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Checking Your AC Breaker

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checking ac breaker

Over the past few weeks, Farryn Electric has replaced four AC breaker panels due to the excessive heat! Home outdoor AC units are working overtime; attempting to make sure your home stays cool. Ultimately, the hot summer days can cause an enormous amount of electrical current to flow through your breaker. Your breaker box distributes electrical power to different circuits.

What is arcing?
If your breaker is dated or not maintained properly, “arcing” will occur. It becomes so hot within the breaker, that this can actually lead to your panel melting! Arcing is an electric current that is brief, strong and highly luminous. An arc is the luminous current discharge which is produced when strong current leaps across the gap between electrodes or within a circuit.

What can you do to prevent this?
Simply open the door to your panel and run the back of your hand down the face of the breakers. If the breakers are slightly hot to the touch, it is normal. However, if the breakers are excessively hot there may be a potential danger.

What to do if your breaker gets too hot?
You may also notice a “fishy”/burned plastic smell and odds are your breaker needs to be repaired. If this is the case, immediately turn the breaker off and call us at Farryn Electric for a diagnostic, we will be happy to help!

How we can help!
If you don’t feel comfortable performing the check, making a quick call to Farryn Electric is the safest bet. Trust the experts!

How can this be avoided?
If you want to lessen the chances of this or any other electrical hazard in your home; Farryn Electric Offers Comprehensive Safety Checks.  Call Farryn Electric today for details.

 

Electrical Safety Tips to Get You Through the Summer

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electrical safety tips during the summer

Did you know that according to Electrical Safety Foundation International, home electrical fires account for an estimated 51,000 fires each year, nearly 500 deaths, more than 1,400 injuries, and $1.3 billion in property damage? The summer months are filled with fun outdoor activities with family and friends, but you should always be aware of the dangers of outdoor electrical usage.

Here are some tips to keep everyone safe this summer!

Around the Pool

Remember, water and electricity don’t mix!

  • Keep all electrical cords away from water.
  • Be on the lookout for underwater lights that are not working properly, flicker or work intermittently.
  • Make sure all outdoor outlets have Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) – Especially around the pool.
  • Do not swim before or after thunderstorms.

Lightning

Remember, lightning most often strikes people who work outside or engage in outdoor recreational activities.

  • Be careful if you get caught in a summer storm.
  • Almost 100 people die each year from lightning related incidents, and another 500 are severely injured.
  • If a thunderstorm is approaching, be sure to go indoors and stay there till the storm has passed.
  • If there is no shelter, crunch low, with as little of your body touching the ground, and always with your feet together. If you have to move, hop on one foot to avoid providing a difference in potential between one foot and the other.
  • Never seek shelter under a tree.

Extension Cords

Note: Extension cords are only a temporary solution!

  • Never attempt to extend the length of an extension cord by connecting it with another extension cord.
  • Check extension cords for any damage before using.
  • Only use extension cords if they have been marked for outdoor use.

Electrical Safety: Baby Proofing Outlets

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shutterstock_135339197I never understood a baby’s fascination with outlets until I became a father myself. I don’t know what it is about electrical outlets, but babies love them. Maybe it’s because they see you plugging in an appliance and want to imitate you. Maybe it’s because outlets look like little faces, just waiting to be fed something.

My anxiety was skyrocketing. It appeared my little crawling drool monster would find her way to an outlet and find anything to jam into the socket! It made my wife and I crazy!

A light-bulb went off in my mind. I said to my wife, “As soon as we make settlement on the new home – I am going to replace all child level outlets with tamper resistant receptacles!”  To save my wife and I from the stress of chasing a speedy infant around each room, I did just that (while she did everything else)!

If you are planning to expand your family or are expecting, you should consider having your receptacles changed to tamper resistant receptacles and I will explain why.

Our second child is daddy’s little girl! She likes to take things apart and see exactly how they work. It wasn’t long until she figured out how to get through the plastic child-locks on everything.  The toilet, cabinets, baby gates, you name it – there was no stopping this little one and her desire to explore everything, including the plastic outlet safety covers on the electrical sockets, even while she was on a playdate!

So how do tamper resistant receptacles work? Both slots in a tamper resistant receptacle have spring-loaded shutters over them that are interconnected. Unless pressure is applied to both slots at the same time, they will not open, so a child trying to stick a small object into a slot will be unsuccessful.

Of course, you can always use the plastic baby-proofing covers that require a screwdriver to remove and/or break nails in the process. However, I can’t tell you how many times I have seen these on floors or simply misplaced. Therefore, I advocate for tamper resistant receptacles, to make it easier on ourselves and all parents to protect our babies from being shocked by a receptacle.

Farryn Electric is your guide when it comes to electrical features and services. If you have any questions about our services, you may contact us here or call us at (484) 316-0449.

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