running the HVAC motors at speeds based on the heating or cooling needs, consumers are able to realize energy savings of between 30 and 50 percent compared to the conventional constant speed operations. Most manufacturers prefer newer algorithm-driven smart microprocessors.

These provide a refined speed control that responds to the changing load in the building. Instead of using on and off cycling, these controls adjust the system according to the actual cooling or heating needs of the facility. More functions can be added through software add-ons as opposed to costly hardware upgrades.

Some of the ways to optimize HVAC systems include the use of thermostats and control systems, locating the HVAC unit in the best place possible, and modifying the ventilation and distribution. These are discussed more fully below:

A HVAC energy audit helps in identifying the operational deficiencies, hence allowing the building manager to take the necessary measures to enhance performance. The audit is often necessary because it helps in determining the amount of energy use, maintenance and upgrade requirements.

Consumers can then reduce their energy costs by optimizing, replacing or retrofitting the HVAC system to become more energy efficient. This not only increases efficiency and reduces the amount of commercial electricity for the HVAC system, but also improves the air quality.

How often have you found yourself considering getting some vacuuming done in your home, only to put it off because it’s simply too much physical work and takes too much time? Vacuuming a home, especially a multi-story home, can be an unpleasant and cumbersome chore. If procrastinating about cleaning your home is something you do often, you should consider installing a central vacuum system to make the job much easier. With a central vacuum, you only need to carry a lightweight hose attachment around the house. You then plug it into a local outlet that connects to a central pressurized suction system. You can vacuum the area around the outlet, and all the debris is moved to a single collection point that you can empty at your own convenience.

Putting in a central vacuum in a home is a complex process that requires numerous special tools and knowledge of ventilation systems, so you must have professionals handle the work. To arrange for central vacuum system installation in Needham, MA, install a central vacuum system, the technicians first determine the number of outlets necessary and then place both the outlets and the power unit: i.e. the vacuum itself, which is housed out of the way in the garage or basement. Once the installers have these two different sets of terminal points in place, they install a trunk line that runs from the vacuum through the walls. From this trunk line, they branch off a number of flexible tubes to connect to each outlet. The technicians must run voltage wires along the trunk and the tubes back to the vacuum unit, since the portable cleaning attachment requires electrical power to run.

It is also important for the installers to set up an exhaust system for the power unit. It’s optimal for the vacuum to vent directly through a wall, but if this is not possible because of the placement of the power unit, the installers will instead run exhaust tubes to a roof vent.

Once all the parts are in place, the installers perform a vacuum leakage test to make sure there are no spots along the trunk line or branch tubes where there is any air escaping.

Afterwards, you can start enjoying a cleaner house with much less work. Contact us today to find out more about this and other electrical installations we do in the area.

With the professionals at FB Electrical Services on the job, you can expect to have your central vacuum system installation in Needham, MA complete in a few hours.