Dalton Plumbing, Heating, Cooling, Electric and Fireplaces, Inc. Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Cedar Falls’

What to Consider When Installing Outdoor Lighting

Monday, April 1st, 2019

outdoor-lighting-in-big-yardHave you taken a good look at your landscaping lately? Probably not, since it’s been covered in snow in prior months. But now that it’s melting away, consider this—is your outdoor landscaping and lighting serving the function you want it to? Maybe you’d like more lighting in order to entertain. Or perhaps you’d like to enjoy your patio for meals with the family when the weather gets warm enough.

As springtime begins, this is the perfect time of year to consider installing outdoor lighting. But there are a number of factors to consider with this installation, including ensuring that you hire a professional electrician in Cedar Falls for the job. Once you’ve hired an electrician, here are the factors to consider when installing outdoor lighting.

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Avoid Overloading Your Electrical Panel with Holiday Lights

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Family Celebrating Christmas At Home Viewed From OutsideThe holiday season is upon us. If you’re like many homeowners in the area, you may be decorating your home, inside and out. Quite often, this includes putting holiday lights up and around your home.

One of the most common calls received by our professional electricians in Cedar Falls, IA this time of year is in regards to certain outlets throughout the home not working—this may include your bathroom outlets, garage, or outdoor outlets. And the most common reason for this problem is that outdoor holiday lights have tripped a GFCI outlet or circuit breaker within your home.

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Is Your Home Protected from Power Surges?

Monday, September 17th, 2018

beautiful home with mountain view in backgroundMany, if not most, homeowners assume that power surges come from stormy weather, and that alone. But this is not actually the case. Power surges come from the appliances in your home, and in recent years, as we have become increasingly reliant on electronic devices and high efficiency appliances, we’ve increased our own risk of power surges. And they post a more serious threat than many realize, to appliances, electronics, and homes in general.

You probably think you’re just fine depending on the small, portable surge protectors you can et at any hardware or office supply store (these are referred to as power strips). Hey, you can plug your stereo, television, lighting, and more into it—convenient, right? Well unfortunately, power strips are not enough to provide the level of protection needed for you home. Rather, you need a whole house surge protection system installed by a professional electrician in Cedar Falls, IA.

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It’s Never Too Late for a Generator Installation

Monday, May 14th, 2018

generator being installed by two techniciansTemperatures have only just begun to warm up, but as a diligent homeowners, you’ve probably already begun thinking about your air conditioner—getting it serviced if need be, or upgrading to a new, more efficient system. This is a very important part of summer preparation, but certainly not the only home system you should be thinking about.

Coping with power outages is a very real threat in our area. They may not be frequent, but when long term blackouts do occur, you need to have some way to keep your HVAC system running as well as other important home components. This is where Cedar Falls, IA generator installation comes in.

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Are You Making Any of These Home Security Mistakes?

Monday, April 30th, 2018

exterior of a homeIs your home as safe and secure as possible? Sure, you keep the front door locked, you have a basic security system, and maybe you even have a dog whose bark you hope will scare burglars away quick enough that they discover the dog really just wants to lick them to death.

These are all great first steps (though we really don’t recommend relying on the family dog), however to truly protect your home, it’s vital that you have an effective whole-home security system professionally installed by trained and experienced Cedar Falls, IA electricians. This will give you protection as well as a peace of mind whether you are away from home or your family is soundly sleeping.

In addition to this installation, there are a number of things you can do around the house to limit your risks of being burglarized even more. We’ve shared some of the biggest home security mistakes below, to help provide some guidance on how to do just that.

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When Do You Need Gas Fireplace Repairs?

Monday, December 25th, 2017

Burning natural gas fireplace surround by stoneA gas fireplace is a very effective and efficient way to warm the room you’re in without needing to run your entire whole-home heating system—or it can even supplement that heating system so you don’t have to turn it up as much.

It’s important to remember, however, that if you detect or suspect a problem with your fireplace, then you should call for Cedar Falls, IA gas fireplace repairs right away. But are there any troubleshooting tips you can try on your own? Sure, and we’ll get to that below.

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Will I Really Benefit From a Water Softener?

Monday, December 11th, 2017

water softener systemThese days, most water supplies throughout the country have a significant level of filtration and conditioning they go through before that water gets to your faucets. And if you use ground water from a private well, you very likely have your own water treatment system in place. However, something many homeowners don’t realize is missing from their homes is protection from hard water.

Water softeners are an increasingly popular, and extremely helpful, Cedar Falls, IA water treatment system. Hard water is the result of a high concentration of minerals within the water supply—namely calcium and magnesium. While these minerals are harmless to ingest, they actually do a great deal of damage to your plumbing system over time. Hard water should be addressed before it has the chance to put your pipes out of commission. But are there really that many benefits to having a water softener installed? Keep reading, and then decide for yourself.

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The Surprising Benefits of Ceiling Fans

Monday, June 26th, 2017

ceiling-fans-surprising-benefitsTemperatures may still be relatively mild for now, but with summer officially here, it’s only a matter of time that we begin using our air conditioners on a daily basis. When this happens, it’s only natural that you want to find a way to cool your home as effectively and efficiently as possible, and keep your cooling costs down.

The good news is that you don’t have to try to use your air conditioner less just to save money—there’s no reason for you to sacrifice your comfort just to save a few bucks. You may be surprised by how much one simple electrical addition to your home can help with this. That’s right, we’re talking about a Cedar Falls, IA ceiling fan installation.

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Top HVAC Mistakes that Increase Your Energy Costs

Monday, April 17th, 2017

top-hvac-mistakes-increase-costsAs cooler weather slowly but surely warms up, we’re almost ready to shut off our heating systems and turn to our air conditioners to keep us comfortable instead. With all this HVAC use throughout the year, it’s only natural that you want to find ways to save money—particularly since your HVAC systems account for about half of all your energy costs!

Whether you’d like to put money in a savings account or actually spend it on something enjoyable—like a vacation—every little bit of savings can help. So you may be surprised to find that you could be making mistakes with your HVAC system that are actually costing you.

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Common Plumbing Leaks and How to Detect Them

Monday, February 20th, 2017

Common-Plumbing-LeaksIs your home in need of plumbing repairs? Perhaps it is, but you don’t even realize it. That’s why it’s a good idea to know the signs of a leak so you can detect a potentially disastrous problem like this right away. Fortunately, if you do have an emergency, you can count on our team for superior emergency plumbing services in Cedar Falls, IA. But, we understand that you’d like to avoid a scenario like this altogether!

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