Scherer Electric Blog: Archive for the ‘Electrical’ Category

Some Ceiling Fan Problems You May Need Help With

Monday, June 21st, 2021
ceiling-fan-over-kitchen

Ceiling fans are great! They offer a way to keep cool that uses much less electricity than constantly running an air conditioner. The standard central AC in a home uses about 3,500 watts per hour to provide cooling. A ceiling fan, on the other hand, uses around 75 watts per hour. You may end up paying around $2.75 to run a ceiling fan during the year. The cost to run an air conditioner … well, it’s a lot higher, let’s leave it at that.

But ceiling fans need to have proper installation from an electrician in Lancaster, NY or they can become their own source of problems. When a ceiling fan malfunctions, it will also need a professional electrician to either fix or replace it. Below we’re going to look at a few common ceiling fan problems you might encounter that our trained and certified electricians can repair. 

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Summer Electrical Problems You May Encounter

Monday, June 7th, 2021
sunshine

Summer is approaching, and we can almost guarantee it will be a more enjoyable one than last year! But summer brings with it some major electrical challenges for a home. Households use enormous amounts of electricity during summer. For some homes, such as those that rely on gas-powered heaters, summer may have higher electricity use than winter—and the hotter the summer, the more electricity consumption rises. 

We’re experienced with dealing with summer electrical problems. Below we’ve listed a few of the most common electrical troubles you may run into this summer. 

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6 Ways to Tell You Need a New Generator

Thursday, May 20th, 2021
question-mark

Many homes in Western New York have generators to help them through power outages. Weather and grid failures have become increasing problems, and an effective generator can make it easy for a household to make it through an extended blackout in comfort and safety. 

Even though generators do not run regularly—in fact, people hope they don’t have to use their generator—they still age and run down until they need a replacement. If you have a generator, you’ll want to get ahead of its eventual replacement, since you don’t want to find out you need a new generator when your current one completely fails. We’ve put together a list of six ways to tell it’s time for a new generator.

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Answering FAQs About Electrical Panel Upgrades

Monday, May 10th, 2021
panel-replacement

One of our essential jobs as electricians in Buffalo, NY is servicing and updating residential electrical panels. Outdated and damaged electrical panels are a major cause of electrical problems in homes, including potentially hazardous ones like electrical fires. We take this work seriously and encourage homeowners to pay special attention to their panel needs. 

People often have questions about their electrical panels and when they should make upgrades to them, as well as how to do an upgrade. Below we’ve answered some of the most common questions. 

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What Does a Whole-House Surge Protector Do?

Monday, April 26th, 2021
surge-protector-sparking

We often recommend our customers have a whole-house surge protector installed into their electrical systems. We aren’t the only ones who advise this: the National Fire Protection Association also recommends all homes have this type of surge protection installed. You only have to call an electrician in Buffalo, NY to set this up for your house, and it will provide many benefits.

But if you want to know more about what whole-house surge protection does and why it’s important, we’ll go into more details below.

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What You Can Do to Help Prevent Electrical Fires

Monday, April 12th, 2021
smoke-detector

One reason we tell our customers to only rely on professional Buffalo, NY electrical service technicians for any electrical need rather than to call an amateur or go “do-it-yourself” is because of the potential hazard of electrical fires. Electrical fires are one of the biggest sources of fires in homes: according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, electrical fires from outlets alone cause more than 5,000 fires per year.

We want you to avoid electrical fires in your house, and there are steps you can take to reduce the chance of them occurring with our help.

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Trouble With a Recessed Light? Let’s See What We Can Do!

Monday, March 29th, 2021
lightbulb-standing-up

When a lightbulb in a fixture like a standard lamp burns out, the solution is simple: you put in a new bulb. As long as you make sure you match the wattage of the next bulb with the fixture, everything should be fine. (If bulbs are burning out frequently, however, you may have other problems that will require professional electrical assistance.)

When a recessed lightbulb burns out, you can also put in a new bulb—but you might discover that the light still isn’t working. A recessed fixture can present a different challenge, because it’s set into the ceiling and it isn’t something you can just swap out with a new lamp. You may need to have an expert at indoor lighting in Amherst, NY fix the problem. Below we’ll look at what might be wrong (aside from a standard burnt-out bulb). 

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LED Lights Upgrades: Some Basic Facts to Know

Monday, March 15th, 2021
recessed-LED-lights

If you’re considering making an upgrade to your indoor lighting in Orchard Park, NY to use LED lights, then you’ve come to the right people to help. We handle indoor lighting services that can remake the way you light your house. Using LED bulbs is an excellent way to cut down on electrical costs while still enjoying full illumination. 

Although LED lights are becoming more popular with each year, there are numerous misunderstandings about them making the rounds. We’re going to share some facts with you about LED lighting to clear up some of these misconceptions. If you have any further questions, feel free to call us.

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4 Home Electrical Troubles That MUST Have an Electrician

Monday, March 1st, 2021
scorched-outlet

We’re a professional electrical contractor, so it makes sense that we would recommend homeowners only call on Angola, NY electricians with licenses to solve their household electrical troubles. But we don’t do this just because we want more business. We wouldn’t be western New York’s favorite electrician if all we cared about was picking up jobs. As experienced professionals, we understand the importance of the skill of a trained and licensed electrician when it comes to fixing household electrical problems. We’re here to keep the lights on and keep our customers, their families, and their property safe.

For example, below are four electrical troubles you may encounter in your house that must receive service from a licensed electrician to diagnose and/or correct. Don’t risk DIY work or calling an amateur “handyperson” for any of these situations. At best, the problem will remain. At worst … well, imagine whatever electrical disaster you wish, it’s not an exaggeration. 

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A Power Outage! What Do You Do?

Monday, February 15th, 2021
flashlight

Winters in New York can be beautiful as long as you have a home with a good heating system, the right insulation, and a steady supply of electricity. But with our low temperatures, a sudden loss of electrical power to your house can mean a serious emergency. Storms, power plant accidents, power surges, even accidents within the home’s electrical system can leave you trapped without the electricity you need to get by. 

Our first message about power outages is not to panic. There are steps you can take, and in many cases a professional Angola, NY electrician can provide you with the help you need. Below are steps you can take when the power suddenly goes out in the winter.

ONE: Check on your electrical panel

It’s possible the reason that you’ve lost power to the house is that the main breaker in the electrical panel has tripped. Check the panel to see if all the breakers are in the “on” position. If they are, test the main breaker switch to see if this restores power. 

An important note of caution: an older breaker panel may be the source of the electrical failure, and we recommend calling us to investigate if the panel needs to be replaced. 

TWO: See if this is a municipal problem

In other words, go talk to your neighbors to discover if they also have lost electrical power. If this is the case, then you aren’t dealing with a specific problem in your home, but an issue with the municipal power supply. 

THREE: Call the power company

If you determined in step two that the issue is municipal, the next step is to call the power company to see the extent of the problem and how long you can expect for it to continue. In fact, the power company may not even know the problem has occurred, so you’re doing the community as well as your home a service by alerting them to the outage so they can take care of it.

FOUR: Unplug major appliances

Those appliances may not be receiving any power at the moment, but when power is restored it can bring with it a surge that can damage them. This is mainly a problem for precision electrical appliances such as computers, the microwave, and the entertainment system. 

FIVE: Don’t try to do any DIY stuff

If you suspect that you might be able to fix some of the electrical problems that caused the blackout, please resist. Electric services need to remain in the domain of professionals. Once the power is restored, you’ll have an idea of what needs repairs, and you can call our team to handle them. Otherwise, please leave the tools alone. You might make a mistake, and when the power does come back on, it could create a major hazard.

SIX: Think about getting a generator

This isn’t so much a step as it is an important moment for reflection. If you have a whole-house backup generator, you wouldn’t be in this emergency situation right now. We recommend you call us once the power is restored to schedule an installation for a whole-house generator—one of the best “insurance policies” you can have against this problem occurring again. 

Scherer Electric is Western New York’s Favorite Electrician! Call us for 24/7 emergency service when you have electrical problems.

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