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How do you reset a circuit breaker?
- Turn the circuit breaker to the off position and then back on. There is a tripped position that will not allow you to reset the breaker until it is turned off
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What is a GFCI circuit breaker or outlet?
- GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter. It constantly measures the current on the hot and the neutral wire of a circuit. If the current in one of the wires differs from the other by 1/10,000 of an ampere the breaker or outlet trips. It does so because that 1/10,000 of an ampere is leaking and flowing somewhere other than through the wire and that somewhere could be someone’s body. These are used in wet locations throughout the house. Kitchens, bathrooms, outside, Garages, etc.
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How much is a car charger to install?
- The average car charger installation by Current Electrical Contractors is $1,500. The cost of the installation is based on the following.
- How far the electrical panel is from where the vehicle will be parked.
- How fast of a charge in the range of miles per hour of charge you would like because the faster the charger the larger the conduit, wire, and circuit breaker.
- The route that needs to be taken from the electrical panel to the charger. Does it need a trench or do we need to cut open walls or ceilings to get there?
- The price of the permit and inspection fees in your municipality.
- The average car charger installation by Current Electrical Contractors is $1,500. The cost of the installation is based on the following.
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What do I do if there is not enough power at my electrical panel to run my car charger?
- Previously you would have had to upgrade your electrical service which can be an expensive option. Now there is a new product produced by DCC Technology the DCC-9 and DCC-10. These products are demand charge controllers for Electric Vehicles. They get installed at the main electrical panel. When they are hooked up they constantly monitor the current flow at the main breaker. If the current flow reaches 80% of the main circuit breakers capacity the EV charger is de-energized. When the power consumption is less than 80% of the capacity for more than 15 minutes the EV charger is re-energized. This is a much less expensive option than an upgraded electrical service. dcc.technology/faq
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What if my condo association doesn’t allow electric vehicles because of the power consumption?
- See above the DCC-9 or DCC-10 will work the same way as it will at a single-family home. dcc.technology/faq
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What if I live in a high rise and want an electrical vehicle?
- You should speak to your condo association and get an estimate for an electric car charging infrastructure in your parking garage. Current Electrical Contractors had done 3 such installations in the last two years. We partner with Evercharge
evercharge.net They sell a product that allows many vehicles to be charging at the same time. There needs to be an installation of the infrastructure for these to be plugged in to. We specialize in the infrastructure for Evercharge. We then run power from the electrical panels that we install on each level of the parking garage to the Evercharge smart EV chargers. The customer can swipe a credit card and pays only for the electricity being used from that unit. Evercharge pays the electrical bill for the meter that feeds the infrastructure.
These EV chargers are all linked together wirelessly. The engineers at Evercharge set them up so that up to a certain capacity of the main breaker feeding the panel on that floor everyone gets 100% charge. When too many people are plugged in the charge to each vehicle is reduced by the same amount so that everyone gets a charge just not at 100%.
- You should speak to your condo association and get an estimate for an electric car charging infrastructure in your parking garage. Current Electrical Contractors had done 3 such installations in the last two years. We partner with Evercharge
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What light bulbs are ecofriendly?
- LED light bulbs are the most ecofriendly. We recommend a name-brand manufacturer as these light bulbs are being manufactured in many places and there are some new manufacturers that may not honor any type of warranty
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What does Kelvin mean in an LED light bulb?
- Kelvin is the color of the light. The old light bulbs that most people grew up with were almost exclusively 2700K. That is the color of most standard 40 to 150-watt bulbs you would purchase at the grocery or hardware store. They have a slightly orange warm glow. Next is 3000K which is a little more white and then it moves up to 4000K which is almost like an operating room. Very white.
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Can I dim an LED light bulb with a standard dimmer?
- Each LED bulb has its own characteristics. You should read the information on the package. There are many websites where dimmer manufacturers like Lutron Electronics lists all the light bulbs they have tested and what dimmers they will work with. Also, many light bulb manufacturers list the type of dimmers that will work with their bulbs or strips. If the LED light bulb strobes as it dims downward that is a good indicator that the bulb and the dimmer are not compatible.
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What is infrared Testing?
- Large industrial and commercial concerns with many electrical panels and transformers like to get their electrical system checked for possible problems on a regular basis to avoid costly unexpected shutdowns. Current Electrical Contractors partners with Infrared Testing Inc. http://www.infraredtesting.com/ . We open the panels and transformer covers and they use an infrared camera to identify any hotspots. Heat is created when there is a loose connection. Loose connections are a very bad thing for electricity. Loose connections give off heat that does not necessarily turn in to an increased amp draw at the breaker. The energy is consumed at the loose connection. If these can be identified before a problem happens the problem can be repaired before there is a need for a lengthy shutdown.
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Can I check my circuit breaker panel at home for loose connections?
- Yes. Current Electrical Contractors has an infrared heat camera and can use that to check your panel as well as to visually inspect for problems.
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Can I get regular service to my larger home to change light bulbs?
- Yes. We have numerous customers that have us stop by every quarter. We check all the light bulbs in the house and change any that are out. We also lightly dust light fixtures that might have cobwebs etc. We can also check all the GFCI outlets in the house.
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How do I determine how large of a generator I need for my home?
- There are two ways to do this.
- Do a load calculation on the house and then purchase a generator that will handle the whole house. Nowadays that is easier than it used to be. There are smart transfer switches. (the transfer switch is what changes from utility power to the generator power in an outage) You can wire a number of the large loads in your home (AC, Electric Oven, Electric Car Charger, Electric Heat etc.) through low voltage relays built into the transfer switch. The smart transfer switch will sense when the generator is close to capacity and start shedding those large loads one at a time until the generator is below its capacity. This is very important because a generator will simply shut itself off.
- Make a list of the items you would like to have to stay on in case of a power outage.
- Furnace
- Sump pump
- Refrigerator
- AC
- Wine Cellar
- Master bedroom lights
Whatever is on the list we then do a load calculation to determine the size of the generator to handle those loads if they were all to be on at the same time.
- There are two ways to do this.
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Does a generator need regular maintenance?
- Yes. Think of your generator like a vehicle without wheels which is exactly what it is. All generators exercise themselves once a week to ensure that the battery is charged and the unit is ready for action if there is a power outage. We have many regular yearly maintenance agreements with customers. We come out and change the air filter, Oil filter and spark plugs and install new oil.
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Is there a way to monitor the generator in case of a mechanical failure?
- Yes. All generator manufacturers have electronic monitoring systems for their new models for a number of years now. This is an added cost but peace of mind for the homeowner. If the generator fails to exercise itself because it won’t start an email and or text message can be sent to multiple addresses or phones. If the generator shows a bad battery, low oil or a number of other functions an email and or text message is sent to wherever the monitor is programmed to send them.