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One of the most common jobs I get calls for as a local electrician is replacing an existing ceiling fan or installing ceiling fans in place of existing light fixtures. Typically, I ask the customer to select and provide the lighting, whether it be a fan or just a fixture, so that the fixture is to your design tastes. While replacing a ceiling fan is pretty straight-forward, there are a few considerations to take into account. Here are some things you should consider when sele

When purchasing older real estate to live in, rent or flip in Phillipsburg, New Jersey , Belvidere, New Jersey or Washington, New Jersey ; one of the many things that will need attention is the building's wiring. Old buildings often contain legacy wiring types, such as the infamous "Knob and Tube" wiring method. This method, often noted on home inspection reports is a 2-wire system featuring a "hot" conductor and a neutral conductor. Each circuit is run through sets of porce

First Energy Corporation, parent company of Jersey Central Power and Light has begun deploying smart meters in New Jersey. Smart meter replacements are scheduled to begin March of 2025 in Washington, New Jersey and June of 2025 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey according to their Smart Meter Installation Schedule. These smart meters will allow the power company to read your meter remotely via a secure local Wi-Fi network. This will effectively eliminate estimated readings. In the

Interior Lighting- Fluorescent lighting became commercially available in the late 1930s, marking a large improvement over all incandescent lighting in commercial & industrial applications. Initially, tubes were T12 (12/8ths of an inch). In the 60's T8 (8/8ths of an inch in diameter) lamps began to supplant T12s. Fluorescent technology culminated in T5 lamps (5/8ths of an inch diameter) These boasted longer service life, smaller dimensions and produced a lot of light. Then LED

You may have noticed that on every electrical appliance or device you buy, somewhere on that device or appliance there is a tag telling you the make and model number, serial number, and electrical characteristics such as amperage and voltage. Pictured is my computer's charger, among all of that information, the UL listed logo is circled in red. "UL Listed" means that Underwriters Laboratories has tested this product and found it to meet its safety standards. Underwriters Labo

Certain housing developments in Lopatcong, New Jersey built in the early 1970s used single strand aluminum building wires. This wiring is deemed unsafe by today's standards. A study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission found that homes with aluminum wiring were 55 times more likely to have an outlet that reached "fire hazard conditions." This aluminum wiring was used during copper shortages for 15- and 20-amp branch circuits throughout these houses. At the time, wiring

The National Fire Protection Association's Fire Prevention Week is October 6,2024-October 12, 2024. This serves to remind us that the basics matter. Things like testing your smoke detectors every month are part of the NFPA's guidance. Have you considered how old the smoke detectors in your home are? The NFPA recommends replacement of smoke detectors every 10 years, regardless of functionality. If your home was built prior to 1977 and has not been extensively renovated; chance