Free Electrical Inspection
Free Visual Electrical Inspection!
Sparky’s is all about making sure your electrical system is in a safe working condition. In Littleton, Highlands Ranch and the Denver Metro Area, we go on many service calls to repair electrical problems in homes and offices. During these service calls, our sparkys (electricians) open up and explore your electrical system to find the root cause of the issue. On the hunt for the problem, we often come across other issues or potential problems that should be addressed. If these issues are part of the cause of the issue or they are simple repairs, they will be fixed during the repair of the initial issue. If it is a more complex repair, our electricians will tell you what it will take to repair the issue and provide you with a quote. There may be more issues that we do not come across during a repair that should be addressed and this is why we offer our electrical inspections. Some of those issues can be easily seen by a homeowner but sometimes it takes a professional, licensed electrician to spot and describe a possible repair.
Inspections are great for answering questions you may have:
- How many amps and volts is my electrical service?
- What type of electrical service do I have?
- Is my electrical service safe?
- Who is the manufacture of my electrical service?
- Is my electrical wiring up to code and safe?
- Is my home grounded properly?
Sparky’s Electrical Inspections:
- Visual Electrical Inspection – A visual documentation of your home electrical system – Basic
- Electrical Inspection with Testing – Includes testing plugs, switches and lights – Enhanced
- Electrical Inspection with Maintenance – Includes checking all devices and standard panel maintenance – Complete
Sparky’s offers a FREE visual electrical inspection of your home or office with ANY service call upon request. Give us a call today, schedule your service and let our team members know that you would like to receive your FREE inspection of your electrical system! We perform electrical service and inspections all across the Denver area including Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Castle Rock, Lakewood, Cherry Hills, Aurora, Parker and more!
Our standard visual inspection is a $99.00 Value and includes a walk-through of your home or office.
Call Today! (303) 973-2551
Recess Can Retrofit Installation
Sparky’s is experiencing a new popular trend in home lighting – recess lighting retrofits. Some people were asking about how they can change the look of recessed can lighting but didn’t know how. Options for altering can lighting include new trims and lamps (light bulbs) or removing the can altogether for a new light fixtures and repairing or covering the hole. The 90′s and 2000′s had an explosion in the lighting industry of recessed lighting. All types of recess lighting were used and continue to be used today. The most common of those recessed lights is the 6″ recessed can light which when replaced, the standard 6″ recess can light is a much larger diameter than the standard 4″ canopy for light fixtures. However, with clients having access to more light fixture options, they are wanting to express themselves (and style) in a way that is only offered in a limited range for recessed lighting. Recently, recess can lighting retrofit kits were created due to a large demand of customers not wanting recessed lighting in one particular area or another. For some time, those wanting to replace recessed lighting had to deal with ceiling medallions or drywall repairs. Recessed lighting retrofit kits offer a cost effective solution to updating your home’s lighting without needing time consuming repairs.
Some of the most popular areas for retrofit kits include kitchen islands where cans were used instead of pendant lights, bathrooms with tall ceilings, such as in custom homes, are a popular area (see pictures below and click for full size), bars and game room areas are also a great area for switching to light fixtures. The main thing to keep in mind when deciding whether or not a retrofit kit is right for your lighting is the fixture size and weight. Recessed lighting retrofit kits are often limited to a 50lbs. weight limit. That will generally leave most people in the range of standard ceiling lights, pendant lighting or small chandeliers (as pictured below). Now don’t let the weight and size rating deter you, recessed can lighting can always be changed to ceiling fans, large chandeliers and more using traditional methods as mentioned above. Those methods are more time consuming and slightly more costly due to the need for a proper support for the weight and size of the larger fixture.
Sparky’s has worked with several different brands of these kits and they are definitely not created equal. Some are very simple and quick to install and some are a bit tedious. We offer the custom brand kit we find to be the best for installations including time and support. Give us a call if you are wanting to update the recess lighting in your home or office. There are a wide variety of trims that can drastically change the look of the light, as well as new lamps. Sparky’s can also save you money on light fixtures from numerous brands of lighting manufactures. We buy light fixtures in large amounts for custom homes and home communities and can offer a good discount on lighting upgrades.
Aluminum Wiring in Older Homes
Sparky’s has many customers ask us about aluminum wiring in their homes. Whether they are buying a home, selling a home or remodeling, they are all aware of issues regarding aluminum wiring but sometimes they don’t know what all the issues are or what to do about it in their situation.
Aluminum wiring was utilized in many older residences around the country and in Colorado. This type of branch circuit wiring can be troublesome and dangerous. I have seen numerous (way too many) examples of aluminum wiring going awry during my stint as an Electrician. A large portion of the problems have to do with loose and/or arcing connections within the electrical junction boxes that house the outlets, switches and light fixtures. In this scenario some part(s) of the electrical system will either stop working or work intermittently. You may experience lights flickering or dimming. Household appliances and electronics may turn off and on unexpectedly. This can be caused by numerous conditions i.e. weather and hot/cold expansion and contraction, arcing, old worn out switches and outlets, switches and outlets not being properly rated and the list goes on. If you are experiencing these types of symptoms consider it a warning that more serious problems are potentially on the horizon.
The next issue that is of equal or of more concern is the “FLAME OUT” or “MELTDOWN” syndrome.I have come across this situation many times while investigating aluminum wiring related problems in homes. This is where the problem has gone beyond the point of a loose connection or arcing to emerge as a very real fire hazard and has already melted most everything within the electrical box or boxes. It is common to discover the “culprit” circuit to still be alive (energized). Very scary! Often times when this situation occurs it has been compounded by an antiquated electrical circuit breaker (such as Federal Pacific ‘FPE’ or Zinsco) that does not function 
correctly. Circuit breakers are designed to trip when overloaded. Old antiquated electrical circuit breakers that have never been exercised can be extremely dangerous. I have witnessed old breakers (under test conditions) that did not trip until almost five times the current for which it was designed, was applied. In other words it took almost 100 amperes of current to trip an antiquated circuit breaker rated to trip at 20 amperes and even then it was not instantaneous allowing the wire to overheat and “MELTDOWN”. We have pictures of wire-nuts, aluminum wire, switches, outlets etc. that have experienced Meltdown Syndrome, click the pictures for the full-size view.
If your home has aluminum wiring and your electrical breaker panel is still the originally installed electrical breaker panel, you should plan on an electrical panel upgrade. Any residence that contains aluminum branch circuit wiring should definitely consider making the upgrade to a new electrical circuit breaker panel, known in the electrical industry as an ”Electrical Service Upgrade”. Purchasing an Electrical Service Upgrade for your home from a reliable electrical service contractor will ensure that properly sized circuit breakers have been installed for each branch circuit and that each circuit breaker will trip (go to off) like they should, if an overloaded condition or a short in the branch circuit occurs. It will also serve to provide a level of personal comfort and satisfaction in knowing your home’s wiring will be much more reliable and safer. It is also a strong investment/selling feature should you decide to sell your property in the future.
If you have this type of wiring in your home you should have it checked out thoroughly by a licensed electrical contractor to ensure it is sound. The electrical contractor can perform a procedure known as “pig-tailing” wherein the aluminum wiring is spliced to a section of the same sized copper wire by means of an industry approved method. The copper wire then terminates to the outlet, switch or light fixture to ensure a good reliable connection. Repair of aluminum wiring is an area best left to electrical licensed professionals with experience in troubleshooting electrical wiring and branch circuits and implementing these types of repairs. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned in this article, you likely have a very serious situation that requires prompt attention.
These pictures show a section of a branch wire circuit from a Federal Pacific Panel (FPE) in which we showed up to find the circuit rated 15amps was allowing 65amps on to the wire. This particular scenario occurred with a section of copper wire in a panel with both copper and aluminum wiring.
Purple wirenuts have been the accepted form of copper/aluminum pigtailing as well as wirenuts with an anti-oxidant compound. Now, there are new and approved connection blocks for copper/aluminum pigtailing which may look like this connector.
Sparky’s specializes in all types of residential electrical repair and can help you with a free basic inspection of the aluminum wiring in your home and chart a course of action to ensure your home is electrically safe. Given our level of experience with correcting electrical issues you can rest assured that your electrical system is in good hands.
Sparky’s will help you avoid electrical problems that can occur from defective aluminum wiring by giving your home and your electrical system some TLC in the form of preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance is a practice developed to keep Meltdowns and electrical malfunctions from occurring. Sparky’s preventative maintenance service consists of a complete electrical system overview, check up, and tune up. We will provide you with a list of recommendations that may be needed or desired to keep your electrical system current and in peak operating condition. Our service is cost effective and will help to assure you that your electricity will be there when you need it most! Give us a call to discuss your homes electrical system and receive a free consultation.
Introduction to Doorbell Systems
Doorbell systems never seem to get the credit they deserve until they aren’t working. Many people don’t know who to call to repair or replace any parts in a doorbell system. Most electricians can repair and install doorbell systems, at the core, doorbell systems are not complex but do require a licensed electrician as they do require connection to a high voltage power source. Troubleshooting can be a bit tricky depending on factors such as the age of the home and how the wiring was completed. Most people know about the obvious parts of a doorbells system:
Doorbell Button : Placed by a front door and sometimes by a rear door that has walk up access.
Doorbell Chime : Usually a small white box (perhaps discolored) about 4″ high by 8″ wide, give or take, that is generally located in a entry area or main hallway.
Transformer : Can be tough to find, usually a little brass piece with 2 screws for low voltage wire exposed.
Wireless Doorbell : Two parts – A button and a chime that both require batteries
Not everyone knows about the transformer. The transformer is the part that powers the system by converting high voltage to low voltage and, in the case of buttons with lights, lights up the button to make it easy to find. The main reason for not knowing, is that transformers are often hidden from the main areas of the home. Generally found in mechanical rooms by (or on) the furnace but sometimes we find them in crawl spaces or even attics. The location of the transformer is left up to the installer of the original wiring. Often times, when a wired doorbell ceases to work, we see wireless systems that have been installed simply because the transformer was never located. Wire tracing can often be needed to locate the transformer if it was located in a difficult location. Also, the wiring can be completed in several different ways depending on the number of chimes or buttons and the locations of all the system components so while a basic system is always the same, the wiring can be different from one installation to the next.
How-To Wire and Install a Doorbell System – Available for Download Now
Infrared Thermometer Electric Equipment Scanning
Infrared Scanning
Infrared thermometer (contact) electric equipment scanning is a method of detecting possible loose or deteriorating electrical connections and hot spots at points where connections are found or may be deteriorating. These points can include circuit breaker to branch wire terminations, circuit breaker to panel buss connections, main lug terminations, neutral and ground terminal connections in electrical panel boards and load centers to name a few. Infrared scanning performed by trained professionals is an accurate method of assisting in performing maintenance checks to identify potential overloading of circuits and or equipment. Infrared scanning can detect areas where excessive heat may be accumulating at the points of connection or deterioration of buss bars etc. Scanning is widely utilized in commercial and industrial manufacturing facilities where equipment reliability is crucial to the operational goals of the company. This type of scanning along with a sensible preventative electrical maintenance program can more than pay for the expense of the equipment and the trained electricians needed to carry out the ongoing program by saving the costs of otherwise unforeseen repairs and equipment down time.
Infrared thermometer Scanning is becoming increasingly popular in the residential sector and is a recommended service offered by many professional electric contractors. The scan is best utilized in conjunction with a preventative maintenance program and will help to ensure years of reliable electrical equipment operation.
Sparky’s professionally trained staff has extensive experience with both infrared contact style scanners as well as distant motion scanning featured with today’s advanced FLIR technology. FLIR technology was developed for the USA military and has become a useful tool for a variety of energy efficiency evaluations such as the viewing of buildings from a distance to analyze heat loss. The FLIR technology and its many uses will be addressed in more detail in future blogs.
Sparky’s USA/Electric Doctor Inc offers infrared thermometer electrical panel scanning for our residential customers too. This service is economical, performed quickly and does not require any electrical outages. It is an affordable way to know your electrical system is safe and operating properly. Our electricians have extensive training and experience in performing infrared thermometer electrical equipment scanning. Sparky’s USA personnel will also visually check and manually tighten all of your electrical panel connections to the recommended specifications as part of our inspection service. Upon completion of your equipments preventative maintenance service we will provide you with a written report detailing the results of your infrared thermometer scan and further recommendations (if any). This service has been an exceptional value for our clients, as we have seen numerous examples of the infrared scan service pinpointing a loose connection or deteriorating circuit breaker, enabling Sparky’s USA to make a minor repair prior to it becoming a large headache for the owner. As we said earlier the service is quite affordable, will take a minimal time commitment and will provide peace of mind. Give us a call today or see our services guide for quick straightforward pricing and to arrange an appointment for your infrared thermometer scan and preventative maintenance panel service.
Residential Electrical Troubleshooting by Sparkys
Troubleshooting Residential Electrical – Introduction
Here at Electric Doctor/Sparky’s, most of our calls during a week are to diagnose and repair an electrical problem. We also receive calls from homeowners and maintenance personnel simply wondering why something went wrong with their electrical system. Sparky’s new blog section is here to help you understand what individual items are involved in your home electrical system and how they work together to create an entire electrical system. Electrical troubleshooting and repair takes years to understand and many more to master but we strive to give you quality information geared to understanding electrical systems. Knowing terminology and system parts will help you communicate issues more effectively if you do encounter issues and can help save money when it counts!
Basic Electrical System Terms:
- Electrical Service : Your service includes incoming power, a meter and your breakers
- Sub-Panel : A sub-panel is a secondary breaker panel but not all services have sub-panels
- Branch Circuits/Wiring : Branch circuit wiring is run to your home’s electrical devices
- Devices : Devices include outlets and switches but can also refer to light fixtures
Electrical problems can be quite elusive and troublesome. Diagnosis and repair is an area best left to licensed electrical professionals with experience in troubleshooting electrical wiring and branch circuits. If you have a circuit breaker that is tripped or tripping repeatedly you likely have a serious situation that requires attention. Circuit breakers are designed to trip when overloaded. A breaker tripping usually indicates an overloaded circuit or other faulty equipment. It is unwise to reset a circuit breaker that is tripping repeatedly. Doing so can cause the branch circuit wiring to carry more current than it was designed to carry and overheat, or worse, start a fire. Electric circuit breakers are just one area of the electrical system that may experience problems. Switches, outlets, light fixtures, appliances, branch wiring and other items can contribute to mysterious electrical situations popping up. We have seen instances where there were multiple unrelated electrical problems occurring at the same time, which can confound and frustrate even the most experienced, licensed electricians. The comment of having “ghosts” in the wiring from the homeowner is not uncommon in this situation. For example; lights can be going on and off in one area of the house with outlets not working in another and then the lights might stop working altogether. Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI or GFI) receptacle outlets and circuit breakers tripping can indicate electrical wiring problems too. While GFCI outlets may nuisance trip (tripping off for no apparent reason) occasionally, an outlet that trips repeatedly should be checked out by a qualified licensed electrician. If you have a GFCI circuit breaker that has tripped we recommend having it checked as it is a somewhat uncommon occurrence. Never attempt to reset an electric circuit breaker if you detect a burning smell. A licensed trained electrician will identify and correct the problem prior to attempting to reset the circuit breaker. Failure to identify the problem prior to resetting the breaker could create a fire hazard and should be avoided.
Sparky’s can also help you avoid electrical problems from developing by giving your electrical system some TLC in the form of preventative maintenance. Preventative maintenance is a practice developed to avoid breakdowns and keep malfunctions from happening. Sparky’s preventative maintenance service consists of a complete electrical system overview, check up, and tune up. We will also provide you with a list recommendations (if any) that may be needed or desired to keep your electrical system current and in peak operating condition.
Park Meadows Black Friday Blackout
Emergency Service on a Day Off
The Friday after Thanksgiving is affectionately called Black Friday. It is the busiest shopping day of the entire year, where even the slowest of economies pick up the pace and cater to every shopper’s desire. Many stores open early on Black Friday, as early as Midnight and some just open an hour or two earlier than usual.
Here at Electric Doctor, we were looking forward to a much needed 3 day weekend after a great Thanksgiving. We received a call around 8:45am. This particular Park Meadow’s store had set to open at 8:00am that morning, ready for a rush of shoppers and when they went to turn on the lights and open the doors to swarms of shoppers, they had a Black Friday Blackout.
The store’s mechanical and lighting systems are controlled remotely via an automation system to help lights from being left on and the store being over heated/cooled. There are two manual override buttons for the lighting system which allow several hours of on time before resuming normal operation. When the manger went to override the lighting… nothing… just emergency lights stayed on. We received the call around 8:45am after the on-call mall electrician was unable to determine the problem. Electric Doctor arrived on scene within an hour of the call at about 9:30am and began to diagnose the issue. Craig and Jim determined that the main lighting contactor for the entire store had failed.
The failure of the lighting contactor had then caused several other issues with the automation system. Being a holiday Friday, most electrical supply stores were closed and even those who would open did not have this particular contactor. This situation may have put an end to the store’s largest major shopping day but the docs swung into action. Craig and Jim found a way to bypass the contactor and have it used manually to control the lighting. After resetting the system and even taking the time to show the employees how to use the lighting over the weekend as a temporary solution, the store had the lights on, the blackout over and the doors were ready to open for eager shoppers by 10:30, within 2 hours of being called.
A few days later, the contactor was in and Electric Doctor installed the part during non-business hours and everything was back to normal. While the store did lose 2.5hours of shopping time, they know that it could have been quite a bit longer without the prompt response and creative solution. Prompt response and expert diagnosing helped to save thousands of dollars when they needed it most.
24 Hour Service Available in Denver
303.973.2551
Damaged Wire Blowing a Fuse
1 in 20 500MCM Wires
Commercial heating and cooling systems can be extremely complex. Everything about large systems takes extra time from the installation to maintenance and troubleshooting problems.
Craig successfully diagnosed a 1000 ton chiller that was blowing a fuse intermittently. The customer previously had spent a large amount of money including replacing the motor (per another recommendation) at the cost of $50,000 with no success. The fuse continued to blow on occasion leaving the buildings hot and the occupants and customer dissatisfied.
Craig started troubleshooting the parallel wire runs and identified a potential wire issue in 1 of a possible 20 large conductors. Although the testing was fairly consistent, Craig noticed the intermittent issue occurring on one of wires. While the reading on this wire came and went, Craig stayed persistent in his testing where others may have moved on. This one small section of one single wire proved to be the problem to the blowing fuse. What started as a pin-hole size puncture on the wire, turned into an eroded section of wire. The damaged 500 MCM wire was replaced, all at a fraction of the cost of the prior, unsuccessful attempts.
Here is the damaged section that was removed.
