What will you do when a hurricane or severe storm strikes?

We are now into hurricane season and Quality Electric likes to make sure that all of our customers are safe and prepared in case anything comes our way. Most of you may plan on staying in your home during a Hurricane or Tropical Storm, so you should make sure you have basic emergency kit. A short list is below.

• Water: One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation. 
• Food: At least a 3 day supply
• First aid kit
• Whistle: To signal for help
• Dust Mask: Help filter contaminated. 
• Cell Phone

One of the most valuable pieces of equipment you could have that will help you during and ater the storm is a home standby generator. A Generator will run your whole house. It will keep your refrigerator and or freezer operating so you will have food to eat and will not have to throw away your food and purchase more. It can be a life saver. A home standby generator will go far in making the transition time from hurricane strike to full recovery a much more comfortable and bearable process. It may just be time to invest! We give FREE in-home estimates!

Quality Electric Service 

www.qualityelectricservice.com

609.861.1409

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Are you prepared for Hurricane Season?

Hurricane season is rapidly approaching us with only a little over a month away. This year NOAA has predicted 7 total named storms, 3 will turn into hurricanes and 1 will be a category 3 or higher hurricane.

We all know that hurricanes can produce extremely high, dangerous winds, along with lightning and hail.  Power outages are all too common once a hurricane has stricken, and they are to be expected.  The high winds can take down power poles and cause damage to power plants.  It can take weeks and in many cases, months before power company personnel are able to fully restore power.

Being without power for hours even days at a time become such an inconvenience and an expensive one too. Your food can spoil, mold grows and basements that are prone to flooding are robbed of their working sump pump and being to take on water. These types of situations is where an Automatic Home Standby Generac Generator comes in handy. Once your electric goes out your generator turns on automatically, all hands free. The unit is wired into the homes electrical panel, eliminating extension cords. It begins powering heat, air condition, and well pumps moments after utility power fails. This means when it senses utility power has returned it safely shuts itself down and returns to standby mode.

So how will you prepare for this year’s hurricane season? Hopefully investing in a Generac Generator!

You can call us to schedule a FREE in-home estimate @ 609.861.1409

Quality Electric Service 

www.qualityelectricservice.com

609.861.1409

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Cold Weather Tips

The weather is getting colder and winter is on its way! Temperatures are expected to dip below normal across much of the eastern half of the country from the Plains to the East Coast and as far south as Texas and Florida. As this first taste of winter moves in, here are ten steps you can take to stay safe during the big chill and winter

1. Wear layers of lightweight clothing to stay warm. Gloves and a hat will help prevent losing your body heat.

2. Don’t forget your pets - bring them indoors. If they can’t come inside, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.

3. Protect your pipes, If your exposed pipes are not protected with heat tracing - run water, even at a trickle, to help prevent your pipes from freezing. Open the kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals out of the reach of children. Keep the garage doors closed if there are water lines in the garage.

4. Keep the thermostat at the same temperature day and night. Your heating bill may be a little higher, but you could avoid a more costly repair job if your pipes freeze and burst.

5. If you are using a space heater, place it on a level, hard surface and keep anything flammable at least three feet away – things such as paper, clothing, bedding, curtains or rugs.

6. Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.

7. Never use a stove or oven to heat your home.

8. If you are using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs.

9. Use portable generators correctly – never operate a generator inside the home, including in the basement or garage.

10. Never hook a generator up to the home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.

Quality Electric Service 

www.qualityelectricservice.com

609.861.1409

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Save Money on Your Electric Bill This Fall and Winter

Winter is right around the corner, so start preparing now! In many homes during the fall and winter you tend to have higher electricity bills due to the increase in use of heating systems and other electrical appliances. However, there are many low-cost ways you can take to keep power consumption to a minimum. Below are some tips on how to save on your electricity bills:

Fix Up Your Home for the Winter- Find drafty windows around the house that bring the cold outdoor air into your home and cover them with plastic film along with thick insulating drapes to prevent the heat from escaping. Also, you should look for damage or leaks in piping around the house and seal them immediately to prevent unnecessary damage caused to the structure. Before the winter sets in, ensure that you inspect the heating system for any damage or leak and improve their fuel efficiency.

Make Small Adjustments to the Heating System- A major source of power consumption during the winter is the heating system, but with a few small tweaks you can save a considerable amount on your electric bill. If you are at home during the day, adjust the thermostat to the lowest possible temperature while ensuring that you are warm and comfortable. If you are outside the house, you can leave the thermostat roughly 15° higher than normal to save up to 10% on the electric bill. If you do not think you’d be able to do that they have programmable thermostats. A programmable thermostat is a thermostat which is designed to adjust the temperature according to a series of programmed settings that take effect at different times of the day. We can’t forget about your electric water heater, you can always put it on a timer as well.

Some other miscellaneous task you can do which can decrease your bills - During the winter , take advantage of sunlight and heat by opening all south facing windows during the day and shutting them at night.

Switching to low energy LED lighting systems can also help you in your energy saving efforts.

Here at Quality Electric we strive to help and make our customers happy. If you have any comments, questions or concerns about this blog, please feel free to contact us! 

Quality Electric Service 

www.qualityelectricservice.com

609.861.1409

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Avoiding Electrical Fire Disasters

Did you know that 53% of residential fires involve electrical wiring, which are hidden behind the faceplates on your light switches? Flying sparks are obvious, but lots of other electrical danger signs are more subtle. Keeping an eye out for these five warning signs below, this can be the difference between fire prevention and a fiery disaster.

Loose ends on extension cords. If your extension cord has loose ends, or you tried to bandaged an extension cord with electrical tape, it’s time to replace it. Damaged cords may have exposed live wires that lead to shock and fire hazards.

Tripping GFI outlets. A ground fault circuit interrupter (GFI) is an outlet typically located in kitchens and bathrooms – often within six feet of a water source – that prevents people from being electrocuted. These outlets immediately stop the flow of electricity (and “trip”) when they sense the slightest change in the current. If your GFI starts tripping repeatedly, you probably have an electrical problem or a worn-out GFI outlet receptacle. If that is the case you can contact us and we will fix this issue.

Wobbly ceiling fans. If your ceiling fan isn’t rotating evenly, your device either isn’t correctly mounted to the electrical box, your blades are unbalanced or your blades are warped. If it is not your blades being unbalanced we suggest calling an electrician (like us) to fix damaged wires and electrical boxes.

Inappropriate bulb wattage. Using a bulb that has a higher wattage than recommended is a fire hazard and may overheat the light fixture. If you are dealing with a fixture with multiple bulbs or a strand of lights, check all of the bulbs individually and replace them as needed. Be consistent with the bulbs’ wattage in this situation.

Warm faceplates. If your faceplate is warm to the touch, you probably have an oversized electrical load operating on that unit. Monitor any warm faceplate you find. If the problem persists, or the faceplate becomes hot to the touch, give us a call!

Quality Electric is here for you and can fix every electrical need in your home. Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you are having any of these issues listed above. We want our customers to be safe!

Quality Electric Service 
www.qualityelectricservice.com
609.861.1409

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Smoke Detector Recalls

Each year, about 3,000 people in the U.S. die from fires in the home. A vast amount of these fires occur at night while people who are sleeping and unknowingly inhale toxic gases and smoke.  More than half of the fires occur in houses without a smoke alarm and the other half of the Fires are almost always due to faulty detectors or dead smoke alarm batteries.

A smoke detector can save lives, but ones that do not function will not. In the past month there has been a couple of recalls for smoke detectors. We want to make you are aware of these and how this issue can be solved. 

Kidde recalls Smoke/CO Alarms due to Alarm failure. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission the alarms could fail to alert consumers of a fire or a CO incident following a power outage. This recall involves Kidde residential smoke alarm model i12010S with manufacture dates between December 18, 2013 and May 13, 2014, combination smoke/CO alarm il2010SCO with manufacture dates between December 30, 2013 and May 13, 2014, and combination smoke/CO alarm model KN-COSM-IBA with manufacture date between October 22, 2013 and May 13, 2014.  If you have one of those models installed you should immediately contact Kidde for a free replacement smoke or combination smoke/CO alarm. Consumers should keep using the recalled alarms until they install replacement alarms. 

Kidde toll-free at (844) 553-9011 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.kidde.com and click on Recalls for more information.

ESL, Interlogix Hard-Wired Smoke Alarms Recalled Due to Failure to Alert Consumers of a Fire. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, radio frequency interference can cause the smoke detectors to fail to alert consumers of a fire. This recall involves thirty-three models of the 400 and 500 series Edwards (ESL)-branded and Interlogix smoke detectors hard-wired into a security system.

400 series: 429AT, 429C, 429CAD, 429CRT, 429CST, 429CT, 429CTAD, 449AT, 449C, 449CRT, 449CSRH, 449CSRT, 449CST, 449CSTE, 449CT and 449CTE. 

500 Series: 511C, 518C, 521B, 521BXT, 521B-10PKDMP, 521B-10PKG, 521BXT-10PKG, 521BXT-DMP-10PKG, 528B, 528CRXT, 541C, 541C-10PKG, 541CXT, 541CXT-10PK and 548C.

If you have one of these models installed you should should immediately contact your security or fire system provider to determine if any of their units are included in the recall. If so, you will receive free replacement of new smoke detectors. Consumers should not take the alarms out of service until the replacement alarm has been installed. Only professional installers should remove and replace these units.
Edwards at (800) 655-4497 select option 5, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.edwardsfiresafety.com and click on Contact Us. Interlogix toll-free at (855) 286-8889 select option 2, from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or online at www.interlogix.com and click on Customer Service for more information.

Here at Quality Electric we strive to make sure our customers are safe. If you have any questions or concerns do not hesitate to contact us! We can help.

Quality Electric Service 
www.qualityelectricservice.com
609.861.1409

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Don't worry about the upcoming 2015 Winter, we have a solution!

After last year's bitterly cold, snow-filled and icy winter, many people are wondering what is in store for this winter. 

According to the 2015 Farmer's Almanac, the winter of 2015 will see below-normal temperatures for most of the nation. A large area of very cold temperatures will be found from east of the Continental Divide east to the Appalachians. The coldest outbreak of the season is predicted to happen during the final week in January into the beginning of February. This is when they expect an active storm track to occur with a number of storms delivering numerous amounts of snow, rain and ice for our area. 

The Farmers' Almanac is also "Red Flagging" the middle of March for widespread wintry conditions from the midsection of the nation to the East Coast. 

Why not get prepared now before that long snow-filled, bitterly cold winter! How great would it feel to worry about one less thing during the season?! Losing Power - An Automatic Standby Generac Generator can help that issue. A power outage that lasts a few minutes is often just an inconvenience.  But when a major storm knocks out electricity for hours or days, being without the power that you need for lighting, HVAC, refrigeration, communications and other essentials can quickly become critical.

Food spoils, mold grows and basements that are prone to flooding are robbed of their working sump pump and begin to take on water. Extended power outages during the WINTER can be even more DANGEROUS. 

It's amazing how quickly plummeting temperatures and a home without heat can reach "crisis stage" - the water pipes can freeze (and burst, causing extensive water damage). If you have an infant or elderly / physically impaired family members, temperatures below 50-degrees for any length of time can easily become a medical emergency. In these types of situations, an Automatic Standby Generac Generator really can be a lifesaver. 

If you have any questions or want a free Generator Estimate, feel free to contact us! 

Quality Electric Service
www.qualityelectricservice.com
609.861.1409
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