"What you see is what you get" - what about what you don't see?

A few recent situations we've encountered:
==>  The home sale inspection said there were open wire connections in the attic.  Occasionally, we'll go to a house with one or two of these.  This house 18 recessed lights with over 20 open connections in the attic.  Maybe they thought sparks would be cooled as they traveled through the open air!
I guess they didn't understand why the lights have built-in junction boxes.  And if a wire is too short, just patch on another short piece. 
Of course, this means there can be a lot of other issues to be uncovered.

==>  Ugly installations of generators and their hardware.  The contractor won't have to look at it once they leave, so how important is that anyway?

==>  Penny wise, pound foolish.  We've seen some work done that kept the cost down by doing the minimum.  It sometimes takes just a bit more (10%) to get a much better (50%) installation with better value and return on investment.

Work on your home should be done with your needs in mind.  Both for now and for in the future.

Paul

Since Storm Sandy, there's been a lot of talk, and questions about generators.
This link takes you to our Helpful Hints page section about generators:
http://a-1electricco.com/helpfulhints.shtml#Generators
and this link is for a  more general overview:
http://a-1electricco.com/generators.shtml

A significant part of what we do is make sure the job gets done as quickly and smoothly as possible.
There can be issues with the permit process and gas supply and also questions about the aesthetics.
We've seen other contractor installations sit for months because the process and work were not handled well.
We've even seen their customers go through a utility power outage and yet they could only look at the their generator sitting quietly doing nothing since the job was waiting and waiting to be completed.
And don't get us started on what some contractors consider 'acceptable' looks.

Our goal is to make the installation go smoothly and be stress-free for everyone. 

What's Next with thermostats.

Recently, we've had few questions about the high-tech 'Nest' thermostat, and what we thought about it.
For now, it seems too specialized a purpose/function to be worth the time and learning curve to use it. It's interesting and innovative, but does it make life easier?
For ease of use and maintenance, the easiest thing is to use standard set-back thermostats that everyone understands.

A battery of ideas

We come up with a lot of ideas, but it's important to recognize good ideas from others.

Thanks to a customer idea, we now offer 10-year lithium batteries for the smoke detectors we install.

You're supposed to replaced all smoke detectors every10 years (30% are bad by then).  Now you can avoid the low battery beeping you get when you forget to replace the battery ever year.  
And especially in high ceilings, this simple idea makes life a little easier, a little safer.

More info about smoke detectors:  http://a-1electricco.com/helpfulhints.shtml#SmokeDetector

Good mistakes

As I drove along, the mailbox numbers jumped a bit.  I was close and even though the mailbox wasn't numbered, the house had work vehicles in the driveway.  I pulled in and parked. 
When  I entered the open front door, the woman asked if I was the a/c repairman.  
"No", I replied, "I'm looking for #64".
"That's the next house" she said.
Of course I had to ask, "Before I go, what's wrong with the a/c.?"..........
30 minutes later, with the a/c working, I left and went next door to like I was supposed to.
Of course, I had to explain why I was late.

They'd been waiting for days to get it fixed, and a fortunate mistake on my part resulted in it being handled.

When 'No' is the right answer to give a customer

We recently had a customer who wanted an attic/roof fan to help keep her top floor cooler (they work great!).
But her house would not have benefited from the fan due to house's layout.  So, we suggested instead to have a good Vornado-brand fan, and a window air conditioner.
She really wanted an attic/roof fan and asked about different ways to do it.  And we felt bad saying 'no' because we knew she was disappointed.
Hopefully, after she has her fan and a/c unit, she'll appreciate that she's saved money and got what she really needed.

A-1 Newsletter, this month: The Savings Issue

Our latest newsletter is out - "The Savings Issue". Tips on how to automatically save every month on your utility bills, as well as do-it-yourself service help, and saving your own time when waiting for a service call. Click here to read  (it's a link on our web site.) And you can sign up with your email address by clicking here.