 In and out is great way to describe an electrical panel. In every setting, these panels become the hub of an electrical network. Huge amounts of power are brought into the panel to be distributed in lesser amounts to the various components of the network. Some panels drive a single item that needs a lot of power and a dedicated breaker or disconnect. Many outside units for air conditioning equipment require a miniature panel near the unit so the power can be disconnected at the site for maintenance.
In a home, from 1 to 4 panels are usually employed to service the needs of the residence depending on size and house configuration. A very large home can differ little from a mid-sized business in power needs. Regardless of the number of the panels, they all function alike with the exception that some applications have a main panel that can disable all power to the building without pulling the meter. Generally, power comes into the top of the circuit box or panel. In a residence this would usually be a 220-240 volt input. It will have three large cables to carry between 100 and 300 amps of service to your house. Most houses today are provided with 200 amp service. The top of the box will have one large breaker for 100 amp service with only 120 volts being available, or it will have two large breakers for 200+ amp service with two strips offering 120 volts on each side. Down the outside of the panel will be two long rows of screws that allow for attaching the ground wires in the panel. Two types of breakers will fit into these boxes for the outgoing service. One is a single width breaker about 1/2-3/4 inch wide. These have clips that attach to only one of the power strips and provide 120 volt service at the amperage listed on the breaker. Most homes employ 15-30 amp circuits. Proper gage wiring needs to be used based on the amp load being carried. Double width breakers are designed to attach to both sides of the panel at the same time. It will pull 120 volts from each side to produce a 220 volt circuit to run a clothes dryer, kitchen stove, furnace, or other major electrical appliance. Usually, the wiring needs to be much heavier here, and the amp load will range from 30 to 100. Never work inside an electrical panel unless you have a little training, and the mains have been pulled, or the electric has been disconnected from the building. Failing to do this might result in death. Don't work inside a panel if you have doubts about what you are doing. Call in an certified electrician around Pasadena, CA to handle it.
0 Comments
 Electrical outlets are one of those utilities we all take for granted until they stop working. It is very frustrating when you are in the middle of a project and you plug a tool or appliance in only to find either the outlet no longer works or your tool or appliance is bad. Is very easy to test the tool or appliance by plugging it into another outlet, if it works then it may be the outlet is bad. New outlet are available at home centers and hardware stores. Electricians in Pasadena can help you out with it if you do need help.
Tools required:
Plug a radio into the outlet that is working and turn the volume of so you will be able to hear it from the circuit breaker box. From the circuit breaker box turn the circuit breakers often on one of the time until you turn the radio off. Leave this circuit breaker off. Test both top and bottom of the outlet with the circuit tester to ensure that there is no power running through the outlet. If the circuit tester lights up go back to the circuit breaker box and turned the main circuit breaker off. This will turn on all of the power in your house off but it is better if you stay safe. Remove outlet wall plate and remove the two screws at the top and bottom of the outlet. Gently pull the outlet from the outlet box far enough for you to work on it. Take a minute to study how the outlet is wired. Draw a diagram of the outlet wiring or using masking tape mark each wire so you will know how to reconnect them to the new outlet. On new outlets white wires go to the silver terminal, black wire goes to the brass terminal the bare copper or green wire goes to the green ground screw. Remove the old outlet and discard. Wire new outlet according to the diagram or markings you made when you disconnected the defective outlet. Place the wire ends on clockwise so it will tighten with the screws. Gently push the outlet back in the box and replaced the top and bottom screws. Replace the wall plate, turn the power back on at the breaker box, test the outlet with the circuit tester and your job is done.  Using an electric voltage tester can be easy depending on the type of tester you choose. This is a good starting point for our discussion, types of testers.
Types of Voltage Testers Neon Volt Tester The first type of voltage tester to be discussed is the simplest one to use and the least expensive to buy, the two-wire neon volt tester. This tester can test voltages from 0 to 500 volts. It comes with two wires and a neon light that lights when there is live current. One drawback to the neon volt tester is it only shows current and not the amount of current. It is a simple device to use. One wire is touched to a ground reference such as a ground wire or screw, the neutral or white wire or terminal, or the device screws if they are grounded. The other wire is then touched to the hot wire or terminal. If there is current in the device, the neon test light will glow. Voltage Detector Another simple voltage testing device is the voltage detector. This device looks like a pen and can be used to detect hot wires. Unlike any of the other devices, it will not show a complete circuit. It will only show you have voltage up to that point. The voltage detector is held up to the wire or device. It will light up and also produce an audible warning that you have voltage. This handy device can also be used to trace wires. Plug- in Tester The next tester is a plug in tester. This tester comes in two kinds. One is a simple tester and the other has a button on it to trip a GFCI circuit to test whether the circuit is wired correctly. Both have three lights on them to diagnose the wiring for simple problems. With a plug-in tester you can see if the outlet you are testing is wired correctly. Just follow the code that is on the tester. All you have to do is plug this handy device into the outlet you are testing. Multi-meter The next device is the most complicated of them all but it is also the most useful. The multi-meter can be analog or digital. It can test AC and DC voltage and current, Ohms and some can test continuity and diodes. The most important rule with multi-meters is to read the manual that comes with the device. The multi-meter usually comes with two probes that are touched to the hot and common wires. This will give you a reading of the voltage running through the circuit. You can also test circuits for continuity possibly showing breaks in the circuit. You can put a wire or device under an Ohm test to determine if the wire or device is good. You can test the voltage of batteries. As with all voltage testers read your owners manual to find all that the device is capable of. As with all electrical devices, Practice caution. Electricity can be deadly. If you feel you are in over your head, call a qualified electrician in Pasadena, CA.  If you're the kind of individual who likes to make use of your hands, who likes to wire things and would also have the ability to solve complicated issues, you can be a potential electrician in the future! Numerous programs that are for the training of future electricians are also popular and are quite easy to enroll in. You could even be astonished at the simplicity of the training.
Reliable training on electrical courses can be taken from vocational schools though in those schools they would usually offer different agendas. If you prefer to take a course that would only be short termed then you gain the certification and have the knowledge on the basic tasks of a professional electricians. When an individual has received a certificate from the school they had graduated from, they have the aspiration to be able to perform specific duties in their home or for the service of other people. That is why people who receive certificates will have the chance to do specific duties that others can't carry out. There is however a longer term for those who would prefer to become a certified electrician and gain a diploma so that they have the possibility of working in various industries. In fact, there are quite a number of firms that would need the help of accredited electricians. Here are some examples of those business firms: • In order to save money, companies that deal on construction would have the primal option in acquiring their own electrician. With these, you have the plausible ability to be employed in the construction of various infrastructures. • An on site electrician would be what facilities for manufacturing would need. At certain times, the usually don't have the requirement of a full-time electrician and because of that you may have the need to have a secondary job. Perchance you are working in a reserve where the employer would have the need for the employees to get training on being an electrician, then by all means it would be best to undergo training so that you can have a better pay. • Companies that would deal on power would always have the need for electricians so it is good to search for a career opportunity in power companies. You could even be in a way that would help the company in working out with some issues that may appear in the course of your career. Certainly this occupation is quite interesting and exciting as well. • Asides from the companies, you also have the choice to employ yourself. Instead of working in the companies, you can do certain work for other people in their homes. Aside from that, you may also be needed in various stores or facilities, schools and even in businesses as well. Having been trained to take on these kinds of duties is quite fun. You have the choice to becoming a certified or licensed electrician and thus are capable of accomplishing so many and also different things. Being an electrician can be a good job for you since you are capable of being the employee or the boss of yourself.  There will be times that you might need to call in a professional to help fix your electric furnace, but there are also some simple fixes you can do yourself. Every homeowner will be able to use these quick fixes to get their electric furnace working properly again. If you need help with electrical repairs, Electrician Pasadena is the right choice for you, we will make sure you get professional service delivered to you.
Is your furnace getting enough heat? Check to see if the furnace switch or the main breaker is open. If the fuse or breaker trips when you reset it, you need to call a professional to look at it. It may be that the thermostat is set too low for the furnace to turn on; you will want to raise the thermostat setting to 5 ̊to fix this problem. Check the filter, it may need to be replaced if it is damaged or you can clean the filter if it's just dirty. Check to see if the blower belt is loose or broken. You will need to adjust the belt or simply replace it. Check to see if you have a clogged filter or duct, just clean out the blower assembly to fix this minor problem. The furnace won't run at all If your furnace won't run at all the possible cause could be no power. If this is the case then you will want to check to see if there are any tripped circuit breakers or blown fuses at the main entrance panel. Also check the separate entrance panel, and on or in the furnace. Then you will need to restore the circuit to fix the problem. Another reason for the furnace not running is there may be a motor overload. You will want to wait approximately 30 minutes, and then press the reset button. You may have to repeat the process if necessary. The furnace is cycling on and off repeatedly The furnace may have a clogged blower causing the furnace to overheat; you will need to clean the blower assembly. If the blower and motor have oil ports, you will need to lubricate the blower and motor to get the furnace working properly again. If the filter is dirty, just simply clean or replace it. The blower will not stop running If the blower control is set wrong, you will need to reset the thermostat from the on position to the auto position. While checking the blower and you find that the relays are faulty, the best thing to do for this problem is call a professional to fix it. These are some quick, simple fixes you can do to get your electric furnace working properly again.  The need for an additional electrical outlet is a common household problem. It is often compensated for by running multiple extension cords or power strips. Other times, the remedy becomes one of those 4 or 6 outlet plug ins that turn two outlets into several. Since electrical outlets are only rated to carry up to a given number of amps, either of these solutions can be a recipe for a house fire. Even if you plan to put the additional outlet on an existing circuit, it will be safer than simply putting too much on a single outlet. It is better if you can run a new circuit or find one with less of an existing load.
No matter what direction that you choose for installing the new electrical outlet, you have to locate a source of power for it to use. The easiest route is to find a nearby outlet and tap into it. This will give you an easy power source and possibly a simple wiring job if you do not need the new outlet too far away. If the current outlets in the room are already overtaxed, you will need to locate a better choice from which to pull power. If you are near the electric breaker panel, the best choice is simply to open the panel and run a new line and add a breaker. Make sure that you turn off the main breakers to the panel before removing the cover. Buy a breaker to match the others in the panel. Using 10 or 12 gauge with three wires, attach the black wire to the new breaker, the white wire to the ground strip along the side or bottom of the panel, and the bare ground to the ground strip. After attaching the breaker in the box, run the wire (through conduit if required by local code) to where you want the outlet. Install an outlet box and wire up the new outlet. Replace the cover on the breaker panel. Attach the cover over the outlet, and it should be ready after you turn the main breakers and the new breakers on. You can follow the same procedure for a long wire run from the panel to a new outlet, but it can be a lot of trouble if you have to go under the house or through the attic. You will also have to thread the wire down the wall and into the new outlet box. Most of the time for this type of run, find an outlet in an adjoining room and run a short wire through the wall to the new box to install the outlet. To install the outlet box, buy an "old construction" box. This is the kind with the ears that you can manipulate with a screw to hook it behind drywall to anchor it. Once you have cut the hole for the box, it takes about a minute to install the box if the wire is there ready to pull inside of it. The outlet itself is relatively easy to install. Using the three wires, strip about 1/2 inch of insulation from the white and black wires. Push the ends of these wire into the holes on the outlet and tighten the screws. Attach the bare ground to the screw on the side of the outlet. Screw the outlet to the box with all wires behind it. Screw the cover to the outlet, and the job is finished. If you cannot do the job yourself, call pasadena electrician today at (626) 603-2025 for free quote.  Just what lies behind the electric bill? Just your electric usage? No, actually far more than that. To begin investigating Electrician Pasadena CA pulled out my paper bill and took a look at what exactly they were charging me for. We recommend that you pull out your power bill and do some similar examining.The charges on my bill:
Energy charge This is the metered electric usage multiplied by the per kilowatt-hour (KWH) charge. Or to put it another way, it is just how much energy used in a month. This part of my bill is 100% changeable based on my actions. Use less, pay less. Use more, pay more. Energy customer charge This fee pays for all the maintenance and infrastructure needed by the power company. The charge is the same for all customers and does not vary with electric usage. Thus, the actions have no effect on this part of the bill. Clean air rider This covers bond payments for the emission reduction project, a series of modifications to one of the local power plants. This part of the bill varies with my electric usage and also varies based on how well the company is doing paying off its debts. So you have some control over this part of my bill. Power supply adjustment This charge only appears when the cost to supply customers with power exceeds expectations. This could be due to high fuel costs, higher market pricing for electricity or something else. This fee does vary with electric usage, but it's hard to predict when it will kick in. City and state taxes These ensure that the government gets its cut. The taxes are partially linked to my electric usage. What else is there? Having examined the charges we proceeded to look over the rest of the bill to see what other information we could glean and discovered that the bill included a few interesting and potentially useful pieces of information. Such as the average daily KWH usage for this month compared to the same month last year. The bill also includes a bar chart showing changes in the energy use over 13 months. Pretty clearly shows that the months of July to September (otherwise known as summer) are my biggest months for power consumption. One really useful aspect of this chart is that it includes the energy usage regardless of who lived there. So if you have just moved in you can use usage patterns of the previous occupant as a basis for predicting your bill. Moving on with my investigation I reached the end of the bill, the billing options. Pretty much the usual suspects: check, credit card, online billing to bank account or credit card. There is also something called budget billing which works like this. The company takes an average of your previous bills and then calculates a single amount to charge you per month. This is designed to avoid summer or winter spikes your bill as you use more power to heat and cool your home. However, despite the company's claims to the contrary, you may lose money on this if your actual usage is lower than their average. Having finished with the bill, we decided to poke around the website to see what else we could find. I'm willing to bet that your power company has a website with a similar set of goodies. First there are a large number of ways for you to save money. There are rebates and promotions for energy efficient appliances and light bulbs. They offer tips about how to save electricity and even have a monthly newsletter. Plus they have calculators for determining the energy usage and carbon footprint of appliances and heating and cooling systems. Finally, they offer services to help you assess how energy efficient your house is. Of course, they charge for these. Personally, I'm not so sure that they are worth the money. One interesting thing we discovered was the power company offers energy assistance programs for people who use electricity to heat their homes during winter and can not afford it. If you are having trouble paying your electric bills you should contact your power company and see if they have a similar program. One slightly disturbing program offered involves installing kill switches that allow the power company to turn off your air conditioning or electric water heater during peak times. For air conditioning the peak times are reported to be May 1st to September 30th. The power company claims that they only cut air conditioning for 7.5-11.5 minutes per 30 minutes. But report cuts of up to 24 minutes per 30. For the electric water heater they can turn it off all year and report that it may be off for 54 out of every 60 minutes. In return for allowing the power company to control your appliances you get credits on your bill. Personally, we would never go for this option. we don't like giving control to other people.  Now that you've decided that hiring a professional electrical contractor is the way to go, you're going to have to understand how to read his contract, and understand what your responsibilities are as well as his.
Most electrical contractors have standard contracts. They could be single pieces of paper that are easy to read and negotiated at your kitchen table, or they could be multi page forms in small print that could look a little intimidating. Either way, you should understand what you are being asked to sign. Given the opportunity, have an attorney glance over anything that is more than a page, and covers an extensive job with multiple requests and tasks. It might cost you $100 to do this, but it's well worth the money if it will prevent you from losing or spending thousands later on for items you weren't planning on. As you look through the contract, look for paragraphs or sections that have titles similar to Liability, Insurance, Time and Materials, Overage, Liens, Subcontractors, Time frame and Payments. Be very aware that in some cities you, the homeowner, are responsible for making sure everyone on the job is paid - or the subcontractors can put a lien on your home. You may not even know this until you try to sell your home. No matter what the contract says, it still boils down to you are responsible. Period. In other words, make sure that you see the subcontractors being paid and you interact with them to make certain they are in fact being paid. If the electrical contractor will be supplying anything such as fixtures, make sure the contract specifies who pays for these and when. You don't want to get an additional bill at the end of the job for items you thought were covered under the work agreement. If your job is so extensive as to require a building permit, put a section in the contract that specifies that final payment will not be made until your project passes inspection. You should also request that the contractor be there when the inspector shows up in case there are problems. Most inspections are done by appointment, so this shouldn't be too difficult to coordinate. It is also important to understand what his liability insurance covers. Does it cover damages to your home? What about if the project is running late, and it ends up costing you more money for other contractors who are being held up waiting for the electricians to finish? Cover all your bases to avoid expensive surprises. If you do need any electrician in Pasadena CA, call us today at (626) 603-2025 for free quote.  A vehicle can have many different problems with its electricity, from lights, horns, and even the engine, your entire car can have problems with its electrical system. For instance, if your car won't start and you know that it is getting gasoline, and that your car's engine has compression, your problem is probably in the electrical system. An electrical problem can be one of the easiest fixes, or one of the biggest hassles that you will ever face when fixing your car. Here are some basic things you need to know to find and replace trouble connections.
Never work on your electricity with the key on. It can give you a very bad shock if you do. The safest way to work your cars electrical system is to disconnect the battery. If you are working a large wire you may want to do this. Remember it is always better to be safe the sorry. Now to find the problem with the electrical system the first thing you need to do is examine your connections. Usually the major connections are all together and under the hood. If you see any wires laying around the inside of your hood you should probably connect them. You can either try the trial an error method, or you can find out where the wire goes exactly, and put it in a spot that a wiring diagram for your vehicle shows. If connections are loose or corroded that might also be the problem so wiggle them all a little. To put a new connector on a wire, all you need is the new connector and needle nose pliers that has a wire cutter on nit. The first thing you will want to do there is take off the old, usually broken connector on your wire. The best way to do that is to cut it off completely, and strip the wire. To strip a wire, carefully cut the plastic down to the wire in a circle. This can be done with a special wire stripping tool or if you can be very careful a utility knife. Once you have cut the plastic. Get a good grip with pliers and gently pull the coating off of the wire. Be careful you do not squeeze to hard and break a few of the wire's strands as you are pulling. Now put the new connector over the exposed copper wire and pinch it into place with the pliers. Electrician Pasadena provides professional electrical service around Pasadena, CA. If you have to fix electrical problems around your premises, call us today at (626) 603-2025 for free quote.  With the cold and the bad economy both leaving you shivering, now is the perfect time to assess your household's energy use. There are three simple ways you can reduce your heating and electric bills without having to feel like you are making sacrifices to your routine. And in following these few simple steps, you can also feel good that you are helping to improve the environment by reducing your home's pollution electrical output.
The easiest and most immediate thing you can do is turn off everything that is not in use. Mom and Dad were right to teach the rule of "lights out when you're out," and if you have not yet made the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, this is a very important first step to decreasing your electric bill. But there are also other big appliances, such as televisions and entertainment units, that draw latent energy when not in use. Hooking these up to a power strip and turning the strip off will help save you money. Small appliances, especially coffee makers that keep water heated to provide a quick brew, also use latent energy and should be unplugged, turned off, or put on "vacation mode" once you are done using them for the day. If you are concerned which appliances use the most energy in your household, a small detector called a Kill A Watt can be purchased for $20-$30 and will measure how much an appliance costs to run hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly. For example, a Bunn coffee maker turned on costs me $33.76 per year, but when switched to vacation mode, it only costs 17 cents. The second easiest thing you can do is use programmable thermostat. According to the US Department of Energy, resetting your thermostat from 72 degrees to 65 degrees for eight hours a day (such as when the family is at work and school or sleeping beneath blankets at night) can save you 10 percent on your heating bill. It is also a good idea to lower your hot water heater's temperature from 140 degrees to 120 degrees and wrap the heater and pipes in insulated jackets or foam wraps. And finally, make certain your windows are properly insulated. Your home loses 30-40 percent of its heat through its window panes, and even shutting the curtains once it gets dark can help. But the best thing you can do is purchase insulating kits from the hardware store (for about $2-5). These are easy to apply and the only tool you'll need is a hairdryer. Additionally, apply weather striping, foam insulation, or caulk around your window frames to create a seal to keep out the cold air. And if you have any wall air conditioning units, make sure to seal around those and cover with plastic. Properly insulating windows and doors will decrease heating costs by 20 percent and help keep you and your family toasty warm. Electrician Pasadena CA provide electrical service around Pasadena, CA. Call us today at (626) 603-2025 for free quote. |
