Posts Tagged ‘Electrical Repair’

Precautions To Be followed To Resist Electrical Shocks

Saturday, January 2nd, 2010

Along with excessive use of electrical devices, chances of getting electrical shock also increases. Protecting yourself from injury and harm is absolutely crucial. For protecting yourself, you should have basic knowledge of using various appliances so that you can use them properly and prevent any disastrous situation.

With the help of some basic rules, large number of accidents can be prevented. Most important of all is to wear gloves and safety boots in order to insulate yourself and break the electrical circuit that would be formed if are in direct contact with earth.

Once you get an electric shock, its consequences will vary as per the current flow and the path of the current through your body. If the voltage is high, then the injuries will certainly be severe. So the best option is to know how to avoid getting electrical shocks.

In order to save some time or some electrical units, never overload an appliance as it could prove to be very risky. As water is good conductor of electricity, you need to be very careful while using electricity in a damp or moist area.

Steps To Test A Capacitor

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Like the other electrical components, the capacitors too are susceptible to energy dissipation. With time, the capacitors lose their electric charges and become inefficient. Hence, the bad or discharged capacitors need to be replaced accordingly.

Most homeowners throw out the capacitors without apprehending whether they’re actually bad or not. It is not a healthy practice to dispose the capacitors that are in usable form. To determine whether a capacitor is usable or not, carry out the required testing.

Bring in a capacitor tester to check the element for electric charges. Due to the fact that capacitors always carry some stored charges, they must be handled carefully. Hence, follow the necessary precautions to avoid electric shocks from the capacitors.

Carefully, detach the capacitor from its affiliated setup. Don’t take the capacitor straight in your hand as that could lead to an electric shock. Grab a screwdriver and a voltage tester. Probe the terminals of the capacitor with the tester to detect any current in the component. In case of charged capacitor, touch the metal terminals of the capacitor with a screwdriver. Make sure that the handle of the screwdriver is well insulated. The head of the screwdriver discharges the power of the capacitor.

How To Cut Off Your Power Supply ?

Monday, December 21st, 2009

When it comes to rendering a safe schema to your electrical setup, the homeowners need to perform their duty. A homeowner with no knowledge of the electrical working invites a sequence of electricity-related problems to his home. Therefore, the general facts must be known well to the homeowners in advance as far as the electrical framework is concerned.

In case of an emergency, the main power supply must be cut short immediately. The intensity of the property damage may get amplified if the homeowner fails to locate the breaker box or the main fuse. A breaker box is an electrical component that controls the supply of electricity to different spaces of the home. The basic know-how of the breaker box and electric fuse should be known to all the members of the home.

The most general location of the breaker box is in the proximity of the main electric meter. Since the electric meter is installed outside your home, it is quite likely that the breaker box is installed there as well. You can call an electrician to generate some suggestion on that.

How To Prevent Electrical Hazards ?

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

The essence of electricity cannot be ignored in such a technologically advanced world. Almost all the home appliances such as televisions, computers, air-conditioners, washing-machines etc. rely on the electrical setup to deliver their expected output.

However, electricity offers its own drawbacks. Improper use of electricity may turn out to be hazardous for you and your family. The negligence of minor flaws in your electrical setup may take the shape of potential fire hazards in the time to come. Hence, it becomes obligatory to monitor and control the electrical setup relevantly.

The tattered or worn out wires or electrical cords are regular in most of the households. Often, the homeowners neglect the importance of fixing such issues. Leaving the matter unattended may prove costly in the long run. Hence, take the assignment in your own hands and fix all such suspended or loose wires. This is one task that can be accomplished successfully by even a novice. Reassemble the wires accordingly such that they look organized and hooked to their associated setup.

After modifying the tattered and ragged wires, move to the other electrical components. Never overload a particular outlet as that may lead to the overheating of the socket. Consult an expert electrician regarding the same and remove the excess number of plugs or extension cords accordingly.

Understanding The Working Of Electrical Wiring Setup

Wednesday, December 9th, 2009

Establishing a good apprehension of your internal electrical wiring is a wise practice that can really help during the time of an emergency. The basic color coding of the internal wires and the other general concepts associated with it, must be kept in mind by the homeowner.

During the remodeling or construction of the home, the internal wiring setup must be looked in closely to gather some general idea about it’s working. You can also derive some valuable suggestions and manipulations from the electrician under work.

Start off with manipulating the concept of color coding and apprehending the basic operation of the differently colored wires. The general color scheme uses a red or a black colored wire to represent the active or hot wire. Whereas, the lighter colors such as white and gray, correspond to the neutral wire. A green-colored or a yellow-colored wire is commonly employed for the ground lead. When a three-phase wiring architecture is used then the black, red and blue colors use the line1, line 2 and line 3 respectively.

Take the other generalizations in account as well after apprehending the color coding.

How To Cover Your Electrical Cords ?

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

The electrical cords and cables that remain suspended from one electrical junction to an outlet, appear quite odd. Such setting spoils the serenity of the house and reduces the calmness of the interiors.

Some excerpts that may help you with concealing such suspended cords and cables are mentioned here. Eventually, the solution may end up beautifying your home interiors to a certain extent.

Notify yourself about the location and length of the cable that needs to be covered. If the wire runs along the wall behind any furniture then place another furniture or vase to hide it completely. For instance, if the furniture happens to be a table then place a vase or book-shelf under the table. If however the length of the cable is longer than the vase or shelf length then move onto other alternatives.

Purchase the cable covers from your local hardware store. These covers run over the length of the wire along the walls. The covers can be painted in such a way that setup matches with the color of your wall.

Tips To Use A Refrigerator In A Cost Effective Manner

Saturday, December 5th, 2009

You need to be attentive while using electricity because it is not long lasting. Raw material used to produce electricity will run out in next 80 years. For solving this purpose you need to use all the electric appliances efficiently including refrigerators. Here we will discuss some of the efficient ways of using it.

Ensure that your refrigerator is located in a place where it gets a free flow of air all around it and it should be placed at some distance from walls and cabinets as mentioned in manual. Choose a refrigerator of a size based on the needs of your family.

Keep your refrigerator far away from sunlight or any other heating device. Placing fridge near to any device like oven, gas, heater forces it to eat more electricity.

You must be confused about the temperature requirement of your fridge that is best to keep your food fresh and use less electricity. For that you can set freezing temperature between 23 degrees to 28 degrees and cooling temperature between 41 degrees to 50 degrees.

What Is An Electrical Breaker Box ?

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

When it comes to adding a safety dimension to your electrical framework then the role of an electrical breaker box cannot be underestimated. The electrical breaker box works more or less like the traditional electrical fuses and cuts off the electricity supply when an aberration is noticed in the electrical circuits.

It is a device or an instrument that prevents your home from potential electrical hazards by breaking down the circuit. Whenever an irregularity or aberration is detected by the breaker box, it cuts off the supply of electricity to the affected area immediately.

It consists of different breaker switches wherein each switch corresponds to a particular room or area of the home. A breaker switch turns off when an electrical upsurge or irregularity is detected in the normal operation of the electrical setup.

In case of an emergency, the electrical breaker box proves very handy as it cuts off the electricity to the affected spread of the home instantly and hence, reduces the intensity of the damage. Also prior to electrical assignments, you need to switch off the electricity from the breaker box.

Save Energy With Solar Powered Attic Fans

Friday, November 27th, 2009

No one can deny to the fact that our natural and man- made resources are diminishing at a very fast pace. These need to be conserved for a better tomorrow. You can do so by going solar ways. This is the best way to prevent the depletion. You can phase out the conventional fans and can switch over to solar powered attic fans.

If high utility bill has become a major headache for you, you surely need to install solar fans at your places. They help a lot in slashing down the electricity loads as they don’t use any other source of power except sun.

Moreover, traditional fans running 24×7 are unable to provide you cooler attics but, these are quite effective. This way you can save a lot of money.

Basically, a solar powered attics fan comprise of a small solar panel that rely on very less power of typically 10 to 20 watts. These also act as a home maintenance tool even in winters. Since, these are a bit notorious for collecting moisture, smoke and prevents the growth of mold, mildew, you can even call them as exhaust fans.

Diagnosing A Faulty GFCI Outlet

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

Unlike the typical electrical outlets, the GFCI outlets offer you an additional safety feature that prevents you from hazardous electrical shocks. Hence incorporation of such outlets is a necessity as far as rendering a sound safety schema to your home is concerned.

Hence it becomes mandatory to pay an attention to the regular maintenance of these GFCI outlets so that the major electrical hazards can be avoided.

A GFCI outlet is an electrical device that monitors the current balance between the active (hot) wire and the neutral wire. Once an aberration is noticed from the predefined value of current, a ground fault is said to have occurred and the circuit immediately trips off. In addition, the devices or the outlets falling after the GFCI outlet in the common circuit also notice a breakdown.

To ease the task of GFCI maintenance and repair, two buttons are encapsulated in the apparatus of the outlet. One is the ‘test’ button that checks the outlet for it’s expected operation and the other one is the ‘preset’ button that restores the default state of the GFCI circuit. Majority of the GFCI issues are somehow related to the inactivity of the ‘preset’ button.