Tag Archives: Home Safety

Faulty Attic Fan Cause of Home Fire

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This article is about the importance of having your attic fans regularly checked out. A family member of mine had their attic fan go bad and shoot sparks out of it which then caused a small fire. If it were not for a neighbor that noticed smoke coming from their attic this could have been a lot worse. I am posting this after reading a similar story online about another family that this has happened to.

Here are a few things that I feel are important when it comes to your attic fan and your overall home safety.

1. Your attic fan is installed with a proper safety disconnect switch, so you can safely work on it or shut it off in the winter. Just because the motor is not spinning does not mean the motor is not getting power. A lot of the time the motors go bad and overheat and may not trip the breaker. Most of the time you will find the switch in the attic. We recommend relocating the switch to the hallway right below the attic door.

2. You have the correct size attic fan installed according to the square footage of your attic. If you have to small an attic fan it will have to work to hard and you will reduce the life expectancy of the fan and when the fan gets to hot, the wiring gets hot, uses to much electricity and creates a fire hazard. You may want to consider the new installation of a solar attic roof fan to replace your current power vent fan. These are actually required for new construction installations in the State of Georgia.

If you would like to have your attic fan serviced or consider a solar attic fan please feel free to contact us for a quote.

3. Your attic fan is installed securely and safely. I see a lot of the time an attic fan is installed by someone that has no idea about electrical codes and when they go to hook up and wire the attic fan they do not even bother to install the wiring in the approved junction box for the thermostat control that tells the fan when to turn off and on. This is definitely a fire hazard, if the electrical connections go bad they have a tendency to shoot sparks. So, if the connections are in the box the sparks will be contained in the box and not in the attic. If your attic is like most people you are probably using it for storage and there are a lot of boxes just waiting to go up in flames. Notice in the picture there is not cover installed and the attic fan is not grounded. Let’s say your roofer is on the roof inspecting the roof and grabs the roof fan and not knowing it’s not grounded, gets a shock and falls off the roof. Who is liable?

Stay safe, thanks for reading,

Tony Blanca ~ Owner Lightning Bug Electric | 404-223-5274

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Electrical Panels and Fuse Boxes

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Always inspect and maintain the Electrical Panels and Fuse Boxes in your home or business.

We all have electrical panels in our home and at work. The electrical panel is the main distribution point for your electrical system.

If your electrical panel is not working properly it can lead to many household electrical problems, as well as personal safety, so it is an issue that should be taken care of immediately.

If you have lights flickering, hear buzzing or smell something coming from your panel please contact us as quickly as possible.

The electrical panel feeds power to all your wiring in your home and tells it how much power each circuit can have. DO NOT change the breaker to a larger size just because you want the breaker to stop tripping, this will in most cases burn the wiring and cause serious electrical safety hazards in your home or business.

Electrical wiring is sized to only handle what it was designed to handle, a 15 amp breaker should only be installed on 14 gauge wiring a 20 amp breaker installed on 12 gauge wiring. With older fuse boxes this is a big problem and I see it a lot.

With fuse boxes it is easy for anyone to just install a larger fuse to keep it from blowing and what you end up seeing a lot is 30amp fuses on 15amp rated wiring and therefore crispy wiring.

Electrical panels should also be properly maintained. If you ever had anyone working in your panel, usually because someone is installing a new circuit for something, this is when I see a lot go wrong.

Proper maintenance of an electrical panel should include;

  • Re-torquing of all terminations, only after checking wiring and making sure the existing terminations were properly installed to begin with
  • Re-lube the aluminum conductors
  • Inspect and cycle all breakers for proper operation
  • Check that where the breaker inserts into panel that it is secure and no burning is taking place because of bad connections or electrical overloads

These are just some of the maintenance requirements that help maintain safety in the home or office. The goal of this blog is to help anyone in the Atlanta area that is looking for electrical help and advice, consumers and other electricians alike.

Tony Blanca ~ Owner Lightning Bug Electric | 404-223-5274

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Smoke Detectors are an extremely important part of safety in your home

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Smoke Detectors are an extremely important part of safety in your home

Several times through the years I have heard complaints about the amount of smoke detectors installed and the necessary locations.

There has been a code in place from the National Fire Protection Agency that states there must be smoke detectors installed in every bedroom, every hallway servicing a bedroom and 1 on each level of the home since 1996, however there are several jurisdictions that do not enforce the code, even on new construction.

Smoke detectors are not pretty and their locations are certainly not pleasing to the eye, but they have a true function…saving lives. All smoke detectors installed should be hard wired (powered with 120 volts) and interconnected (tied together in series) with battery back up, the interconnected part is very important , the function of it is that if 1 smoke detector goes into alarm then they all do and alerts everyone in the house that there is a fire.

You can even have a module installed so that, if you have a security system, alerts the Fire Department to the situation – an further level of protection if you have pets or are away from home a lot.

Smoke detectors should be replaced every 5 years and batteries should be replaced every year. It is also important to have an evacuation plan in place and actually practice this with your family so in the event of an emergency everyone is ready and can get out safely.

There are too many unfortunate stories that could have turned out very differently with proper planning and the appropriate smoke and fire protection.

Tony Blanca ~ Owner Lightning Bug Electric | 404-223-5274

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Electrical Panel Replacement for Federal Pacific Panel

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Electrical Panel Replacement for Federal Pacific Panel

Anyone in the electrical field knows the name Federal Pacific or FPE because of their known reputation to fail.

These panels are an extreme hazard according to many experts. Most of those experts have never really seen the field verification that we get on a regular basis. I have personally seen multiple different negative effects from these panels including burnt wires, melted outlets, and several fires.

In one instance I was explaining to a client how an FPE breaker sometimes will not trip the circuit at all when an arc or fault happens. She was in the process of having a kitchen remodel done and didn’t see any reason for the added expense of changing out the main panel until her contractor was cutting through a 2×4 with a sawzall and went straight through a wire.

The breaker didn’t trip, the wire sat there arcing against the wood for quite a bit until the contractor managed to get to the electrical panel and manually shut it down.

She of course immediately called me and had me come back out and replace it right away. These panels are highly dangerous and should be changed out for you and your family’s safety.

Just google FPE or Federal Pacific and see what kinds of hazards are involved in keeping these panels installed. Call or email Lightning Bug Electric today to have your Electrical Panel serviced or replaced.

Tony Blanca ~ Owner Lightning Bug Electric | 404-223-5274

 Contact Us | Request An Appointment | Request A Quote