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Written by Administrator

Created: 17 March 2018

So, you want to make some light fixture changes to complement your home decor? Maybe you’re thinking about replacing or upgrading some of your existing lighting fixtures either for safety or style reasons. Whatever the reason, illumination is as much an art as it is a science. At AJ’s we keep our light on to both the art and the science of light fixture installation.

The Design

The “art” part of lighting has a lot to do with your own preference, whether based simply on personal taste or current trends, or both. At AJ’s we like to keep up-to-date on trends like state-of-the-art home automation controls available via your smartphone, colour-changing LED lighting technology, as well as the latest style and design trends in lighting fixtures. We’re happy to help you with choosing a design, with new, smart technology in mind.

The Science

The “science” part of lighting fixtures is where we really excel at AJ’s. Many of our installation customers are homeowners who find a fixture in a hardware store and wisely choose to have an experienced professional install it. Do-it-yourself lighting can turn into a time-consuming project that can be both complicated and costly. And it can be downright dangerous. Whether you’re wanting to install a new fixture in a bedroom, bathroom, living area, or even outdoors, get in touch with AJ’s Electrical first.

Pendant Lighting

If you’re still at the planning stages, considering replacing traditional ceiling fixtures with wall-mounted, or recessed lighting, for example. Pendant lighting is also worth thinking about, given it’s renewed popularity. As the name suggests, pendant lights hang down from their ceiling mounts like a pendant on a necklace. For years now, many homeowners — often inspired by the low-light ambiance they experienced in their favourite restaurants —  have been installing this type of lighting. Instead of take-out, why not bring the restaurant home? The style options for light fixtures are myriad.

Keep in Mind..

As you dream about new light fixtures, keep it practical. Remember that not all lights fit into every space. Before purchasing a fixture, feel free to check with us at AJ’s to ensure it’s rated for the power provided to the planned installation spot — and that there’s a space to fit the fixture onto the wall or ceiling. Sometimes extra wiring needs to be added and system changes need to be made to accommodate a new fixture.  If you’re in doubt, it’s better to find these things out before you buy. You’ll be spared the grief of having to return the fixture, and from possible unexpected costs at installation time.

AJ’s Electrical can ensure not only the look and feel you want, but also a safe installation that conforms to all safety codes. Safety is the number one reason to hire a professional electrical contractor. Installation accuracy is an important aspect of a safe installation. AJ’s Electrical will ensure that all wires are secure and that proper power supply and voltage is calculated for the entire operating system, as well as for necessary weather-tight underground connections. Proper maintenance checks at installation time will greatly reduce future costs.

Something would-be do-it-yourselfers don’t usually consider is the post-installation mess and clean-up. AJ’s professional no-mess installation means that the only trace left behind is a beautifully lit home.

Proprietors Shawn Willis and Darren Martin have 50 years of combined experience in residential and commercial installation and repair. With all that experience, you might say they’re “fixtures” themselves.

Call AJ’s at 604-359-1915 or message us here on our website.

Details

Written by Administrator

Created: 17 March 2018

Electrical receptacles, aka, “outlets,” provide the vital connection between the electrical system and your electrical devices. At AJ’s Electrical we don’t expect everyone to share our love of electrical receptacles.  But they do deserve some respect– if only for safety’s sake.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that overloaded outlets cause an estimated 5,300 house fires annually. Almost 2,000 of those occur during the Christmas holidays when indoor and outdoor electrical receptacles get pushed beyond the limit– especially with the extra load of Christmas lights.  Shouldn’t the overload trip the breaker blow the fuse, you ask?  Yes, they should. But circuit breakers and fuses aren’t always reliable.

Search the internet for ‘house fires” in Canada and you’ll see overloaded outlets mentioned by fire and safety officials over and over as the cause of these sometimes fatal fires. This is but one reason why you should consider a professional replacement and upgrade of overloaded receptacles in your home– as well as a circuit panel or fuse box inspection.

Even when an overloaded receptacle isn’t itself dangerous, all those extension cords that crisscross the floor or hang in inconvenient places can be hazardous.  Tangled power bar and extension cords are sometimes so bulky they can’t be properly hidden.  Even where they don’t present an immediate danger, too many devices, cords, and too few receptacles are an unhappy combination of ugliness and inconvenience.

Overloading isn’t the only receptacle issue.  Like anything else, wear out from frequent use.  Plugs can begin to fit loosely into sockets, presenting a potential fire or shock hazard if they aren’t replaced.  If you have any suspicions about your receptacles, give AJ’s Electrical a call.

Duplex (two-socket) wall outlets are the most common kind of receptacle. They’re used for standard conventional plugs. They function in several different ways.

Typically, the duplex outlet is installed vertically in one of the following configurations:

• Sockets sharing same breaker.
• Sockets powered by separate breakers.
• One socket, typically one that has a lamp connected to it, controlled by a wall switch.

120-Volt duplex wall outlets are pretty standard stuff and not usually the topic of dinner table conversations. Unless dinner is late because one of them wasn’t working. However, there are some funky and practical wall outlets that expand your ho-hum two-socket receptacles into some functional and appealing variations such as:

1. Rotating wall outlets. These outlets offer sockets that rotate 360 degrees so you can plug virtually anything in without blocking the other socket.  Cell phone chargers are the most notorious wall outlet blockers.  Rotating sockets are the ideal solution.

2. Wall outlets with one or more USB sockets.  Again, since cell chargers are such space-hogs, one or two receptacles around the home with USB sockets can free up space for other 120-volt devices.

3. Pop out design. With the simple push of a button, the number of sockets doubles from 2 to 4.  Get rid of that unsightly multi-socket extension cord.

4.  Pop-up countertop outlets. These outlets free up counter space when not being uses and typically offer outlet 3 sockets and a pair USB ports.

One or two of the above stylish and practical solutions are likely to benefit your home or office. Or, you may you simply need more conventional two-socket outlets.  AJ’s Electrical can advise you on your best and safest options.

If you need a 240-volt receptacle, GFCI receptacle or child-proof receptacles installed, we have experience and expertise with these, too.  In fact, proprietors Shawn Willis and Darren Martin have 50 years of combined experience in residential and commercial installation and repair. Power up with AJ’s Electrical.

Call us at 604-359-1915 or contact us here on our website.

Details

Written by Administrator

Created: 17 March 2018

Do you have the right type and right number of electrical outlets in your home or business? Here are a few safe and practical types of outlets you may need.

GFCIs

Do you have GFCIs (ground fault circuit interrupters) everywhere you need them? You should, of course, have one in your bathrooms. But, what about your kitchen, garage or outdoor areas where water is present?

GFCI outlets “trips up” the normal electrical flow when water is present. They kill the power before it travels through you to your wet feet and kills you. That’s no small reason to have one. The normal flow of electrical current is through the hot wire, returning back through the neutral wire. But when you’re standing in wet feet using your hair dryer, the electricity wants to travel through your feet to the ground. That’s a recipe for electrocution. CFGIs have the good sense to say, “Hey, this isn’t right.”

Water and electricity in close proximity is always a potentially shocking situation. Don’t risk it! Take a look around your home for possible dangers from appliances that may accidently come in contact with water. See potential trouble? Call AJ’s Electrical Service & Repair, for your safety’s sake!

Outdoor and Soffit Receptacles

You may want to add outlets outside your home for Christmas lights, Diwali lights, Halloween lights or a “I Love Coloured Lights Day.” (We made that last one up. But we think it could fly.) You may also want to add receptacles for power tools, fountains, or lawn equipment. These specialty outlets, whether installed in your home’s soffits (underhang of eaves) or elsewhere, need proper housing and grounding. This is to protect you from shock– and your equipment, tools and various devices from damage by the elements. We’ll make sure they’re “up to code” and installed properly.

240-Volt Receptacles or 3 or 4 Prong Receptacles

240-Volt outlets are designed specifically for equipment and appliances needing 240-volts of power– typically laundry dryers and electric ranges. Matching 240-volt appliances with the right outlets seems simple enough. But is your 240-volt receptacle wired properly? It’s vitally important that the installer knows right type of type of conductor and wire strength needed.

240-volt receptacle installations are an area where a do-it-yourselfer needs to use extra caution. Even if you’ve successfully installed a 110-volt outlet in the past, a 240-volt receptacle has precise recommended material specs for installation. These specifications may vary depending on where you’re installing the outlet. Improper installation of these — or any — receptacles is an electrocution or fire danger.

Tamper Resistant Receptacles

TRRs are designed primarily to spare children from potentially lethal shock that comes from sticking ordinary household items such as keys and paperclips into the outlet’s sockets. TRRs have been required in hospital pediatric care facilities is some parts of North America for more than 20 years. Hospitals should indeed be at the safety forefront, but many more accidents occur at home, not the hospital. Thousands of children in North America are injured by electrical receptacles each year. You can take simple precautions to make sure your children don’t become statistics.

With Canadian Electrical Code requirement that TRRs be installed in all new home construction, hopefully the number of injuries to children will drop over time. If you’re living in a home built prior to 2010, there’s a good chance you don’t have these very inexpensive receptacles. They’re designed with spring-loaded receptacle cover plates that close off the receptacle openings, or slots. When equal pressure is applied to both sides at once, the receptacle cover plates open to allow the standard plug to make contact with the receptacle contact points. This system makes it challenging to insert foreign objects into the socket.

Floor Outlets

Cords running every which-way across a room or two in your home? Consider an outlet in the middle of your floor to plug in a lamp, a computer or other electrical device. A floor outlet can prevent a tripping hazard that’s probably an eyesore as well.

Recessed Outlets

This type of outlet allows you to hide plugs behind TV’s, monitors, your signed Andy Warhol original art, or anything else mounted flush against a wall.

2 Duplex Receptacles

Having receptacles that have more than more than one duplex sockets allows you to plug more things in at a time. You won’t need multi-plug extensions with this type of specialty receptacle. Pop out outlets are one popular variation of 2 duplex receptacles. A simple push of a button increases the number of disposable outlets doubles so you can accommodate all your electronic devices.

The variety of pop-up and expansion outlets available is impressive.

Our blog “Wall Outlet Upgrades: Tips for Safety, Style and Practicality” deals with some of the nifty, practical types of expander and flexible outlets available. A cautionary note, though. You may need an electrical panel upgrade along with your new and expanded outlets. AJ’s Electrical Service & Repair is happy to inspect, advise and install a new panel if necessary.

AJ’s proprietors Shawn Willis and Darren Martin have 50 years of combined experience in residential and commercial installation and repair. We’re your outlet for outlets and much more.

Call us at 604-359-1916 or contact us here on our website.