We're In Your Neighborhood!
Same Day Service
Since 1992
Call The Gentleman Pros Now!
(780) 628-1734
We're In Your Neighborhood!
Same Day Service
Since 1992
Call The Gentleman Pros Now!
(780) 628-1734
We’ve all heard the saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That pertains to your house’s electrical as well.
Conducting regular electrical repair and maintenance helps you catch little problems before they become big problems and wreak havoc and cause damage.
The benefits of regular maintenance on your electrical system are:
Edmonton’s Gentlemen Pros’ electricians are licensed and participate in continuing education to keep on top of all current codes, regulations, and best practices.
We understand that you are putting something precious into our hands — your home and we will respect it. All our electricians are thoroughly screened with drug testing and a criminal record check along with making sure they have all the right training.
We are ready to take your call any time of the day or night. That’s right, we answer our phones 24/7. So give us a call at (780) 628-1734 or book online.
Electricity brings us many beautiful things; it powers our stereos so we can listen to our music, it powers our coffee machines so we can get our morning cup of joe, and it powers our televisions so we can escape into a great show or movie after a long day at work.
It also brings us practical and life-saving equipment and tools. Things like vacuum cleaners, medical equipment, and security systems. Not nearly as fun and relaxing as the first things mentioned, but just as or even more important than them.
It’s safe to say electricity powers our lives, so it is easy to forget the fact that electricity is very dangerous and if not used properly it can cause damage to your home and your family.
Though it brings us many positive things, electricity has a dangerous side and has the power to cause great destruction and severe injuries. The electrical current in your home has enough power to cause death.
The two most common electrical accidents in our homes are electrical fires and electric shocks.
A major cause of electrical fires is arcing. Arcing occurs because electricity generates heat causing the wires that carry the electricity to expand and contract. With enough time, this expansion and contraction can loosen the wires’ connections with things on the circuit. Things like outlets, switches, and light fixtures.
The loosening of the connections causes a small gap to appear in the circuit. Because the gap is small, the electricity decides to “jump” the gap to the other side to continue its travel. This is arcing and it causes fires.
A great way to prevent electrical fires is to conduct regular maintenance, install Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) circuit breakers, and use your electricity responsibly. This means, don’t overload your circuits, don’t use frayed electrical cords, and fix outlets, switches, and fixtures that are wobbly, smelly, and sparky.
Also, make sure your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector are working. According to Statistics Canada, from 2015 to 2021 only 37 percent of residential fires had a working smoke detector, 12 percent had smoke detectors that didn’t activate, and 13 percent didn’t even have a smoke detector installed.
Working with electricity is no joke and you need to give it the respect it is due.
You can’t get lackadaisical with electricity. Many a person has decided that when they are removing a light fixture and installing a new one it is good enough just to turn off the light switch that controls the fixture only to get an electrical shock while doing the work.
Working with electricity is no joke and you need to give it the respect it is due.
You can’t get lackadaisical with electricity. Many a person has decided that when they are removing a light fixture and installing a new one it is good enough just to turn off the light switch that controls the fixture only to get an electrical shock while doing the work.
The good news is most electrical shock situations can be eliminated by doing two simple things. Two steps aren’t too much when it could mean saving your life, right?
You need to turn off the appropriate circuit breaker in the electric panel. If you don’t know which circuit breaker to turn off, turn off the main circuit breaker. It will turn off the power to your entire house. This is a minor inconvenience to ensure you are safe.
We cannot stress this enough: Always turn off the circuit breaker in the electric panel for the branch circuit you are working on.
Your electric panel should have a legend that tells you what rooms each circuit breaker controls. It is usually on the inside of the panel door. If you don’t have one, you need one. So, map your circuit breakers and create a legend. We’ve created easy-to-follow instructions here.
It only takes these two simple steps to significantly lower the chance of receiving an electrical shock which depending on the circumstances could be fatal. Is your life worth the few seconds you save by not turning off the power at the electrical panel?
If you ever have any doubts or questions about doing something electric yourself, don’t do it. Working with electricity is not the time to “just do it”.
Call in the experts, we’d be happy to help.
Just in case you choose not to follow electrical safety steps, here are the most common electrical injuries:
