Dan’s Wise Words - Blog - Farryn Electric

Track is Back: How to Incorporate Track Lighting Into Your Home

03.28.2019 by Farryn Electric // Leave a Comment

Track lighting was most popular in the 80s, though it is making its comeback with more modern and contemporary looks. It offers a usefulness that is enticing to designers and savvy homeowners. Traditionally used in living rooms, it’s now being installed in kitchens, dining rooms and bedrooms where it’s used indirectly by pointing the light source at shelving units, artwork or display cabinets. While it can also be used for general purpose lighting, there are so many other ways to utilize track lighting. Here are three modern ways to incorporate track lighting into your home!

Give Your Home “Curve” Appeal
Although track lighting can be used in straight lines, it can also be fun to take a new twist on it! These days, track lighting can easily be shaped into curvy lines. Not only does this feature make it easy for lighting to be incorporated into irregularly proportioned rooms, but it can also add interest to a space. Additionally, if your home has a one-off room that is difficult to evenly light, there’s sure to be a track lighting system that will do the trick.

Accentuate Accent Walls
Track lighting is a great way to shed light on an accent wall that you have put time and money into creating. For instance, if you have a wall in your living room that features unique decor, track lighting is the perfect way to enhance it; if you have a brick wall in your kitchen, use it to highlight this special asset; if you have a wall covered in chic plants, a track lighting system will bring it to life. While most people don’t think of this type of lighting system as an obvious choice for bedrooms, if your bedroom has an accent wall—either painted a different color, covered in wallpaper or in a different texture—track lighting will make it look that much more special. When it comes to installing this type of system in a bedroom, just be sure to opt for one that can be dimmed so you can control the brightness of the light.

Highlight Hallways
When long, thin hallways are only lit with ceiling mounted light fittings, they can appear to be dark and gloomy. Even if the ceiling mounted light is accompanied by wall mounted lights or a lamp, it still doesn’t make enough of a difference in brightness. Luckily, installing track lighting can transform your dark hallways into the brightly lit hallways of your dreams!

Ready to install track lighting into your home? Let the professionals at Farryn Electric install this comeback lighting system into your home to create a modern and unique space. Contact us today!

Flying Splices: What They Are and How to Fix Them

03.01.2019 by Farryn Electric // Leave a Comment

If you’ve never heard of the term “flying splices”, you’re not alone; and if you think it sounds like a sci-fi reference or an exotic insect, we don’t blame you. However, flying splices are a very real, very dangerous and very common electrical issue—particularly in older homes—and are one of the top causes of house fires. Not sure whether your home’s electrical wiring has flying splices? Not to worry! The electrical experts at Farryn Electric have three facts about flying splices to help you understand what they are, the dangers they impose, steps you can take detect them, and ultimately, protect your home from an electrical-related fire.

What They Are
The term “flying splices” is an electrical term for wiring that has been spliced together, meaning that the wires have been connected, left open and not enclosed in a junction box. Unfortunately these connections become loose, and because they are not in a box (they are hidden in walls and ceilings) They are very hard to detect. Not to be “captain obvious” but those things that have a potential for causing fires should be in a box and their location should be known. Unfortunately, this technique is found in the oldest forms of wiring like knob and tube wiring, in residential homes, and other generations of wiring as well. Not only is this technique now illegal, but it also is creating a dangerous situation for you and your home.

Why They’re Dangerous
Although flying splices are more typical in older residences, it is still possible that your newer home is suffering from them as well. Like many situations in life, some people are not qualified to do the job they are hired to do, and your flying splice situation could be the result of poor workmanship and an uneducated electrician. What makes flying splices so dangerous to you, your loved ones and your home? Many times, the wiring in a home is located within the walls and ceilings, making it so you will never be able to see it and therefore, you will never know if this dangerous wiring is there. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Not quite. Due to the increased susceptibility of sparking, flying splices are one of the top causes of house fires, but since you cannot see them, how can you protect your home from them? Read on to learn how you can discover if your home has flying splices and how to combat this dangerous issue.

How to Keep Your Home Safe
Luckily, flying splices are not a permanent issue, and with the help of a knowledgeable and experienced electrical expert, the issue can be fixed. First thing’s first: You must hire an electrician to find any weak and dangerous wiring in your home. At Farryn Electric, we have the tools and knowledge to not only detect flying splices, but we will do so without making any holes—a skill both you and your home will thank us for. If it is determined that your home has flying splices, the wiring connection will be corrected and your home will instantly be safer.
When it comes to your home’s electrical wiring, stop living by the “what you don’t know won’t hurt you” mentality, especially if you live in an older home. Flying splices are highly dangerous, and as previously mentioned, highly prevalent in older homes. Don’t rely on luck—contact the team at Farryn Electric today!

Back to Basics: Tips to Prevent Overloading Circuits and Blowing Fuses

02.12.2019 by Farryn Electric // Leave a Comment

We’ve all been there: blow drying our hair, vacuuming up, turning on the kitchen blender, only to have the lights go out from an overloaded circuit, and ultimately, a blown fuse. Wires and a variety of devices being plugged in are all a part of our everyday lives, so it’s easy to forget that they can easily overload a home’s circuit breaker, until it’s too late. Luckily, the experts at Farryn Electric have three tips that can help shed some light on this topic, so you can keep your circuit breaker happy, your fuses from blowing and your home running smoothly.

Breaker and Wattage Conversion is Key
In order to figure out how many devices you can plug in without blowing a fuse, you must first figure out how many circuits your panel can handle. To figure this out, open your electrical panel to find the information of how many amps each circuit can handle without being overloaded. From here, multiply the amperage rating by 120 volts—this will give you your total wattage capacity. For example, the maximum wattage of a 15-amp circuit (multiplied by 120 volts) is 1,800 watts.

Keep Extension Cord Usage to a Minimum
A tripping circuit breaker can be a pain, so if you want to keep this from happening, you may want to think twice the next time you whip out your an extension cord as an easy solution. While extension cords can give your circuit some temporary relief, it’s important to note that they are not a long-term solution. And as with most things in life that come with a user manual, it’s important to read the one that comes with your extension cord and to follow the tips in it provided by the manufacturer.

Wattage Comparison is Crucial for Plugged-In Devices
Between kitchen appliances, grooming tools, entertainment devices, cleaning equipment and light bulbs, it can be easy to not realize how many things we have plugged in—until a fuse is blown, that is. Here’s a quick list of some devices you may plug in daily (or always have plugged in) to give you an idea of how much your circuit is being utilized:

Dishwasher (1,200-2,400 watts)
Blow dryer (600-1,200 watts)
Television (200-500 watts)
Speakers (220-1000 watts)
Vacuum cleaner (250-1,200 watts)
Light bulb (20-250 watts)

To decrease your chances of blowing a fuse, compare the wattage and amperage rating of each of these devices with the amount of power your circuits can handle. This information should be easy to find on their packaging, rating plates or tags. Once you know these numbers, it will be easy to determine if your circuit is overloaded or not.

If you’re finding that you’re constantly cursing (in the dark) because of a blown fuse, there may be an issue with your circuit’s wiring. The only way to figure this out? With the help of the experts at Farryn Electric! Not only do we have the tools and expertise to detect the issue for you, but we’ll easily fix it, so you can blow dry your hair, plug in those new surround-sound speakers and vacuum the day away without having to worry about blowing a fuse. Contact us today!

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