Electrical Services in Melbourne, FL

Your home’s electrical system may seem to run quietly in the background, but it’ll definitely let you know when something’s amiss. Stay alert for any of these recurring signs before issues snowball:

Tripped Breakers

Having to constantly reset tripped circuit breakers is a clear indicator of an overloaded circuit or wiring issue brewing. Overloaded systems can quickly become fire risks if the root cause isn’t resolved.

Burning Smells

If you catch a whiff of something hot or a smoldering, burning odor coming from outlets, appliances, or your electrical panel, don’t ignore it. That likely signals an overheating component on the verge of failure that needs immediate inspection.

Sparking Outlets

See some concerning sparks or arcing when you go to plug something in? That’s a major warning sign the outlet’s wiring connections have become loose and hazardous over time from general wear and tear. Sparking outlets are fire hazards that can’t wait for replacement.

Flickering Lights

When your lights constantly dim or flicker as other devices and appliances kick on, it shows your electrical service can no longer handle the load it’s under. This overloaded situation puts excessive strain on components until something eventually fails.

Warm Outlets/Switches

If outlets, light switches, or electrical boxes are warm to the touch or appear discolored and charred, it means those components are overheating from a poor connection or being overwhelmed. This poses a serious shock and fire risk requiring repair ASAP.

Buzzing Noises

An incessant buzzing or humming sound coming from outlets, switches, or your electrical panel usually signifies a loose electrical connection or a component that’s starting to fail and needs diagnosis before it leads to arcing and fire.

Old Aluminum Wiring

Many older properties were built using aluminum wiring, which is now considered an obsolete fire hazard due to safety concerns. If your home has this type of outdated wiring, it needs complete replacement with new copper wiring as soon as possible.

Any recurring electrical issues or oddities seeming out of the ordinary shouldn’t be ignored or worked around. Trying to avoid professional diagnosis of potential hazards is just asking for trouble down the road.

Keeping your home’s electrical panel up-to-date is crucial for safety and keeping up with your property’s power demands. Here are some guidelines on when it’s time to bite the bullet on an upgrade:

System Age

Most electrical panels are built to last 25-40 years with proper maintenance. If yours is pushing 30 years old or more, it’s a good idea to consider a modern replacement. Outdated panels lack safety features and can’t handle today’s increased electrical loads.

Major Home Renovations/Additions

Did a nice new room addition or whole-house remodel recently? If so, your existing electrical service may no longer have the capacity to handle those increased power needs. An upgrade prevents your system from becoming overloaded.

Selling Your Home

Buyers often balk at purchasing a property with an older electrical panel and outdated wiring. Getting ahead of the game with a panel upgrade can make your listing much more appealing and valuable.

Repeated Overload Issues

If you constantly deal with tripped circuit breakers or have had to do piecemeal panel upgrades over the years, it’s likely your service has simply become obsolete. A full replacement provides a long-term solution.

Aluminum Wiring

Many older properties were built using aluminum wiring that’s now deemed a hazard and obsolete. If your home has aluminum wiring, it needs a complete rewire including an updated panel.

Increased Power Usage

As we pack more electronics, appliances, and devices into our homes, electrical demands steadily increase. If your panel can’t keep up, it’s overdue for an upgrade to a unit with more circuits and capacity.

Panel replacements are a wise investment to keep your electrical system safe, reliable, and up to modern standards.

Whole-home surge protection should be at the top of your electrical upgrade list. Here are just some of the major benefits:

Safeguards Your Investments

From big-screen TVs to computers, gaming consoles, smart home tech, and high-end appliances, we rely on pricey electronics more than ever before. A single power surge is all it takes to fry delicate circuitry, meaning thousands down the drain to replace it all. Whole-home suppressors protect those big investments.

Prevents Collateral Damage

Beyond just your gadgets, power surges can also wreak havoc on hard-wired systems like AC units, furnaces, washers/dryers, lighting fixtures, and more. When these essential components take a surge hit, you’re looking at major repair bills or premature replacement costs. Proper protection is cheaper in the long run.

Covers the Whole Property

Point-of-use surge protector strips only safeguard whatever is directly plugged into them. With whole-home suppression installed at your electrical panel, you get comprehensive protection for every circuit, outlet, and hard-wired appliance throughout your entire property.

Increased Safety

Power surges also pose fire and shock hazards if they cause arcing or melt connections. Whole-home suppressors vastly reduce these safety risks by diverting dangerous voltage safely away.

Peace of Mind

With quality surge protection in place, you can quit stressing about whether the next thunderstorm or utility issue will end up costing you thousands in damages. Just relax and feel confident your electrical investments are covered.

While portable protectors are better than nothing, they simply can’t match the comprehensive coverage of a professional whole-home system installed by an electrician. When you tally up your household’s total electronics value, that investment pays for itself quickly.

With some smart upgrades and simple habit changes, you can drastically cut electrical usage while also doing some good for the environment. Here are just a few ideas to boost efficiency:

Lighting Upgrades

Those old incandescent bulbs are literally burning money. Swapping to LED bulbs can slash your lighting costs by up to 80% while also giving off way less heat. And with LEDs lasting for years, they make for a fantastic long-term investment.

Programmable Thermostats

Taking control of your heating and cooling is easy with a programmable thermostat. You can automatically set temps lower when you’re away or asleep to reduce energy waste. Smart thermostat models take it even further by learning your patterns.

Energy Star Appliances

From refrigerators and washing machines to HVAC systems, always look for the Energy Star label when replacing any appliances or equipment. Those models meet strict efficiency guidelines to seriously reduce energy usage.

Seal Up Air Leaks

All those tiny drafts and air leaks around windows, doors, plumbing pipes, etc. can account for as much as 30% of heating and cooling being wasted. Use caulk and weatherstripping to seal up those sneaky openings.

Insulation Upgrades

Having adequate insulation in areas like your attic, crawlspaces, and exterior walls acts like an invisible blanket to reduce heating and cooling demands. Make sure insulation levels are properly suited for our climate.

Maintain Your HVAC

Simple things like regularly replacing air filters make a huge difference in keeping your heating and cooling system running efficiently and preventing breakdowns. Don’t skip professional tune-ups either.

Adjust Habits

Being mindful of easy habits like keeping vents clear, running fans instead of AC when possible, and turning off lights in vacant rooms can lead to significant energy savings over time.

Making just a few efficiency upgrades is a smart investment that really pays you back in the form of lower utility bills each month!

Whether it’s a summer thunderstorm or winter ice storm knocking out your electricity, power outages can quickly disrupt your daily routine. Here are some tips on staying safe and comfortable until the lights come back on:

Safety First

As soon as you lose power, go around and unplug or turn off appliances and electronics to prevent damage from electrical surges when power gets restored. Leave one light on to easily know when it’s back.

Keep Cool/Warm

Without heating or AC running, indoor temperatures can get uncomfortable fast. Dress in light, loose layers during summer outages and use fans to circulate air. In winter, trap heat by closing off unused rooms and stuff towels under doors.

Conserve Supplies

Minimize opening refrigerator and freezer doors to preserve cold temps as long as possible. The fridge will keep food safely cold for about 4 hours, while a fully loaded freezer can last 24-48 hours if left closed.

Light the Way

Keep flashlights, batteries, and LED lanterns handy so you’re not stumbling around in the dark. Avoid using candles, which create fire hazards. Glow sticks make great nightlights for kids’ rooms.

Backup Power

For extended outages, a permanently installed standby generator can automatically kick on to keep essential circuits like heating/AC, refrigerators, lights, and medical equipment running. No more sweating through the night!

Stay Connected

In our digital world, losing internet and cell service can be just as disruptive. Charge up backup batteries for phones and devices so you can stay connected and monitor outage updates.

While outages may be inevitable, being prepared helps minimize the disruption and discomfort. And for true peace of mind, having a standby generator professionally installed means you may hardly even notice when the neighborhood’s lights go out!

Your home’s wiring is one of those things that often gets overlooked and taken for granted until issues start popping up. But just like any other component, that electrical conduit snaking through your walls does have a limited service life that you’ll need to be mindful of. Here’s a quick rundown:

Normal Lifespan

Most modern copper wiring installed to code can reasonably last 50-70 years before needing replacement. Older aluminum wiring, which was commonly used decades ago, has a much shorter expected lifespan of only 25-40 years or so.

Signs of Aging

As that electrical wiring insulation inevitably breaks down over time, you may start noticing issues like frequent circuit breaker trips, flickering lights, discolored or warm outlets/switch plates, or the occasional whiff of a burnt smell. These are typically signs that rewiring is likely overdue.

Safety Risks

Beyond just being an inconvenience, severely aged and deteriorated wiring can also pose legitimate fire and shock hazards if not addressed. Outdated knob-and-tube or aluminum branch wiring are considered obsolete safety hazards requiring complete removal.

Home Renovations

If you’ve done any major renovation work like additions, finishing a basement, etc., your existing wiring may no longer have the capacity to safely handle the increased electrical load. This is one of the most common drivers for full rewiring projects.

Code Compliance

Many older properties were originally wired following outdated building codes from decades past. When going to sell or refinance, you’ll likely need to bring the full electrical system up to modern code standards, which usually requires a total rewire.

While not a small undertaking, rewiring is a wise long-term investment to ensure your home’s electrical setup is safe, efficient, and equipped to meet today’s power needs. An electrician can inspect and advise if your wiring has reached the end of its reasonable lifespan.

Having to constantly go reset tripped circuit breakers is easily one of the most annoying electrical headaches around the house. While the occasional trip here and there is no huge cause for concern, if it’s becoming a frequent occurrence, that’s a surefire sign that something needs addressing.

Here are some of the common culprits behind all that breaker flipping:

Overloaded Circuits

This is probably the number one offender when it comes to nuisance breaker trips. As we keep piling on more gadgets, devices, and high-powered appliances onto a single circuit, it can easily get overwhelmed and overloaded. The breaker is just doing its job to prevent an overheated, dangerous situation.

Faulty Appliances

Older appliances with worn out power supplies or internal wiring issues can absolutely cause breakers to trip when they start drawing too much current erratically. Appliances on their last legs are frequent offenders here.

Aging Wiring

As your home’s electrical wiring ages over decades, that insulation inevitably starts breaking down. Even normally-loaded circuits may then start tripping breakers more regularly when that deteriorated wiring can’t handle the load anymore.

Short Circuits

If you’re getting breakers that trip immediately after resetting them, it likely points to a short circuit caused by damaged wiring, faulty outlets/switches, or an appliance issue. This requires an immediate professional inspection to resolve.

Ground Faults

Tripped GFCIs and circuit breakers can also stem from ground fault issues, where current is getting diverted from its intended path to ground instead. Moisture problems are a common culprit behind these types of faults.

While the occasional breaker trip is no big crisis, frequent events are definitely a warning sign that an underlying issue needs resolving before it potentially leads to an electrical fire or other safety hazards down the road. Don’t just keep mindlessly resetting and ignoring the problem!

With our thunderstorms and hurricane seasons, Floridians have to be extra vigilant about protecting our home’s electrical setup.

Whole-Home Surge Protection

A quality surge protector installed at your electrical panel acts like a shield for your entire home’s wiring, outlets, and connected devices/appliances. It diverts dangerous voltage spikes safely away during lightning strikes and utility fluctuations.

Backup Power Generator

When severe storms inevitably knock out power for extended periods, having a permanently installed standby generator means your essentials like AC, fridge, medical equipment, etc. can keep humming along automatically until the lights come back on.

Routine System Inspections

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Having an electrician routinely inspect and tighten connections, check grounding, and test components helps identify any potential weaknesses before storms can expose them.

Secure Outdoor Wiring

Take a walk around your property and ensure all exterior wiring, electrical boxes, and connections are properly secured and protected from exposure to wind, flying debris, and water intrusion during storms.

Unplug Unnecessary Devices

When you know severe weather is imminent, it’s wise to unplug unnecessary TVs, computers, gaming systems and the like from outlets to protect them from power surges and electrical spikes.

Tree Trimming

Keep trees and vegetation around your home’s electrical service lines and outdoor AC units neatly trimmed back to prevent potential damage from falling branches during high winds.

Flooding Preparedness

For coastal residents, it’s crucial to ensure all electrical panels, outlets, wiring, and equipment is properly elevated above your property’s flood zone levels to prevent water damage when storm surge hits.

If you haven’t made the switch to LED bulbs and fixtures yet, you’re truly missing out on some serious benefits over those old-school incandescent and fluorescent lights. Here are just a few reasons why LED lighting upgrades are a no-brainer:

Energy Efficiency

LED bulbs use only a fraction of the electricity compared to incandescent bulbs to produce the same amount of light output. We’re talking upwards of 80-90% less energy consumed, which really starts adding up on those utility bills.

Long Lifespan

While those old bulbs burned out every year or two at best, LED lights are rated to keep shining for a decade or two before needing replacement. You’ll basically never have to get back up on that ladder again!

Low Maintenance

With lifespans of 25,000-50,000 hours, LED fixtures require way less maintenance and replacement costs over their ultra-long lifetime compared to rapidly burning out bulbs every year.

Cooler Operation

LED technology gives off very little heat, unlike the scorching bulbs of yesteryear. This makes them safer to operate while also reducing cooling costs for your home’s AC system.

Environmentally Friendly

In addition to being energy misers, LEDs are also free of toxic materials and are 100% recyclable, making them an eco-friendly lighting solution that reduces your carbon footprint.

Versatile Lighting

From sleek modern fixtures to industrial-chic lamps and retro Edison bulb designs, LED technology allows for ultra-stylish and creative lighting options to suit any decor.

While LEDs do come with a higher initial price tag, their tremendous long-term energy and maintenance savings more than make up for it over the years. Making the upgrade is an investment that pays itself off in no time!