Trustworthy Contractors are Hard to Find By | Jun 24, 2013 Where can you go to find an honest, quality contractor if you don’t have a referral from someone you trust? This is a question that most people will face sooner or later. We all have need of a service company or contractor at some…
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Phantom Power By | May 09, 2013 When most people turn an electronic device off they expect it is truly off and not drawing any electricity. In many cases that is not true. They still may be drawing “phantom power”, also called standby power, vampire power, etc. “Phantom power” was described by the U.S. Department…
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What is an Energy Star Rated Bulb and Why Should I Use Them? By | Mar 25, 2013 In follow up to my last blog regarding the phasing out of T12 fluorescent lamps, I wanted to share some brief information and a helpful link about the “new wave” of energy efficient lighting sources.
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Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCI) By | Feb 18, 2013 There is a relatively new electrical safety device on the market and it can save your life! What is this wonderful device you ask? It is the Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter, commonly referred to as an AFCI. It was introduced in 1999 and has been slowly incorporated…
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HDTV for Free Part 2 By | Jan 26, 2013 In my last blog I talked about installing an over the air antenna to get HDTV for free so I could drop my satellite TV provider. The problem with this is only locally broadcast television stations are available over the air, which means I am…
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T12 Fluorescent Lamps Burning Out and Fading Away By | Dec 15, 2012 For years, there have been rumors and missed deadlines regarding the phasing out of T-12 fluorescent lamps (the “fat” tubes as some call them). Effective July 2012, the common 4′ T12 lamp is no longer being produced due to a mandate from…
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HDTV for Free By | Nov 13, 2012 Tired of paying for cable or satellite TV? I did two things to get rid of satellite TV service for my home theater system without sacrificing picture quality, or to a large degree, video content. I’ll describe step 1 in this article. You can check in later…
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Flickering Lights: Is This Normal? By | Oct 08, 2012 Our electrical systems are busy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week providing comfort, security and convenience in our day to day lives. This is also a system that we rarely think about. It’s not something you can hear, see, or smell under normal…
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What’s The Green Wire For? By | Jun 22, 2012 One of the most common problems we find with electrical installations, whether it be a do it yourself renovation, or even new construction, is finding that the ground connection is not properly terminated to light fixtures, switches and outlets. They will work without making that…
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