Safety Considerations with Metal Halide Fixtures

For our blog post this week, we are featuring a guest article from our commercial insurance agent, Wilson Vickers, who will discuss safety concerns regarding metal halide lighting common in many warehouse facilities.   Make sure to check out the links at the bottom of this article to find other blog articles on this subject, view a video showing before and after views of a metal halide fixture replacement in Atlanta, and learn how you can qualify for energy saving rebates in Georgia. Read more

Plasma TVs – Why they are still, and always will be, superior to LCD and LED TVs

I have followed electronics as a hobby since I was about 10 years old.  Back then I was more into portable stereos (boom boxes) and home stereo systems.  I loved looking at the Crutchfield magazines and reading about the cutting edge stereo technology available.  Back in the mid 1980’s, I got a Yamaha DSP1 digital soundfield processor, which was one of the first surround sound systems for home theater use.  It wasn’t cheap, and it was somewhat difficult to set up.  That is when I got my first lesson in why it’s important not to buy the newest technology immediately when it comes out. Read more

Indoor & Outdoor Ceiling Fans, There Is A Difference!

FanCeiling fans enhance our indoor lives with a cooling breeze in the Summer and a beneficial circulation of warm air in the Winter.  However, the benefits of ceiling fans are not exclusive to indoor environments. Outdoor ceiling fans can make a hot, sticky, mosquito infested outdoor area cool and relatively bug free!  So, can one simply take a ceiling fan that they use indoors and install it outdoors? Read more

3 Ways to Improve Parking Lot Lighting and Increase Energy Efficiency

1. Group Relamping

Discharge lamps (metal halide, high pressure sodium) degrade over time, losing up to 40 % of their light output over just a few years.  The energy consumed doesn’t change, i.e. power bill cost, but the light level lowers. Think of it like a 400-watt lamp that’s only putting out the lumens that a 250-watt lamp would. Read more

We’re Growing and Hiring

“Life Savers! On Wednesday night before Christmas a tree fell on our power lines. My husband is on dialysis and the situation was critical. Belco arrived in 45 minutes and worked diligently until Christmas Eve to restore our power. This was our first experience with Belco. We will never use anyone else and highly recommend them.”

This  recent comment from one of our customers illustrates the commitment of our electricians to providing our customers with the best electrical service in Atlanta. Read more

Surge Protection-It’s Not Just for Computers Anymore

By now most people are aware of the need for surge protection for their computers and TV’s, but is there more in the modern home that you should be concerned with when it comes to power surges? Technology is finding it’s way into more and more of the items we use everyday. Read more

When To Upgrade Your Electrical System to Current Code

The following is an excerpt from a recent complaint posted on a consumer reporting website by a homeowner regarding an electrician in Atlanta:

He told me (the electrician)  he couldn’t connect the pool pump unless he did all this work and  that the house wasn’t up to code (turns out he meant up to current code, but I later found out from a builder that houses are just suppose to be up to the code at the time they were built so he deliberately misled me). He said he had to rewire the main panel in the house and totally redo the way the pool was set up or we could get electrocuted in the pool or the house could catch on fire from the wiring. He said it would take two days and cost around $3,100. He worked about six hours and then told. me it would cost more money than he thought he said I and I had to pay him the $3,100.

The National Electrical Code is a United States construction standard and is part of the National Fire Codes series published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Read more

Outdoor Lighting Maintenance – A Facility Manager’s Guide

Parking-Lot-LtgMaintaining parking lot, building, and sign lighting is a very important part of doing business.  A well lighted facility gives customers, tenants and employees a feeling of security and confidence at night, inviting visitation and increasing revenue.   Read more

When Should You Replace Your Electrical Panel?

If you have a Federal Pacific “Stab Lok” circuit breaker panel in your home you need to be aware of the frequent problems inherent with these panels. Read more

What To Do When The Lights Go Out

The loss of electrical power in our homes and business is a fairly common, and sometimes a frequent event in our daily lives.  Knowing what causes these power outages and subsequently how to correct them can make this nuisance a little less stressful to deal with.  Some outages will be out of your control and must be resolved by the utility company.  Still many will originate from within your home or business and, with a little knowledge, can often be corrected very quickly and simply. Read more