Electrical advice from our master electricians on our blog
Electrical advice from our master electricians on our blog
Minneapolis 612-385-7864
Saint Paul 651-587-5512
Lic. EA005137

Edison Electric BLOG

Sump Pump GFCI

Sometimes the National Electrical Code provides some unusual challenges for us electricians. Many times the electrical code can be difficult to explain to our customers, especially when they have been misinformed prior to our arrival and their expectations about the ease with which a project can be completed are all but untrue.

This brings us to sump pump wiring. If the new wiring for your sump pump receptacle outlet is to be installed in a crawl space or in an unfinished area of your basement the receptacle must be ground fault protected. You may ask, “What’s the big deal?” GFCI’s save lives but there is an inconvenience with ground fault protecting your sump pump. If your GFCI outlet trips, it will not allow power to your pump motor when it is called into duty and your basement could flood. It is the same reason we don’t protect your kitchen refrigerator with a GFCI; if it trips while you are on vacation your food will go rotten.

Answers to common questions:

  • No, we cannot just put a standard outlet there. If the pump needs a 120 volt receptacle outlet in a GFCI required location, we must follow the code.
  • No, we cannot cut the plug off of the cord to bypass the need for a receptacle by hardwiring it. This violates the code and also violates the manufacturers warranty on the pump.

If the ground fault outlet for your sump pump is tripping it is probably a problem with your motor and could be saving you from a shock. If you are thinking of having a sump pump installed in your home please consider the wiring, there are alternatives if you wish to not have your pump GFCI protected. Ask your supplier for a pump which can be hardwired for either 120 or 240 volts. Give us a call if you wish to discuss sump pump wiring at 651-587-5512.

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Be Smart About Doing It Yourself With Electricity

Electricity has given us all the phenomenal advantages of modern technology. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and electrical innovation must go hand-in-hand with safety precautions in order to ensure the protection of your family and your home.

When it comes to handling electrical problems in your home, most people don’t even know where to start. Just looking at the jumble of wires involved makes the daunting task of DIY seem impossible. And while we certainly applaud gumption, working with electricity isn’t safe if you don’t know what you’re doing.

If you do-it-yourself, make sure you know Minnesota State and national safety code and protect yourself from complications caused by faulty, low-grade hardware. However, it’s best to plug into safety by calling a professional to take care of your residential electrical needs.

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CFL Lamp Disposal

On average 25% of your monthly electric bill is the lighting in your home. CFLs are a cost effective solution to bring down your lighting bill. They do come with a catch.

CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, which is toxic and tough to get out of the environment. CFL bulbs don’t belong in your regular trash when they finally burn out. So what to do with them?

Here are a few ways to properly dispose of CFL lamps:

  1. Call your local garbage service. Ask them if they have a program for recycling CFL lamps.
  2. Call your local municipality. They may have a local recycling center close by that you can drop these burned out CFL lamps off at. Typically there is a charge for this so you may want to call the recycling center to ask what kind of fees to expect.
  3. Earth 911 is the United States and Canada’s largest online clearing house for recycling information. Visit their website at http://earth911.org/ and type in your zip code to get a list of recycling centers near you.
  4. Many Home Depot stores accept CFLs to recycle at no charge. Check with your local store to see if they offer this service.
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Does Your Electrician Have a License?

There are many things to take into consideration when hiring a residential electrical company to do work on your home.  Is the contractor licensed?  How long have they been in business?  Are they in good standing with the Better Business Bureau?  Do you know anyone who has used the company?  Are they bonded and insured properly?

Another question you might consider asking is, “Is the person who will be performing electrical work in my house licensed through the state of Minnesota to perform electrical work”?  You see, the state of Minnesota has strict apprenticeship requirements before an individual will even be allowed to take a journeyman’s exam to become licensed.  The journeyman’s examination test was put in place by the state to ensure code compliance and safety.

Just because a company provides a worker with a uniform, cell phone and a company van does not mean that they are licensed electricians.  Licensed electricians cost more money to employ than unlicensed electricians.  For this reason, some companies have thought it to be wise business to send unlicensed individuals into homes to save a buck.

So be careful, not only with which company you hire, but also who they send to your house.  Do your homework and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Our electricians are all licensed by the state of Minnesota and take continuing educational courses to keep current on technological advancements and code changes.  All of our apprentice electricians are enrolled in apprenticeship training and are accompanied by journeyman electricians on jobsites and service calls.

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Your Electrical Panel Tells a Story

When our electricians make a service visit to your home they may ask to take a look at your electrical panel.  The reason for this is to gain more knowledge of your electrical system and wiring methods.  Obvious things we are initially looking for are tripped circuit breakers, blown fuses, signs of heat, corrosion, loose connections and other safety concerns.  But a knowledgeable residential electrician will take notice of more.

The model and make of your electrical panel (sometimes referred to as a circuit panel) is significant because it can signify if the panel is a Zinsco or Federal Pacific which are hazardous and should be replaced.  If it is a Push-o-matic or a Wadsworth panel our electricians may also recommend a circuit panel replacement, something required frequently in Minnesota homes.

Another reason the model of the electrical panel is important is because the removable circuit breakers installed inside your panel should be the same model and make as your specific electrical panel.  Many times different brands of circuit breakers are jammed into panels to which they don’t belong.  When our electricians see this they know that someone who didn’t know their stuff was performing work on your system.  When we see poor craftsmanship such as this it tells us to expect the unexpected.

If your electrical panel is in an unfinished area of your Minnesota home, our electricians are able to get a feel for the age of visible wiring and take note of obvious alterations to the original electrical system.  These observations combined with years of experience in residential electrical work allow us the information to make the best recommendations to you, our customer.

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Don’t Be Left In The Dark: Upgrade Your Lighting

Have you ever walked into a room and thought, “Wow, it is not bright in here?” If you have, you have a poorly lit room. Believe it or not, there are a lot of rooms within homes that are not adequately lit and this can have an impact on you in a number of ways. Those ways are:

  • You may be paying more on your energy bill for less light
  • A dim room is a room you cannot see well in
  • How much light is in a room can impact your mood
  • An unevenly lit room can make it seem off balance

There are solutions to these problems with the main solution being upgrading your lighting. There are some fixtures that are simply placed wrong or they just don’t brighten your world very well. We can brighten your world for you because we are an electrician for St. Paul residents and businesses have trusted for many years to do such things as install new fixtures that will light up their lives better and even install additional lighting to a part of a room that never seems to get enough.

Energy Efficient Lighting

The first thing you want to think about when having new lighting installed is its energy efficiency and here is why: When paying your electric bill each month, approximately 40% of the money is paying for the lighting that you used. The rest goes toward the electric your appliances and electrical devices used. If you use energy efficient lighting, then you could cut that 40% by 30% and only pay 10% of what you have been paying. This may seem rather steep, but it’s the truth.

That “little light fixture that could” but couldn’t is costing you more than you think. But in the grand scheme of things, having new energy efficient fixtures installed is going to save you so much money that you’ll have your money back on the installation in the form of savings before you know it. You simply inform your St. Paul electrician that you want energy efficient lighting and it will be done.

Installing New Fixtures

What you want is lighting that is going to make the room more functional. If you have one of those rooms where one side is bright and the other is dark, then you have a room that was simply constructed unevenly. That’s not common. You may have a lamp on the dark side of the room, but that doesn’t always suffice when you are in a situation where more lighting is needed. And sometimes a fixture that is very bright doesn’t always help. This may require the installation of a new fixture on that side of the room, which is no problem. It can be operated by the same switch that operates the primary or it can have its own individual switch. You are the boss, so you call the shots.

How To Get Started

So if you need a little more light in your life, you can give us a call at 651-587-5512 and we will be more than happy to review with you the many lighting options that are available. We can provide you with an estimate that fits your budget so you can have the lighting you’ve always wanted.

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