Electrical Safety Month – Home Safety Check List
May is National Electrical Safety Month!
Hazards commonly found in older homes are increasingly causing fires and fatalities in the U.S. However, by taking a few simple steps and by incorporating newer technology you can protect your home from many of these dangers. Each year the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) sponsors May as National Electrical Safety Month.
Home electrical problems account for nearly 55,000 home fires every year. These fires cause over 500 deaths,injure more than 1,400 people, and account for $1.4 billion in property damage. Older homes are at even greater risk to fire. According to the US Census Bureau, half of the homes in the United States were built before 1973. These homes and electrical systems were built before many of the appliances and electronics that we commonly use today were even around. To put this into perspective, a third of US homes were built before hair dryers or electric can openers were invented! Half of the homes were built before the advent of the garage door opener or the home computer!
“As each year goes by Americans are using more energy in their homes,” says Brett Brenner, President of ESFI. “Many homes and electrical systems in the US are simply being overburdened leading to fires, deaths, and injuries.”
We are providing our customers with a checklist below which will allow customers to identify electrical dangers commonly found in each room of their home.
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House Fire in East Brunswick – Check Your Smoke Detectors & Fire Alarms!
Our hearts go out to our local neighbors in East Brunswick whose home was destroyed last week due to a devastating home fire. It seems as though it was an electrical issue that sparked the fire but we have not been able to confirm that information. Check out the story if you haven’t heard. We are just a phone call away if there is anything anybody needs. We are more than happy to offer support!
We want to take this opportunity to remind everyone to please please please test your smoke detectors and fire alarms MONTHLY and change the batteries AT LEAST annually. We would recommend changing it seasonally – like when you change the times an hour forward and an hour back.
Every year in the US, about 3,000 people lose their lives in home fires. Most fires victims die from inhalation of smoke and toxic gases, not as a result of burns. Most deaths and injuries occur in fires that happen at night while the victims are sleeping. Try testing your alarms in the middle of the night and make sure everyone in the home wakes up to the sound of the alarm.
If your children happen to sleep through the alarm, check out this page on our website: http://www.friendlyelectric.com/smoke-detectors.html. There are different options you have for your family to ensure that everyone will be safe in the event of a fire.
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Give the good guys a break!
Today there is a contractor just about everywhere you look. But just like anything else in life, not all contractors are the same. As a reputable electric heating & air contractor in New Jersey it is getting more and more difficult to compete with the competition. The sad thing is that it’s not because they’re better than us. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, but the average homeowner is unaware of the differences. Homeowners have many concerns when choosing a professional to work in their home; however many of them are the wrong concerns. Every day we bid against non-licensed, uninsured contractors who seem to have flooded our marketplace. “When can you do the job? I need it done right away” … we hear this all the time. We try our best and can usually accomodate them; however, sometimes we can not. And the reason why we can’t accomodate them is because we are doing our jobs the right way. Some examples of time delays are township permits and utility mark outs. Both of these processes are designed with the sole purpose of protecting the homeowner, yet many clients are annoyed by them. It is very frustrating as a contractor to lose jobs to individuals who claim to be contractors and in fact are not. It is sad, because many homeowners who hire these people have no idea that anything is wrong. It is not the homeowner’s job to know what requires a permit, if they are breaking the law by not having a utility mark out completed, if the work is not being done to code etc. It is the contractor’s responsibility as the professional in charge of the project. But when a homeowner chooses to hire a non-professional they lose that protection. If one contractor tells you something that contradicts what a second contractor says, you should question it. Contact your township and ask them if you are not sure. It amazes me how often, they are misinformed by the non-professional but yet since it is an easier or faster solution for them, they don’t seem to care. For instance if I say we need to wait two weeks for the permit and “Joe” the Electrician says they don’t need permits the homeowner believes him. They believe him because his answer is easier for them and they like that. But why would we say that we need permits and that we won’t be able to meet their time frame and risk losing the project if it weren’t true? Homeowners need to realize that the quick route today could end up being the long, expensive route of tomorrow. Professional contractors do not cut corners or ignore rules and regulations. They do not ask you to obtain a permit in your name. They provide you with a written invoice. They provide you with proof of insurance. They do not demand cash only. There are reasons why “Joe” the Electrician does what he does. Perhaps he is not licensed and can not obtain a permit in his name. Perhaps he has no insurance. Perhaps he is not a licensed business and does not pay sales tax. Perhaps he does not want you to be able to locate him if you have a problem. Perhaps these are the reasons why he is cheaper than the professional contractor. There are lots of things to consider when hirirng a contractor to work in your home… but most homeowner’s skip the most important ones.
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Friendly Electric Heating & Air – Thoughts on Customer Service
The past two days almost everyone here in the office has been strung around by a customer service representative from a larger company. We have been placed on hold numerous times, transferred from department to department, hung up on, spoken to machines, and told that nobody could help us…Ultimately leaving us with no answers and with a mountain of frustration.
Well if there is one thing that we can guarantee is that you will never speak to a machine or be placed on hold numerous times just to be told that nobody could help you. We promise that you won’t be transferred from department to department and you will always be speaking with a professional and friendly customer service representative that truely cares about your experience with our company.
We will not rest until you are 100% satisfied with our services. Now how many big companies can really stand by those words?
http://www.friendlyelectric.com/
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Friendly Shines a Light on Autism Awareness
April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day. Shine a light on Autism Spectrum Disorders by changing your profile picture! http://www.lightitupblue.org. Start a conversation in your community today and don’t forget to wear blue!
Want to attend a local mixer?
LIGHT IT UP BLUE AUTISM AWARENESS MIXER
Saturday, April 3, 2010 6:00 PM
Toucan Martini Bar (Somerset, NJ)
Sydney’s Dream Team along with Lystra and her entire staff at The Toucan Restaurant is aiming to light the lounge up blue, by hosting an… http://www.toucanrestaurant.com/newjersey/home.htm
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