Permits   “You’ve Got to Get Them”

Repair or Replace

You Do Not Know What You Do Not Know About Your Electrical System

Halogen vs. LED landscape lighting

Smart Power for the Future

Two ways Preventative Maintenance Saves Money

Industry Topics

Then and Now

Cold Weather in South Florida

Happy New Year

Buying or selling a home: What needs to happen?

Is Your Generator Properly Working?

The Story Behind the Power Surge

The Future of the Incandescent Light

Non-residential Building Safety Inspection

Permits   “You’ve Got to Get Them”

We are currently working on a house that had a kitchen fire. The family was forced to move to a hotel until the repairs are completed. The insurance company is paying for the repairs that were caused by the fire. The insurance is also paying for the new code upgrades that included more receptacles and smoke detectors. Unfortunately for the owners, the electrical inspector noticed that there were several code violations and a porch had been closed in without permits. He is demanding that new demolition permits for the unsafe electric and the structure be obtained before he will approve any work that is being done in the kitchen. This is now causing delays in getting the house ready for occupancy. The insurance money for the hotel they are staying in will run out at the end of the month. The owners will be paying again to restore their house to its original size.

On another issue, we have been asked to quote on correcting some code violations that were found in the kitchen during a real estate inspection. The sellers had a kitchen remodeled without a permit. The person that installed the kitchen electric used the wrong size wire and did not install enough outlets. The buyers are asking that a permit be pulled and the work be done properly. This will involve pulling off a granite back splash, cutting in new holes for the additional receptacles and rewiring the outlets to code. This could be a deal breaker. Once again the owners will be paying twice to get the work done.

Most cities have raised their permit fees and some cities are not easy to work with, but at the end of the day if you do any major work to your property it will be in your best interest to have a permit and have inspections for the work that was done.

An advantage to having permits is knowing that the work was done by licensed contractors that guarantee their work. The contractors will also have insurance in case something goes wrong. Look at it this way. You can hire someone, not get a permit and take your chances on not getting caught or you can hire a professional, get permits and inspections and pay less by not having to pay twice to have the work done over.

Repair or Replace

How many things can you say last forever? If you think about it, you can probably only name a few items such as jewelry, coins and things that you have but do not use every day.

Most things do have life expectancy ranging from a short time to many years.

These days some items become obsolete before they wear out. When you buy something you usually expect to keep it for a period of time before you replace it.

So when is it time to replace something instead of repairing it? In many cases, it comes down to the cost of the repair versus the look and life of a new product. An example of this could be a new toilet that uses less water and is more attractive. Newer kitchen sinks offer deeper basins with easy to use faucets. Your everyday comfort may be a factor in replacing rather than repairing

Lighting is another area that is experiencing a renaissance. Does it make sense to repair an old fluorescent light when the new ones are brighter and more efficient?

This may depend on the circumstance. Last week we had a call from a new customer that wanted the lights in his warehouse repaired. He made his decision to repair and not replace based on the fact that he was a tenant and not sure on how long he was going the stay there. In this case, cost was the determining factor.

In another case, we had a customer that was remodeling their kitchen.  They chose to replace their lighting with new fixtures. This made their kitchen brighter while costing less to operate and ultimately more pleasant in which to live and work.

Something else to consider is when you have several fluorescent lights in one area that were installed at the same time. There is a good chance that the other lights will start to need repair shortly after the first light goes out. It may be cost and time efficient to replace them all.

The new fluorescent fixtures use a slimmer T-8 and T-5 bulbs. The T-5 bulbs are the latest design. These bulbs will eventually make the original T-12 bulb harder to find. In fact, the T-12 fixture is now considered obsolete. However, if you choose you can still get parts for them.

We are beginning to see more LED flood light fixtures being installed on buildings. The prices are coming down as more companies are manufacturing the fixtures. We are recommending that buildings with lights that are mounted high off the ground or on the roof be replaced with LED fixtures.  The reason is because the LED bulb life is 50,000 hours and use far less electric to operate. By changing to LED you would eliminate the material and labor cost of replacing the conventional bulbs.

There are many examples where new products are far better than their predecessor. New technologies are constantly offering better products that promise to enhance our lifestyle.

You Do Not Know What You Do Not Know About Your Electrical System

We go to the doctor for a physical once a year. We have our cars inspected and the oil changed every three to six thousand miles. And many of us have our air conditioners serviced once a year.

These inspections are good investments because in the event there is a problem, it is found early and you can prevent an emergency from happening.

It is amazing how many electrical services we find that have never been inspected for defects. People trust that their equipment will continue to operate as it always has and there is no reason to bother having someone check it until they notice some irregularities. Some examples of this could be a burning odor, flickering lights, or no power to half of the house.

There are two things that happen when you have a power problem. First is that you are inconvenienced by not having use of your affected area and secondly having the unexpected cost of making emergency repairs.

Electrical inspections, whether it is for your home or office, are not expensive and will give you peace of mind knowing that your equipment is working properly. The inspection should include a visual check of the inside of the electrical panels. The wire connections should be checked for the proper tightness and a thermo test will show any overheating that may be occurring.

Many of the homes in this area were built in the sixties and some of them are still in their original condition. Some have fuse boxes, Federal Pacific or Zinsco electrical panels which many insurance companies are requiring they be changed because of the risks they present.

Also many of these homes have been turned over a few times so there is no telling what the previous owners may have done to the property.

Real estate inspections are now regulated by the State to assure that the inspectors are qualified in their profession. Many times these inspections will find issues with the electrical system that need to be rectified. In that case the seller will need to make the corrections before buyer will close or they will need to leave money from the proceeds to pay for the repairs.

I do not feel you need to do an annual electrical inspection, but if it has been more than two years since your last inspection it may be a good idea to schedule one in the near future.

Halogen vs. LED landscape lighting

With halogen low voltage lighting dominating the landscape lighting market for the last two decades, there is recently an increasing discussion whether LED lights have a chance to take over that market?

The answer is yes. The LED bulb is initially more expensive to install. However, it will only take a short amount of time to recover your initial investment. One example would be the cost of electricity when using a halogen bulb. The MR-16 halogen bulb will range from 20 watts for a path light to 75 watts to light a taller tree. Let’s say a home has 15 landscape lights in their yard with average bulb wattage of 35 watts. This would equal a total of 525 watts of power per hour. FP&L is charging approximately 15 cents per 1000 watt hours after you add in all of the taxes and other charges. Let’s assume these lights are on for five hours per night, it would cost you

$14.17 per month to operate these lights. With LED lights you could use a five watt or smaller bulb and have the same amount of lighting. This would reduce your power usage from 525 watts to 75 watts and give you a savings of $12.14 per month, which would equal to an annual savings of $145.68.

One of the advantages of the LED bulb over the halogen is it offers color choices. With the halogen bulb you needed to use colored lenses to change the color.

Another advantage to LED lighting is that the bulb life is 50,000 hours compared to an average of 1000 to 3000 hours for halogen. With the halogen bulb you will probably be changing the bulb every two years. The cost and hassle of changing the bulbs should also be considered.

Because of the higher wattage of halogen bulbs you may need a larger wattage transformer or additional transformers to operate the lights.

When you add all of the cost and benefits together the LED lights will save you money over the halogen lights.

If you currently have a halogen lighting system installed, in many cases you can install a LED bulb in the same fixture. The LED bulb is a little taller but the bi-pin base is the same as the halogen.

When buying the new LED bulbs be sure to use reputable companies. There are many companies selling inferior bulbs on the internet and other places.  

The Federal Government is planning to invest billions of dollars in economic recovery efforts to build a better electrical infrastructure for the entire nation.

This money is intended to build a smart electrical grid throughout our nation as the current system is being stressed and causing more and more power outages. The Department of Energy has allocated nearly $100 million for 54 "smart grid" work force training programs. The training programs will go to community colleges, universities and other training sources. They plan to train 30,000 Americans to upgrade the current electrical grid and to build the smart grid infrastructure.

The purpose of the smart grid is to provide a reliable electric supply by increasing the electrical infrastructure. It is estimated that the cost will run into the billions of dollars annually and there will be enormous challenges to accomplish this project. The benefits of this should reduce the cost of producing and delivering electricity. It will enable power companies to shift power to different grids on an "as needed" basis.

With our nation's expected population growth and the growing need for more electricity additional infrastructure will be necessary. With the smart grid sharing resources, the savings are expected to out weigh the cost of new power plants. However, the projected cost between 2010 and 2030 is 1.5 trillion dollars.

The smart grid will incorporate multi power generational systems to include wind, solar, thermal, gas, coal and nuclear. When all of these technologies are plugged into the same grid there should be extra power available when the need arises. Another component of this system will be the smart meter which is being installed now by FP&L. Smart meters use two way digital technologies that will one day be able to control appliances in consumer's homes. It will allow consumers to save money by operating certain appliances during off peak hours. Many companies like IBM, GE, and Cisco are developing digital intelligence technologies to operate with the smart grid.

Today there is a coalition of twelve or more utility companies worldwide. Each company shares their information with the others to benefit in this research. These partners include the US, Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, France and India.

There are some predictions that a major solar flare is supposed to happen in the spring or fall of 2012. According to a NASA Director, every 22 years the sun will reach temperatures of over 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This combined with the solar flare cycle of 11 years will happen at the same time causing huge levels of radiation.

Some scientists are predicting that the next one could be powerful enough to damage satellites, disrupt communication devices, air travel, banking, and affect electrical grids around the world. Although the scientists know this is going to happen, they do not know how bad it will be. Hopefully, if this actually occurs, it will not be a devastating event and only cause temporary problems with electronic gadgets. Our power grid from Florida Power and Light could be temporarily affected by a computer glitch that could cause a temporary shutdown.

Living in South Florida, we are familiar with power outages and many of us have generators or places to stay in the event the situation arises. For more information on the topic you can Google "Solar Flares". There are several articles that may be of interest.

A few months ago I wrote an article regarding the dangers of lead based paint. The Environmental Protection Agency mandated that any contractor who was working on a building built prior to 1978 would need to be certified or face fines up to $37,500.00 for each violation. It now appears now that there were not enough certified trainers to educate the contractors on how to identify and treat lead based paint. The original law that went into effect on April 22, 2010 has seen extended to September 30, 2010.

For your information, there is a new smoke detector out with a rechargeable battery that never needs to be changed for the 10 year life of the unit. This smoke alarm comes with a 10 year warranty. There is a single button that operates the hush mode and the alarm test. When the alarms are interconnected the alarm memory flashes a green LED to show which unit activated the alarm. The price is considerably higher at $45.00 where as the standard unit is only $15.00. The convenience of not having to change batteries every year could add value to this type of smoke alarm.

We recently had a call for a repair to a house due to a small fire caused by the water heater being plugged into a 20 amp 220 volt receptacle. The fire started in the garage below the electrical panel causing the panel to over heat and need to be replaced.

The incident occurred around 6:30 in the morning and fortunately the owner was already up when he heard a noise in the garage. He then instructed his wife (who was in the shower) that there was a fire in the garage and she needed to get out of the house. He called the fire department; by luck they were in the area and arrived within a couple of minutes. Thankfully no one was hurt and there was only a small amount of smoke damage to the garage walls.

When the electrical inspector arrived he decided that the power to the house needed to be disconnected until the electrical repairs were made. The owners had to move into a hotel until the repairs were done and the air conditioning ducts were cleaned of any soot.

Back in the 1960's when this house was built it was acceptable to use a cord and receptacle to connect the water heater. Unfortunately, it was found later that when the water heater is heating the water it can create heat at the receptacle and over time cause the plug and receptacle to fail. In this case it caught on fire, but many times the water heater will just stop working.

This problem can be easily fixed by replacing the receptacle with a proper two pole switch and install a new metal clad wire to the water heater. This repair is not expensive, usually in the $150.00 range, depending on the accessibility.

Another problem in the 1960-1970 eras home was the FPE and Zinsco or Sylvania- Zinsco type of electrical panels. The main problem with the FPE panels is that the circuit breakers did not trip when they were overloaded and caused the wiring and the connected equipment to fail or catch on fire. The Zinsco panels on the other hand used circuit breakers designed with a U- shaped contact that would slip over a flat aluminum bar that was the buss. The problem occurred when the two parts began to corrode and heat would develop between the two surfaces. This condition would eventually cause the circuit breaker and the buss bar to burn together until one or both parts failed.

To identify a FPE panel, just open the cover. The label will state FPE Stab lock and the circuit breakers will have a red color on the trip levers. The Zinsco panel on the other hand, will have Zinsco or Sylvania on the label. The circuit breakers will usually be stacked on top of each other and have multiple colors.

It is advisable to replace any of these panels before a problem occurs, which can lead to more costly repairs. For more information on the Zinsco Panels go to www.Inspectapedia.com/electrical/zinsco.htm

It was a little over thirty years ago when I started my electric business. Back then, many of the products that you see on the market now were not available and many of them were not invented for several years.

Wiring devices such as switches, receptacles, dimmers and motion detectors have made many improvements in their style and uses. For example, 30 years ago, receptacles came only in ivory or brown. Many devices are now available in over 20 colors giving you the flexibility to closely match the different colors you may have throughout your home or office.

Tamper proof receptacles are relatively new on the market and protect against someone getting a shock while inserting foreign objects into the receptacle openings. These receptacles are now required on all newly constructed homes. They are also a good precaution for families with inquisitive children.

There are many new, smarter switches on the market now. The motion switch is good for rooms where the switch location is hard to find in the dark, or in areas where someone forgets to turn the light off when they leave the room. These switches also have a manual on/off capability and some are dimmable. These switches are easily adjustable to program delayed off time from a few seconds to several minutes. The hall, guest bathroom, laundry and garage are good places for these devices.

The original Lutron dimmer switch was introduced in 1961. It had a rotary dial and sold for $3.98. Since then, there have been more advances in dimmer switches than most of the new wall devices. Today you can control a dimmer with a remote control. These remotes are great for dimming the lights while watching a movie or turning the light off when going to bed.

The new electronic dimmers allow you to dim the lights from many locations. It was not too many years ago that you only had one location to work the dimmer even though several switches worked to turn the light on and off.

To emphasize the changes in the industry over the last few years, I purchased my first cell phone in the 1980's for $1600. It was a Motorola Transportable. It weighed about 4-5 pounds and only made and received phone calls. In this new age of electronics you can now control your home's automation, view your security cameras and program your DVR from remote locations, including your cell phone.

The cold weather we had in January caused some minor electrical problems in older homes in the area. Many of the homes that were built in the sixties were not built with central air conditioning. Because of this, the electrical service was rated at only 125 amps. When central air conditioning started to become popular, they were added later, which put an additional load on the main electrical service.

A central air conditioning system there has two parts. The air conditioning portion for an average house uses around twenty five to thirty amps of power to operate, depending on the size of the unit. The heat on the other hand was never designed to really heat the house because South Florida did not have many cold days. The early heat strips installed in the units were designed to take the chill off and many of them were only rated at 5000 watts and used a little over twenty amps of power. Later the 10,000 watt heat strips were added. These used over forty amps of power to warm the house.

This year, with the cold lasting for many days and the temperature staying below sixty degrees, many of the homes never got warm even though the heat ran constantly. This has caused some of the circuit breakers and panels to break down.

Another problem that we are finding is that when customers are having their air conditioning changed out to a new system the new units will come with a 10,000 watt heat strip which replaces the old 5,000 watt strip. In several instances, the air conditioning installers will connect the new unit to the old wiring which is not heavy enough to handle the new heat load. It will work fine for the A/C portion, but when the customer needs heat it will overload the wiring and the circuit breaker will trip. Unfortunately, you will not know about this problem until it is time to use the heat.

According to a report from the Broward County Sheriff's office, space heaters were often the cause of electrical failures due to circuits being overloaded. In one case, several space heaters were plugged to outlets in an attempt to heat the room. These heaters overloaded the circuit and damaged the wiring. They did not say why the circuit breaker did not trip. In another case, someone left a space heater on unattended for two days, which caused the insulation on the wire to heat up and start a fire. Fortunately there were no injuries in either incident. The fire marshal indicated that the space heaters were approved, but they exceeded the circuit wiring they were plugged into. It is important that consumers check the power consumption of the units to ensure that they do not exceed the wattage of the circuit that will power them.

For your information, a 15 amp circuit which supplies the living room and bedrooms will handle 1400 watts of power and a 20 amp circuit which supplies the kitchen and dining room will handle 1900 watts of power.

As we begin the year we are seeing an increase in business. Some of the work is in remodeling and additions, and much of this is from customers taking advantage of low prices on properties and fixing them up. We also have some work from new businesses starting up and moving into properties that have been vacant for a while. One of the properties we are working for is a car dealership which closed and has been vacant for a while. While the property was closed there was extensive damage to both the electrical system and the interior of the building.

When a property becomes vacant, it becomes a target for either the homeless or criminal activity. In the past couple of years we have seen properties where wire looters have broken in and stolen the copper wires from the electric services and from inside service panels. Scrap dealers will pay between $1.50 & $2.00 a pound for this wire. These looters also destroy the equipment because they are not gentle when they remove the wire. The cost to repair the damage is usually in the thousands of dollars.

When a property becomes vacant it may be beneficial to keep the power turned on until the property is re-occupied. By doing this the lights could be operational and the alarm system kept on. This would incur a minimal monthly charge which could save your property from vandalism.

When the power is cut off for any period of time, Florida Power and Light requires an electrical inspection to have the power turned back on. We recently had a customer call for an inspection to a property in Margate so FP&L would turn the power back on. We made the inspection and everything was in good condition. We then submitted the report to the customer who was a property manager representing the owner. A few days later we were told that we would need an electrical permit and an inspection from the city before FP&L would turn the power back on. The price for the permit was $125.00 plus the time it took to process the paper work.

To avoid paying for the permit and inspection you could leave the power on and just change the name on the account while the property is vacant. This involves a phone call to FP&L to set up an account and a deposit. You will receive monthly bills until the account is put in the name of the new tenant.

An intelligent buyer will require an inspection of the property prior to closing on the purchase. The inspections can include roofing, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical and structural condition of the property. These inspections are not expensive and may find defects that need to be addressed before the closing.

The seller could have this inspection before listing the property for sale. This would give them time to make any corrections before the potential buyer makes the offer and allow for the repair costs prior to establishing the listing price. The buyer will probably ask for their own inspection, but the seller should be confident in what he is offering.

Open permits are contractor permits that have not been closed out by the City and are sometimes unknown to the owners. This can cause problems just before the closing when the title company does a property search with the Building Department. Owners can very easily check for themselves by contacting the Building Department and providing their address and the property legal description.

When the seller and buyer both have this information it could make the transaction should go smoothly. This gives the seller an advantage over other properties on the market.

Remember how your home town use to look? There is a web page with a collection of penny post cards from the past. All you need to do is CLICK HERE and click on the State and the County. Enjoy.

In 2008, South Florida experienced a major power blackout. The problem as reported in Electrical Contractor Magazine was caused by human error. According to the article there were 584,000 customers affected in South Florida and 1 million customers across the state.

The preliminary findings showed that a field engineer while working on a switch disabled two levels of protection and thus caused a chain reaction across the grid. The grid is designed to shut down to avoid damage to the equipment when the voltage drops below a certain level. The total shutdown included 26 transmission lines, 38 substations and 3,400 megawatts of power.

Most of the power was restored in less than five hours. Florida Power and Light has taken steps with its employees to be certain that there is no recurrence of this mistake.

The article above shows that there is a need for more training of electricians in our industry. The older workforce will be retiring in the next few years and there are not many people looking to enter the trades. To accommodate growth in the industry and to replace those retiring there is an expected turn over rate of 27%. According to the department of labor there will be a need to train 270,000 new electrical workers by 2016. There is an expected need of 877,000 electrical workers by 2016, which is an additional 66,000 skilled workers.

It is that time of year again when everyone who is relying on using a generator, in the event of a power, outage should have it serviced. If you find that it does not start and you are not mechanical, there are several small engine repair shops that can help you get it running again.

A power surge is a significant increase in voltage above the normal 120/240 volts coming to your home. Spikes and surges are measured in nanoseconds (billionths of a second) a surge will last three or more nanoseconds and a spike last less than three nanoseconds. If a spike or a surge is high enough it can damage your equipment.

The most thought of source of a surge is lightning, which can cause major damage and is difficult to completely protect against. Most of the more common sources of surges and spikes are internal to your home. High-power equipment like air conditioners, elevators and motors can cause a sudden draw on power when they start up. Other sources of power surges could be faulty equipment from the power company, an accident or storm that causes a downed power line or a poor connection in your electrical system.

Surge protectors have been on the market for many years and are now becoming more popular as protection for your sensitive equipment. A power strip surge protector is recommended as a secondary level of protection at any location with multiple devices plugged into it.

The Future of the Incandescent Light

New technology offers energy savings and a reduction of heat. The incandescent light bulb operates by heating a tungsten filament or wire until it glows and produces light. The light you see wastes about 90% of the energy used to create it.

Australia has banned incandescent lights beginning in 2010. The United States will begin phasing out the incandescent bulb beginning in 2012 with the 100-watt bulb and complete the process by 2014. Light bulbs must use 25 to 30 percent less wattage by 2014 and by 2020 bulbs must be 70% more efficient than they are today.

The replacement bulbs will be energy efficient fluorescent tubes, CFL or LED bulbs. The fluorescent tubes have been around for many years and are more energy efficient than the incandescent bulbs. These lights are the type seen as ceiling fixtures. The new electronic T-8 bulb is replacing the older T-12 bulb. It is brighter and more efficient than the older T-12 bulb. The T-12 bulb is not scheduled to go out of production; however the magnetic ballast that powers them will go out of production in June of 2010. The replacement ballast is the electronic ballast, which is sold with all new T-8 fixtures today.

The new T-8 bulbs are being developed with low mercury and should be safer for the environment. They offer more color choices and are brighter than their predecessors.

The CFL fluorescent bulb will replace the screw base incandescent bulb. They are being developed to have dimming capabilities and a longer life than the incandescent bulb.

The LED bulbs are the way of the future. They are being made to be direct replacements for most existing incandescent bulbs and CFL fluorescent bulbs. The LED’s are very bright, dimmable, last up to ten years and are also energy efficient.

The main difference in these bulbs is the price. For example, a fluorescent flood bulb that is equal in lumens to a LED bulb will cost around $5.00. The equivalent LED bulb will cost around $85.00. This price difference should decrease as LED technology advances.

With incandescent lights we used watts as a measure for brightness. The new technology uses lumens as a comparison for brightness. An example of this is a 90-watt incandescent light produces 1310 limens. A 23-watt fluorescent CFL bulb is equivalent to a 100-watt light that produces 1600 lumens.

“Kelvin temperatures” are a measurement of color. A 2700 to 3000 Kelvin rating will resemble the color of an incandescent bulb. The higher temperatures of 5000 to 6500 will provide a more intense blue color.

The Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals adopted a policy in 2005 that requires non residential buildings over 3500 square feet to have a Building Safety Inspection when the building reaches forty years of age. Single-family homes and duplexes are exempt from this inspection. This is a Broward County requirement that is administered through the Cities in the County. There is a $300.00 fee to be attached to the inspection when the report is turned in. The County has a calendar to phase these inspections in that extends out to 2011.

The owners of these buildings are required to provide a written report by a Florida Registered Architect or Professional Engineer. The report will evaluate the condition of the structural and electrical components of the building. The owners will have ninety days from the date of the letter to complete the inspection and return the forms. The forms can be downloaded from Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals website. Look under Building Safety Inspection Program.

If the building is found to be safe, in both structure and electric, you will not need to do anything for ten years. Ongoing inspections will need to be done every ten years from the date of your first inspection.

Buildings that need repairs will need to be brought into compliance within 180 days from the date of the inspection.

The building structure will include the roof, walls, slab and any areas where safety is an issue. The electrical inspection will include the condition of the electrical equipment, grounding, exit signs, emergency lights and any items that are related to code compliance.