loading

Month: January 2014

The Power Outage Survival Guide: Generators are your friends!

24Jan
by developer  
0

without a standby generator a power outage can be a pain

First rule to surviving a power outage is to have a standby generator. I hate to state the obvious but a standby generator will save you time and money. It provides power to your home, prevents you from having to toss things out, losing power and more! Whether you invest in a standby generator or a portable generator it’s always best to have something to help survive a power outage. If not then follow these few tips for a chance to survive the power outage.

  1. When in doubt, toss it out
    • The power is out. An hour goes by, a second hour goes by, before you know it – you’re nearing hour four. Well if this is the case then it’s time for you to toss it out! Trust us when we say, when in doubt – toss it out. You don’t want to keep food around that’s not edible. If it’s perishable like meat, fish eggs, toss it! There’s always more of where it came from. Seriously.
  2. Non-perishable goods are your friends
    • Remember how we told you to toss all your perishables, well we weren’t concerned about your belly growling because one of the best ways to survive a power outage is to make sure your home has plenty of non perishable food items like peanut butter and jelly, canned vegetables, etc. This way, if the power outage goes longer than intended, you will have food to get you by. You might want to consider prepping the way you would for an earthquake or something.
  3. 3. Flip off all light switches, except for one
    • How else will you know when the power comes back on 😉 This is a great to ensure that you’re not wasting your power once it does come back online, as well as to ensure that once power is restored back into your home you know that it’s back on. Flip one on, know when it’s back 😉
  4. Know your manual stuff.
    • You never know when or where you might get stuck. Whether it’s in your garage or in an elevator it’s a good idea to have a basic understanding of how to utilize manual labor so that you can get out of certain situations. If you live in an apartment or some place with an elevator – it’s always best to know your emergency exits.
  5. Flashlights, not candles.
    • We know it’s romantic to have your candles but really, put them away. Make sure you have multiple flashlights around your house in case of a power outage. Candles are a great source of light, as an emergency, however they are a lot more hazardous if they catch on fire. It’s better to be prepared with flashlights then to use candles, if it can be helped.
  6. Batteries, batteries and more batteries.
    • Do you have extra batteries? Grab some more! You can never have too many batteries. Batteries are an excellent resource to make sure that battery ran devices, or devices with battery back ups are able to run without any hiccups.
  7. Do your power strips and outlets have surge protectors? If not, you should get them.
    • Easy to forget, but easy to install! Power surges can help protect your stuff when the power goes out. Don’t let your circuits or technology get burned when the power goes out. Better safe than sorry!
  8. Buy a generator, seriously.
    • The ultimate way to protect yourself during a power outage or black out is by having a generator. With the right standby generator you’ll never have to worry about a blackout again. With a portable generator you will always have backup power when the going gets tough.

Interested to know more about emergency portable and standby generators? Give us a call at (530) 345-5003! – we’d love to help you out.

Norcal Electric & Pump Work is Chico, Paradise, Oroville/Yankee Hill and Northern California’s one-stop-shop for all your Electrical and custom construction project needs. From Generator sales and repairs to HVAC sales and repairs – we’re here for you every step of the way.  We pride ourselves on going above and beyond to provide our customers with practical solutions for their Electrical needs. Please give us a call today at one of the following numbers and we’d be more than happy to take care of whatever you need from generators, heating and air, electrical and lighting, and more! 

  • Chico:                    (530) 345-5003
  • Paradise:             (530) 872-3922
  • Oroville/Yankee Hill        (530) 538-9350

Things to keep in mind when it’s time to install your residential generator in Chico and surrounding areas

10Jan
by developer  
0

Things to keep in mind when it’s time to install your residential generator in Chico and surrounding areas

As a home owner, it’s in your best interest to recognize the importance of having a standby generator. If for whatever reason, you’re still contemplating, here are 5 fun facts about permanent generators that you may or may not know.

Standby generators provide a peace of mind, they are tied into your buildings electrical system and more than anything else they give you power when you have none.  Now that you’ve realized the importance of having a standby generator the time now comes to figure out where the best place to install your generator is. Here are few tips to figure out where the best place to install your generator is.

  1. Electrical distance: Since standby generators require being connected to your homes electrical system it makes sense that your portable generator should be connected somewhat close to your home so that you cut down on unnecessary electrical wiring. Also, the further away the generator is from your home the more chances there are for the voltage to drop. If having your generator next to your home is not an option, there are ways to maintain the voltage but requires different wiring – it all essentially depends on the carrying capacity of electrical wires. 
  2. Physical Distance: Aside from the fact that being close to the home helps with wiring and keeping things neat there are other factors to consider with placement of a generator.  Depending on your sensitivity and the type of generator you purchase – it’s important to keep in mind that generators make noise. Higher quality generators like our Kohler units, are pretty quiet, they run about the same noise level as your HVAC unit. There are other brands, lower quality ones, that can potentially be as loud as a lawnmower.  Keeping the unit type in mind as well as your own sensitivity to noise is important to remember. Personally, we wouldn’t install a generator right next to a bedroom, or an area in which people spend a lot of time gathering – installing it near the garage however, might be a more realistic location.
  3. Fire Production Codes:  Your contractor should be aware of these facts, but if for some reason you attempt to install your standby generator yourself (not recommended) please remember fire safety codes which requires your generator at least 5 feet away from openings in walls such as doors and windows and at least 5 feet away from combustible walls (aka any wall) so as a general rule it’s probably better to install your standby generator at least 5 feet away from your house. Better safe than sorry right?
  4. Air flow: Wherever you end up installing your standby generator  it’s important to remember that like a lot of equipment, generators produce a lot of heat so you want to make sure there’s enough room around the generator to allow for airflow. Due to airflow issues and heat, remember that you do not want to locate your generator someplace that could cause harm for instance inside your garage, a small shed, or any other small confined spaces. A lot of people intuitively want to decorate their generator by planting bushes that hide it; we don’t recommend that and again remind you to consider installing your generator at least 5 feet away from most items.

These are just a few of our suggestions on where you might want to install a generator, really they are more suggestions of things to keep in mind when trying to figure out the best spot around your home or property to install a generator. We always recommend utilizing a professional for standby generators, as they do require electrical work. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call and ask.

 Norcal Electric & Pump Work is Chico, Paradise, Oroville/Yankee Hill and Northern California’s one-stop-shop for all your Electrical and custom construction project needs. From Generator sales and repairs to HVAC sales and repairs – we’re here for you every step of the way.  We pride ourselves on going above and beyond to provide our customers with practical solutions for their Electrical needs. Please give us a call today at one of the following numbers and we’d be more than happy to take care of whatever you need from generators, heating and air, electrical and lighting, and more!

  • Chico: (530) 345-5003
  • Paradise: (530) 872-3922
  • Oroville/Yankee Hill (530) 538-9350

Categories

Service Regions