Why You Need a Generator for Your Home

Imagine yourself in this situation: A storm has struck the East Coast, and although every year you hear reports of blackouts and areas without power from around the country, you wouldn’t think it would be a concern here in North Carolina. But when this quickly-moving storm breaks power lines across the state, you and your family are left without power. How do you keep warm, maintain communication and cook food? If you own a generator, chances are you’ve thought of this very scenario, and that you already have a plan to keep your household safe.

This past year our country has seen increasingly powerful storms strike at unexpected times, and the most important word is always “preparation.” However, as the cost of being unprepared rises, so does the usefulness of a standby generator. According to a report released in 2013 from NASA’s Earth Observatory, future storms are likely to be less frequent in number but a lot more powerful. This means that generators will become even more important when these mega-storms threaten disaster.

A common misconception surrounding generators, though, is that you really only need them in the winter months. While the winter season can certainly take a toll on the energy grid, it’s just as important to be prepared in every other season. In fact, many readers may remember the largest electrical blackout in US history that occurred just twelve years ago on August 14th, 2003. The widespread outage left nearly 55 million people in the Northeast without power. It was found that the outage was caused by a software problem, demonstrating how a crisis can arise even without natural elements.

If you decide to purchase a generator or are interested in learning more, the best thing you can do is to research what kind of generator might best suit your needs. You can check out more information on residential generator installation from our website, or call us at 1-888-969-BECO to have an expert walk you through your options. The world may be unpredictable, but you can take comfort in having a plan. Investing in a generator is investing in protection for the future.

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A More Attractive and Cost-Friendly Home Lighting Plan

One of the best accents of any home is the lighting. Inside, it highlights the walls, brings life to dark corners and prevents countless midnight toe-stubbing accidents every year. Outside, it shows off your home's best features and gives light where you need it most (such as the walkways and back doors). Proper lighting, however, can sometimes cost more than you would like. With a subtle touch and a smart plan, you can use your home lighting to its maximum in both looks and efficiency and save money along the way. To help you get started, we've put together our top four home lighting efficiency tips.

1. Inside, we recommend you replace at least five of your standard light bulbs with CFL, Energy Star-certified bulbs instead. Not only are they roughly five times more energy efficient, they can often last up to ten times longer.
2. Outside, you should consider installing light timers and motion activated sensors. It's too much hassle to plug outdoor lights in and out every night and morning, but it's too much money to keep them on all the time. A simple timer or motion sensitive device can ensure your lights are on when they need to be and off when they don't.
3. Decorative lighting can be tricky to get just right, but consider your approach. Lighting designer Randall Whitehead says, "Think of decorative lighting as architectural jewelry. It can dress up or dress down the look." Find a look that compliments the room but isn't overbearing.
4. Lastly, you can ensure your home lighting is extra efficient by installing dimmers. Not only will dimmers let you set the mood, they also offer a great degree of control over how much electricity certain lights are using.

There is certainly more to a smart home lighting plan than these four tips, but it's a good place to start. Whether you're a first time or longtime homeowner, you can always contact us for more tips, advice and guidance with your home lighting plan.

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The Importance Of An Annual Electrical Inspection

Few things are more worth your time than making sure your home is safe and secure. It seems like every year, electrical equipment fails at the worst this-can’t-be-happening-now time. Whether this has happened to you or not, call a Beco electrician for help any day or night. It will save you more money, and gray hairs, to do an annual electrical maintenance 20+ point safety check.

An annual checkup on your home’s electrical system can be just as beneficial as an annual physical or car tune-up, except you don’t even have to leave the house. A Beco electrician will check each system to ensure it’s operating at optimal levels. Not only can this kind of service save you money down the road, it can give you peace of mind and the knowledge that the wiring behind the scenes isn’t causing you any trouble. Here’s a list of three easy things you can look for today that might indicate something is up.

1. Circuit Breakers: Circuit breakers can trip when they’re overloaded, old, corroded, or otherwise. Using a working appliance, check each outlet in and outside of your house to make sure they’re functioning properly.
2. Light Switches: Along the same lines, take a minute to check each light switch. If you notice unexpected flickering, or a switch doesn’t work at all, take note. This could be due to faulty wiring, which can be hazardous if left unchecked.
3. Light Fixtures: Turn off the lights, reach up and feel the area around each light fixture in your home. If it feels warm, it could be under-insulated, or it’s possible the bulb is exceeding maximum wattage. If surrounding area is warm to the touch, this can run the risk of starting an electrical fire and causing serious damage.

An annual electrical maintenance check is a proactive way to keep your house’s energy and safety in order. A single sparking wire has the potential to be a much bigger problem, but it’s hard to fix what you don’t know about. Contact us to schedule an annual electrical 20+ point safety check today.

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Super-Cold Winter Predicted for Eastern U.S. Means More Electrical Outages

The Old Farmers Almanac, the New Hampshire based chronicler of climate, planting information, celestial calendars, folksy advice, and funnies, has predicted a colder than average winter for the Eastern two thirds of the nation in 2014. Using over a hundred year old formula that includes the position of sunspots and other meteorological data, the editors at the almanac have had a notorious success rate of nearly 80% over its lifetime. The organization also predicts that while Florida will have a wetter than average winter, the Southeast will see less rain. While the prediction of a colder winter may cause panic in some peoples minds, the change in average temperature will only be about 2 to 5 degrees.

The projected frigid winter will undoubtedly mean more strain on the nations electrical grid. Even a slight decrease in temperature can mean the difference between rain and freezing rain on power lines and where they terminate into residences. More power outages are expected as a result. One of the most often damaged components electricity delivery to a home is at the weatherhead, which is the point where a power line attaches to a home. The service line then leads from the weatherhead down a conduit to the meter base. When power lines go down, they can often pull down the weatherhead to the home. Contrary to popular belief, repairing a damaged weatherhead, conduit, or meter base is the responsibility of the homeowner, not the power company. An experienced electrical contractor should be contacted in the event that any of these components are damaged.

With more severe winter weather expected to put greater stress on the electrical power grid this winter, many homeowners are considering a backup home generator to keep critical electrical systems, such as heating or kitchen appliances, running in the event of an outage. Often running on natural gas instead of backup batteries, these systems provide a constant supply of electricity to the home over longer periods of time. Gas powered generators that can be purchased at any home improvement store do not generally provide as much electrical power as larger, permanent systems, and also require constant refilling of fuel to maintain constant power supply. More permanent, natural gas powered systems provide uninterrupted power supply for weeks, but typically require the training and knowledge of an experienced electrician to safely install at a home.

Beco, Incorporated is a preferred Generac™ generator dealer, providing recommendations on various sizes of permanent generators for residences or businesses, with expert installation and maintenance.

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Energy Efficiency - State Standards Raise the Bar

In an article featured in June’s edition of Electrical Contractor magazine, Rick Laezman explains that despite all the current hype about alternative-energy practices gives the movement all the momentum it needs, there is still a long way to go. Rick points out that in reality, the movement is a long way from self-sufficiency, so government incentives, whether positive or negative, is still necessary.

North Carolina electrical policy is a good example. Incentives created by the state attracted huge energy users like Google and Apple to set up large solar farms within the state to fuel their server farms and customer service centers. These policy moves brought many jobs to the state, while also making North Carolina 4th in the nation for installed solar capacity in 2013 (see previous post – North Carolina Ranks in Top Ten for Solar Power Generation). As one of the very few installers of solar power systems in High Point, North Carolina, Beco understands the promise of this technology. Other states, however, make the argument that alternative energy caused a burden on the electrical grid. Oklahoma just passed a law that forces homeowners to pay a fee for the right to remain connected to the local power grid, although most of those homes are actually contributing solar generated power back to the system.

The Electrical Contractor Magazine article uses an April report released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy to point out that 26 states who adopted standards that encourage utilities in a variety of programs saved enough electricity to power 2 million home for an entire year. The ACEEE report added that if the 26 states continue these standards, savings will be equivalent to 6.2 percent overall electricity sales in the US in 2020.

No matter what alternative energy policy does for the overall economy, energy efficient practices save businesses and homeowners money. The professionals at Beco Electrical can make recommendations on products and practices to make your home or business more energy-efficient, as well as provide an estimate for a solar power generation system.

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Growing Trend: Safety Lighting

An effective lighting system cannot only provide a feeling of safety; it can also deter possible wrongdoers from your residence or place of business. While any light is nice for security, it is important to have a well-planned, well-designed system of lights for the best possible result.

However, there is a difference between lighting for safety and lighting for security. When lighting for safety, it is key to have enough lighting, to prevent visitors and workers from tripping on curbs or bumping into objects. Where as lighting for security, lights should provide facial recognition as well as determining intent of a person from over 30 feet away. In the application of security lighting, vertical foot-candles carry much more importance than horizontal foot-candles.

Technology is growing in security lighting, the electronic components, controls, dimming capabilities, and advanced LEDs are all new factors to provide better security and safety in your lighting system. LED advancements make more lumens and less maintenance, while increasing uniformity to provide better visual perception. LEDs have low energy consumption, which help save the user money while providing stronger lighting.

As new policies and utility rebates become available, they help push the security lighting market forward. Many communities are utilizing the newest developments in the industry to provide their residents with safer way of living. Since cities in the Piedmont Triad are 24/7 areas, security lighting is of high importance.

Beco Electrical Contractors provides commercial and residential security and safety lighting to its customers in the Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, and Burlington area. With over five decades or experience, Beco is knowledgeable of all of the latest trends and newest advances in the lighting industry. If you want to install lighting to keep your place of business or residency safe, remember . . .

It’s Best to Call Beco!

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Backup Power Needed for Safety in Mission-Critical Facilities

Emergency backup power is key for any facility in the Piedmont Triad to remain operational during a natural disaster. Keeping systems operational such as phone lines, fire sprinklers, air ventilation, and lighting are not only important for typical business operations, but for the health and safety of workers and customers.

Usually when thinking of backup power, one thinks of larger facilities such as power plants, data centers, and hospitals. However, many businesses that do not require backup generators legally are beginning to understand their value, not only for convenience, but for the safety of their customers an inventory as well.

The trend of backup power is surging through the East Coast, including central North Carolina. Many states are pushing legislation that would require gas stations and convenience stores to have generators. That way, they would still be able to serve gasoline in case of a natural disaster. Florida has already passed laws that require gas stations along hurricane evacuation routes to have backup power. While most of these examples are providing essentials, many small businesses are starting to understand the importance of being prepared for these types of situations.

When designing an emergency power system, it is key for the electrical contractor to equally prioritize installation and system function. In addition to the main installer, qualified electrical contractors should be a highly involved advisor during the entire build. Trained and knowledgeable on backup power system design, they should also understand the logistics that will make or break any project.

For decades, Beco has been providing backup generator installation for businesses and residences in Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, and Burlington. Be sure to speak with a electrical contractor with generator experience when considering a backup power system for your business or home.

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