Electric Doctor | Help & FAQ's
You’ve found a great page if you have electrical issues and you’re not sure where to start! We’re here to help – in person or here but if you think you need an electrician, go ahead and call (fastest), text, or click schedule appointment to have an electrician come take a look.
Otherwise, click around below and see if you have a common issue that can be solved quickly!
Electric Doctor FAQ's:
- Family owned & operated
- Opened in 1995
- Dad (Owner, Master Electrician), Mom (Owner, Bookkeeper), Son (Owner, Master Electrician, Daughter (Office Manager) and a great team of electricians
Yes! We are fully licensed and insured in Colorado
All major credit cards, personal and business checks, cash
For established, repeat commercial clients where we complete 5 or more work orders a month, we do offer a Net 30 term. We establish by completing several jobs and closing with COD payments.
Yes! One (1) year warranty on all work other than light bulbs and a Three (3) year warranty on all service upgrades. Service upgrade extended warranties also available.
No. One, out of respect for our industry. Two, we offer top-level electrical installations and repairs and charge a competitive rate (and offer real discounts) for our level of work.
Most common is a 2-story ceiling. A lot of times you can let us know the address and we can see photos online to help you determine ceiling height. Also, you can always text or email us photos. Basically any ceiling where we need a 10′ or taller ladder will be considered a high ceiling and will be different than our standard installation rate.
There is never really a 100% way to know until we take the fixture down. If the box is not rated for fan or large fixture support, our electricians will notify you before proceeding. All locations can be converted to fan-rated or reinforced for larger chandeliers.
We will confirm any “over the phone” estimates with an on-site visit before we proceed. We have over 100 years combined electrical experience on our team. Chances are we’ve done the same job before (if not dozens or hundreds of times). We like to use technology like Zillow, Google Street View, Google Earth, and photos or videos you text/email to save drive time, fuel, and emissions where we can. If you have a complex or large job, we’ll schedule to come take a look.
Unless you are renovating and removing drywall, pigtailing using AlumiConn connectors is going to be far more cost effective and is a UL Listed repair.
Common Electrical Issues | Tips to Fix
- Make sure you have a working flashlight (or more)
- Candles and matches (fire safety reminder!)
- Fire extinguisher (or more) that is up to date and easily accessible!
- Space heater in case heat/furnace stop working and a 20 amp outlet to use if needed!
First, change the light bulb! We get a lot of light repair calls where it’s just a bad light bulb. Tip – Find a similar bulb that’s working and swap the bulbs. If the bulb that was working works in the fixture that wasn’t working, it’s just a bad bulb. If the bulb that wasn’t working works in the other fixture, then call us, now we troubleshoot the wiring!
Electrician talk – We often call light bulbs lamps!
Flickering issues can be tricky and we recommend an on-site visit to diagnose
- LED bulbs on old dimmers?
- Smart dimmers? Some dimmers don’t play nice with certain LEDs
- Failing switch
- Bad bulbs? Cheap LED bulbs?
- Motor load inrush current like an A/C turning on? LEDs are more impacted by this (lower wattage)
- Loose wiring/connections can cause flickering
First, remember to remove the batteries from the old units! Second, check for plug in CO detectors down low, they use batteries too!
When resetting a breaker, try not to stand directly in front of it in case of a spark. To reset a breaker, push it all the way off and then back on. If it trips instantly, you could have a bad breaker, dead short, or overload issue. Remember that breakers trip for a reason!
First, check to see if you’ve had a power outage by asking a neighbor if they also lost power or calling your power company (a partial or half outage can occur) . You can also look around to see if street lights or stop lights are working correctly.
Take a moment to verify what is working and what is not working. Often times you can use a small lamp or appliance to test your outlets. It is helpful to know if the outage is contained to a particular room or area of outlets. You can then go to your breaker panel and check for tripped breakers. A tripped breaker is usually noticeable as it will be between the “On” and “Off” position. If you do not have breakers, but instead see screw in fuses, give us a call, it’s time for an upgrade.
Electrician Terminology:
GFCI stands for Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter and they come in several forms. Most common, is the GFCI outlet, then the GFCI breaker and finally the faceless GFCI. You will see GFCI outlets mostly in Kitchens, Bathrooms, Garages, and Outdoors. GFCI outlets come with two buttons – Test and Reset. To test that the GFCI is working correctly, unplug anything that might be plugged into the outlet, then press the Test button. At this point, you should hear a click or see an indicator light come on or go off (if equipped). Next, press the Reset button, again you should hear a click or see an indicator light (if equipped). Plug something into the outlet and test. Tip – A ground fault outlet MUST have power flowing to it to reset!
Terms we use for measurements of power derived from Ohm’s Law. Most common is using volts and watts to determine the amp load on a circuit or appliance.
The wire that runs from the electrical panel to a single location or the first device on a circuit
The amount of light
A circuit is a group of items connected to a breaker (i.e lights and outlets in a bedroom or several bedrooms). A dedicated circuit is a single item on a breaker (i.e a furnace, dishwasher, etc.).
