How Long Can a Whole-House Generator Last?

December 6th, 2021
generator-residential

A whole-house generator is a great investment for a home in Western New York. Extended power outages have become a more common problem in the last two decades, and a whole-house generator is your best defense against future ones. The right generator can help your family stay comfortable and safe in a well-lit house until the power comes back on. 

Whole-house generators aren’t magical devices, of course, so they can’t run forever. There are two ways of looking at the question in the title of this blog: “How long will a generator run when there’s a power outage?” and “How long will a generator installation last before it needs to be replaced?” We’ll look at both versions of the question so you know what to expect from a whole-house generator—whether you already own one or are considering getting one.

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Tips for Better Indoor Lighting

November 22nd, 2021
recessed-LED-lights

It’s easy to take for granted the indoor lighting in your home and imagine that it’s “fine” the way it is and there’s not much room for improvement. But lighting styles and technology are constantly changing, and if your house is more than a decade old, there are probably several ways you can enjoy superior indoor lighting in Buffalo, NY. 

The best way to improve your home’s indoor lighting is with the assistance of our professional electricians. Below is a list of suggestions for indoor lighting to help you get started thinking about making upgrades and changes. 

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Why You May Have Failed Light Fixtures

November 8th, 2021
lightbulb-on-its-side

We’ve all experienced this annoyance before: we flip on a light switch as we step into the house, or into a dark room, and nothing happens. Sometimes, the light comes on for a second, then goes dark with a buzz sound—usually an indicator the bulb burned out.

But bulb burnout isn’t the only reason for a light failing to come on. When lights fail in your house, you can do some standard investigation to see what’s wrong. Check that the fixture is plugged in, put in a new bulb, see if a circuit breaker tripped. These are basic troubleshooting steps that don’t require calling an electrician.

But there may be a deeper electrical issue behind the failed light—you may have a failed light fixture, bad wiring, a broken switch. Don’t try to take out tools and see if you can make repairs for these problems! Yes, you can shut off the power to the fixture at the breaker to prevent a high voltage shock, but your amateur tampering with a fixture or a switch could create a fire hazard. Please leave any work on your indoor lighting in Orchard Park, NY to our licensed professionals.

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It’s Not Too Late to Schedule Generator Maintenance!

October 25th, 2021
emergency-home-generator

A backup generator has a way of minding its own business on your property. It’s there for when an emergency strikes, but otherwise isn’t operating. This makes it easy to forget about the importance of maintaining the generator. Maintenance is critical for a backup generator because you need to trust that the generator can do its job when the time comes. A generator you can’t trust isn’t much good!

You might think that it’s too late in the year for you to schedule generator maintenance. Here’s the important thing to know: generator maintenance doesn’t have an expiration date, and you can have it done at any time of the year. Fall is a great time to do it, so it’s definitely not too late to call our team for the job.

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Electrical Safety Tips for the Halloween Season

October 11th, 2021
fall-decor

Halloween is more than a single night for trick-or-treating. It consumes the entire month of October, and no other holiday aside from Christmas is more focused on decorating with lights—and often candles. If you like to celebrate the October Country with lighting inside and outside your home, we want to ensure you enjoy the safest Halloween possible. It may be a spooky time of the year, but it should always be fun spooky, not actually dangerous!

Below we’ve put together several electrical safety tips from our licensed electricians. 

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Whole-House Generator vs. Portable Generator

September 27th, 2021

New York State got a bit … wet … this month. And whenever a major storm strikes the East Coast, it’s an important reminder of how easily whole neighborhoods can lose electrical power for long stretches of time. Western New York is at high risk for extended power losses, and this is something we at Scherer Electric want to protect our customers from. We install whole-house generators to help homeowners make it through a power outage of any kind in safety and comfort.

But when it comes to generators, we often hear people say something like this: “What about just using a portable generator in Buffalo, NY? Do I really need to go with a full whole-house generator installation?” 

Portable generators have their uses—such as on camping trips, or to keep in the car in case of emergencies. But if you want peace of mind about getting through an extended blackout in your house, a portable unit can’t hold up to a permanent standby generator. We’ll explain why.

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Maintenance Is Essential for Your Backup Generator

September 13th, 2021
emergency-home-generator

The recent storm that hit New York State and much of the Northeast is a big reminder of how important residential generators are for modern living. A backup generator in Buffalo, NY is looking more and more like a necessity with each year. If you already have a backup generator for your home, you’ll know the sort of peace of mind it can bring during calamities like storms or heat waves.

But a generator cannot bring this peace of mind and relaxation if you cannot trust that it will work. An unreliable generator isn’t worth much—it undermines the purpose of having one in the first place. Fortunately, it’s not difficult to keep a backup generator reliable. All it takes is to schedule regular maintenance for it with our expert electricians.

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Why Your Outlets Are Sparking (And Why You Need Them Repaired)

August 16th, 2021
electrical-outlet-wall

You plug an appliance into a wall socket. An everyday occurrence, nothing important. But as the plug goes into the socket, a spark flashes. When you take the plug out later, you also see sparking. 

Occasional sparking outlets are normal and not a reason to panic. What you’re seeing is a fast draw on electrical power, and the effect isn’t much larger than a static electricity spark. 

When sparks at outlets become regular events, ones you can anticipate each time you plug in a device, you may have a serious electrical problem. Don’t attempt to tamper with the outlets yourself. Stop using the sparking outlets and call our licensed pros for electric repair in Buffalo, NY. We can determine which of these common causes is causing the sparking and then have it safely fixed.

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5 Benefits of Installing a Home Automation System

August 2nd, 2021
ceiling-fan-over-kitchen

The idea of an “automated house” was once a common staple in science fiction (such as Ray Bradbury’s “There Will Come Soft Rains,” about an automated house that carries on long after its family has left). But home automation is now in the present and in many people’s daily lives. Maybe you don’t have robot servants scurrying around the house, but many of the systems in the home can now be connected through a single “smart” automation system. 

To enjoy effective home automation, you’ll need to have electricians in Clarence, NY install it. These are complex devices, and it takes skilled electricians to make them work the way homeowners want them to. Our team can help you find the right home automation and determine the parts of your home you want it to control. 

If you’re unsure about the value of installing home automation, we’ve listed five major benefits to consider.

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Don’t Try DIY Electrical Work: Here’s Why

July 19th, 2021
electrical-outlet

We understand as well as anyone why “do-it-yourself” work has appeal for so many people. After all, we’re technicians who enjoy our work, and many of us first got interested in home services because of doing tasks around the house on our own. 

However, handling electrical jobs as a DIY project is something we have to warn against trying. It’s not like changing the aerator on a faucet or fixing a loose table leg. For any electrical job more complicated than replacing a lightbulb or resetting tripped breaker switches, you must have a licensed professional electrician in Buffalo, NY. There are several good reasons why.

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