Spring 2020 Services

Hey, y’all! Andrew here. I'm wishing you all well during these times of uncertainty and hoping that this time has brought some rest and extra time with family (I've had a little more time to organize my van, spend extra time with my wife around the house, and study new electrical innovations!).

Just wanted to hop on here to talk about some new and existing services we’ve been doing. Here we go!

1. Fireplace Smart Switch System

The first new service I offer is putting your electric fireplace on a smart switching system. This makes it so you can operate your fireplace hands free, both turning the fireplace on (no more getting off the couch) and turning it off (peace of mind). This is a major convenience option. If you’re in another part of the house and forgot to turn your fireplace off, doing so is as simple as a click on your phone! Smart switches, of course, aren't just used for fireplaces. They can be installed for all sorts of lighting systems, garage door systems, etc.

2. Landscape Lighting System

My next service feature is landscape lighting. These systems can include: staircase lighting, tree lighting, pathway lighting, and so much more. If you're spending more time at home, you may have noticed how dark it gets around your home when the sun sets. Landscape lighting can also add a level of security to your home. Maybe you've been spending more time gardening and want to highlight your hard work with some uplights--I can make that happen!

3. Surge Protection

As always, I offer whole-house surge protection as my most recommended precautionary measure. I recommend it to every client I work for, because it can save you both a headache and a lot of money in the long run. Surge protection helps prevent your home from becoming a victim of harmful electrical strikes. As of 2020, having surge protection for your home's electrical system is part of the National Electrical Code for mandatory devices in homes. READ MORE ABOUT SURGE PROTECTION HERE.

If you're interested in any of the above, I'm happy to chat with you on the phone or over text (909-801-4009), over email (info@thegloudemanelectric.com) , or you can simply book a Consultation here on my website (BOOK HERE) for me to come out to your property and discuss things in person. As we are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, I'll be asking that you let me know if you or anyone you've been in contact with has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. I will stay 6' apart whenever possible when speaking in person, am refraining from shaking hands, and can wear a mask while I am at your home--and don't worry, I still have hand sanitizer to help protect you and myself.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!

- Andrew Gloudeman

Electrical Safety & The Danger of Heat

Hi, readers! Last week Andrew was at a job where he found this nasty problem:

The client called Andrew because their lights would be on, and then would stay off for a few days, and then they would come back on. The client was also smelling a burning smell, which as a homeowner is never something that you want to smell!

The cause of the smell and electrical issue was this melted piece of loose wire. Since it didn't have a good connection, the wire was trying to make contact which in turn caused the wire to heat up and melt. If this issue hadn't been resolved, or if for example this wire was somewhere in an attic, or somewhere else where there were flammable objects, the family could have had a house fire on their hands.

This is all to impress the importance of a sound electrical system, and to praise the awareness of this customer! If you think something's "off" about your electrical system, it never hurts to get a quick diagnosis and have Andrew come by to take a look. We also offer a Home Safety Package (read about that in our previous post) where Andrew will take a deep dive into your whole system with specialized equipment that sniffs out potential fire hazards like these.

Home Safety Test Package

Hi, everyone! Today we're talking about a new package Gloudeman Electric offers called the Home

Safety Test Package. This package consists of two tests which use highly sophisticated electrical equipment. These two tests will give us an idea of how safe your home's electrical system is, and what can be modified or replaced to improve the electrical integrity throughout your home.

1. Circuit Analysis: During our circuit analysis, we use a sophisticated plug-in tester that analyzes outlet circuit wiring conditions and alerts Andrew to conditions that are potentially hazardous or detrimental to power quality. It can detect circuit and wiring problems such as poor ground impedance, false grounds, missing ground fault protection, low voltage availability under load, and high ground-to-neutral voltage. This is important preventative maintenance.

2. Ground Rod Test: We use another computer device that induces a voltage on the homeowner's ground rod (rod that is outside your home, which diverts stray voltage from harming your system, into the ground) and reads the resistance to ground. What we are looking for is a low-resistance path to ground, so that the voltage has a safe path back to the transformer. Having a low-resistance path to ground prevents shocking hazard, and lessens harm from surge (especially when paired with a surge protection unit) and lightning strikes. The ground rod is one of the most important parts of your home's electrical system.

Here's an example of a burning receptacle that can be detected through our Home Safety Test.

Contact us today for a quote on our Home Safety Test package at info@thegloudemanelectric.com