Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric and Fireplaces, Inc. Blog: Archive for the ‘Electricity’ Category

Avoid Overloading Your Electrical Panel with Holiday Lights

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Family Celebrating Christmas At Home Viewed From OutsideThe holiday season is upon us. If you’re like many homeowners in the area, you may be decorating your home, inside and out. Quite often, this includes putting holiday lights up and around your home.

One of the most common calls received by our professional electricians in Cedar Falls, IA this time of year is in regards to certain outlets throughout the home not working—this may include your bathroom outlets, garage, or outdoor outlets. And the most common reason for this problem is that outdoor holiday lights have tripped a GFCI outlet or circuit breaker within your home.

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Is Your Home Protected from Power Surges?

Monday, September 17th, 2018

beautiful home with mountain view in backgroundMany, if not most, homeowners assume that power surges come from stormy weather, and that alone. But this is not actually the case. Power surges come from the appliances in your home, and in recent years, as we have become increasingly reliant on electronic devices and high efficiency appliances, we’ve increased our own risk of power surges. And they post a more serious threat than many realize, to appliances, electronics, and homes in general.

You probably think you’re just fine depending on the small, portable surge protectors you can et at any hardware or office supply store (these are referred to as power strips). Hey, you can plug your stereo, television, lighting, and more into it—convenient, right? Well unfortunately, power strips are not enough to provide the level of protection needed for you home. Rather, you need a whole house surge protection system installed by a professional electrician in Cedar Falls, IA.

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How to Make Your Life Easier with Smart Home Additions

Monday, June 11th, 2018

Do you want to know the quickest way to make your life a little easier? Installing smart home technology! In the past few years, smart home upgrades have become more accessible and more affordable. Here are few upgrades that the Dalton team recommends to make your home in the Cedar Falls and Waterloo area more comfortable.

Save Your Air Conditioning

Smart thermostats aren’t new to the market, but changes in their technology have made them more convenient and easier to use. New smart thermostats take the guesswork out of maintaining your home comfort. They can sense when you’re at home or away and adjust the temperature accordingly. Additionally, you can control them remotely, so no more returning home to an overheated house. Instead, you can lower the temperature while you are in commute and enjoy the cooled air when you arrive.

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Improve Your Home’s Landscaping with This Electrical Addition

Monday, May 28th, 2018

outdoor lighting for homeWhen you think about the landscaping of your home, what comes to mind? If you’re like the average homeowner, the types of flowers and trees you’ll plant, and whether you’ll go with grass, or some type of wood chip or rock ground foundation is probably also a consideration.

But, what about your lighting?

Outdoor lighting is not something many people think about too much when moving into a new home or planning to redo their landscaping in an existing home, but it should be! There are a number of ways in which outdoor lighting, professionally installed by a Waterloo, IA electrician, can improve your home’s landscaping, making it both visually appealing and functional.

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Are You Making Any of These Home Security Mistakes?

Monday, April 30th, 2018

exterior of a homeIs your home as safe and secure as possible? Sure, you keep the front door locked, you have a basic security system, and maybe you even have a dog whose bark you hope will scare burglars away quick enough that they discover the dog really just wants to lick them to death.

These are all great first steps (though we really don’t recommend relying on the family dog), however to truly protect your home, it’s vital that you have an effective whole-home security system professionally installed by trained and experienced Cedar Falls, IA electricians. This will give you protection as well as a peace of mind whether you are away from home or your family is soundly sleeping.

In addition to this installation, there are a number of things you can do around the house to limit your risks of being burglarized even more. We’ve shared some of the biggest home security mistakes below, to help provide some guidance on how to do just that.

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Surge Protection Is Not Just Storm Protection!

Monday, January 8th, 2018

icon of a home designed to look like a computer chipThere are a good deal of homeowners who believe they can go without whole-house surge protection, or don’t even think about it at all. If you’re one of those homeowners, we urge you to read on and learn about why this is so important. Within the last couple of decades, we have all become more and more dependent on electronic devices and high efficiency appliances. When you couple this with inclement weather—particularly thunderstorms—the risk of power surges increase.

But surge protection is not just storm protection! Surges pose a serious threat to your appliances, electronics, and your home in general, even when it’s not storming outside. And you might think that you can just get by with a small, portable surge protector you can buy at the hardware store (a power strip), but this doesn’t give you comprehensive protection—not the kind of protection that a professional Waterloo, IA electrician can give.

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How You Can Reap the Benefits of Home Automation

Monday, October 16th, 2017

modern looking homeHave you ever been away from home for an extended period of time, or even just at work for the day, and thought to yourself, “I’d really like to check in on my house”? We’ve all been there. At some time or another, you’ve likely wondered if you left the lights on unintentionally, kept your HVAC system going for too long, or even forgot to lock your front door.

The good news is, there is a way to have access to your home at all times, no matter how far away from it you are. With a home automation system, professionally installed by an experienced Waterloo, IA electrician, you can check in on whatever is important to you in your home, from work or across the country. Choosing a pro for the job will ensure a job done right, and will help you reap the full benefits of home automation!

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Improve the Look of Your Home with These Electrical Additions

Monday, May 1st, 2017

electrical-additions-visual-appeal

Across the country, homeowners are placing higher demands on their homes’ electrical systems than ever before. We’re adding high-efficiency electrical appliances such as HVAC system, hooking up new devices, and purchasing extra equipment for our existing electronics.

There are a number of Waterloo, IA electrical services you can invest in, including upgrades. In addition to ensuring that your electrical system can handle the demand you’re placing on it, it’s only natural that you’d also like to know how you can maintain or improve the visual appeal of your home while also making functional electrical additions. We have a few suggestions of how to do so.

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Planning a Home Remodel? Consider These Electrical Factors

Monday, April 3rd, 2017

electrical-considerations-home-remodelWith springtime here and the subsequent warmer weather following, many homeowners are considering renovation and remodeling projects for 2017. There are many household projects that make great “do-it-yourself” endeavors, however, we of course highly recommend against this if any electrical work is involved. One of the biggest home construction hazards that homeowners face is electrical accidents or problems.

Before you start your home remodel or renovation project, it’s essential that you review the safety precautions you should take, and understand the important electrical considerations to be made before and during the project. And when it comes to handling the electrical aspect of the job, contact the Waverly, IA electrical service experts on our team.

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Why You Should Only Hire a Professional for Your Electrical Work

Monday, February 6th, 2017

why-you-should-only-hire-a-professional-electricianAt Dalton PHC, we’ve been providing exceptional heating, cooling, and plumbing services to our clients for years, and soon will be introducing our electrical services in Waverly, IA and beyond. In the meantime, we want to stress just how important it is that you only trust a professional for this type of work.

As you may already be very well aware of, in order to maintain optimal electrical safety, it’s vital that you not attempt jobs of this caliber on your own. You could do more harm than good—plus you may injure yourself or create an undue fire hazard. Instead, you should rely on the services of a licensed, professional electrician for whatever your residential electrical needs may be. What do get though, when you hire a licensed professional?

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