The electrical panel is the brains of your electrical system, and like everything else in life, it gets worn out over time. Similar to your furnace and hot water tank, the electrical panel has a life expectancy and should be inspected on an annual basis. An annual inspection will help you catch any electrical hazards in your panel before they get too serious.

Your electrical panel and breakers should be replaced every 20 years because over time electrical breakers weaken, and they may not trip at their designed amperage. They may not trip at all. This will cause major damage to the electrical wires throughout your house, as they are designed to take only a certain amount of amperage. Faulty breakers are a major electrical hazard.

The main bus bar on your panel gets corroded over time, which results in additional resistance in your electrical system. Higher resistance means it takes more electricity to get the job done, which costs you more money.

A new panel will help keep you safe and up to date on your electrical needs. It can also allow for more circuits to be added in the future. For more information or to book your free quotation, please contact G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282.

GFCI stands for “Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter’’. Their job is to open up the circuit if there is a fault in it. It works by seeing the electrical current going out and coming back. If the current does not match in and out within milliamps, the outlet trips open. In some circuits, you will have one GFCI outlet that protects multiple outlets on that same circuit. This is the case with most bathroom and outside plugs. There is also a GFCI breaker that will protect the entire circuit, or a dead front GFCI at the panel.

GFCI manufacturers recommend you should test your GFCI devices every month. GFCI devices are a safety device, and we need to know they will do their job when required. The outlet should trip around 6 milliamps, if it does not, it should be replaced immediately. There are a couple of ways to test your GFCI outlets, from a basic plug-in tool to a more advanced tool that will tell us exactly what amperage it tripped at.

Having a qualified electrician test your GFCI devices on an annual basis will help you get longevity out of your devices and help catch any issues before they arrive. For more information or to book your free quotation, please contact G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282.

Smoke detectors are one of the biggest safety devices in your home. The sooner you know about the danger, the sooner you can react to it. Having fully functioning, properly installed detectors are crucial to an early warning system.

Over the years, both smoke/carbon monoxide (CO) detectors and straight CO detectors have been manufactured. Where it’s possible, you should have hard-wired, interconnected smoke detectors with battery backup installed. The new building code states that you need to have a smoke detector installed in every bedroom, as well as a smoke/CO detector in the common area on every level of your house within five meters of any bedroom where applicable.

Smoke and CO detectors should have an expiration date on them, if they don’t, it is time to replace them. Smoke and CO detectors have a ten-year shelf life because the manufacturer cannot guarantee that your device will function properly after ten years. It is recommended that you have them tested annually by a qualified electrician. Annual inspections ensure that smoke & CO detectors are functioning properly and will give you peace of mind. Batteries should also be replaced at the time of testing. For more information or to book your inspection, please contact G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282.

Aluminum wire was used from the mid-60s to–70s. It was a cheap alternative to copper wire. Aluminum is a very good conductor of electricity but within ten years, they found the aluminum had some unsafe properties to it. There are four major issues with aluminum wire: Creep, Thermal Expansion, Oxidation, and Galvanic Corrosion.

Creep happens when you put aluminum under pressure, like the terminal screw on the plug, it will slowly creep away. That is because aluminum is a soft metal. Being a soft metal, it expands when heated (caused by electricity flowing through the wire). When you put the wire under pressure and plug something in, it loses some of its connection to the plug causing a hot spot, this is called Thermal Expansion.

The aluminum wire starts to oxidize as soon as the wire is exposed to air. Oxidation is not conductive, therefore adding resistance to the wire. Higher resistance means it takes more electricity to turn on whatever device you are trying to use. Lastly, Galvanic Corrosion occurs when aluminum is in contact with a dissimilar metal, like the zinc on an outlet, and an electrical current is applied the aluminum will start to corrode.

Because of these factors, aluminum wire was deemed an unsatisfactory replacement for copper wire and was no longer manufactured. Aluminum wiring can be remedied. For more information or to book your free quotation, please contact G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282.

Your home is one of the biggest investments you will make in your lifetime. Therefore, you want to take careful consideration when doing electrical work on it. Your first step should be to develop a plan/layout for what you want. Always remember, it’s easy to add stuff at the beginning of the project, and not the end.

The next step is a crucial one. Picking the right contractor. You can either find a general contractor, who has their trades they deal with, or you can handpick each individual trade group. Whichever one you chose, you want to make sure that they are fully licensed, insured, and qualified. You need to remember that if anything happens and the contractor is not insured, you can be on the hook.

Once the contractors are chosen, you will want to meet with your electrician and go over your plans. The first thing they should check for is if you will have enough room in your existing panel to handle the additional circuits you want to add. After that, they will help you fine tweak your plans to make it exactly what you want and up to the current electrical code. Make sure your electrician is putting in good quality material/devices for you. You do not want things failing within a year or two.

The final step is to make sure you are 100% satisfied when the project is complete. For more information or to book your free quotation, please contact G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282.

Christmas lights can be a pain in the butt. They get all tangled up in storage and you need to run extension cords. Climbing up a ladder can be tricky at times, especially if there is any snow and ice on the ground. Then you get to take them down and do it all again next year. We can change that.

At G.M. Mechanical, we now provide a permanent solution. We can install a year-round event lighting system. The light system is attached directly to your existing soffit. We colour match the track to match your soffit, and once they’re up, they stay up.

The lights are LED, rated to be outdoors, and can be almost any colour you want. And they don’t have to be used as just Christmas lights. With the wide range of options, you can have them flashing red and white to celebrate Canada day or have them straight green to enjoy your St. Patrick day celebration. You can do all of this from the comfort of your home. The lights are controlled by an app on your phone. In the app, you can change colours, patterns and set on and off timers. You can even use them as additional exterior lighting as they have a “pot light” effect option.

Depending on the lights you pick, standard or premium, they have a 10-20yr life expectancy with a 1-3yr warranty. For more information or to book your free quotation, please contact G.M. Mechanical at 403-652-1282.

Short circuits are serious electrical accidents that can cause significant damage to your home. Short circuits happen when a low-resistant path receives a high-volume electrical current, which it's not designed to carry. This process can result in electrical shocks, appliance damage and, worst-case scenario - a fire. There are several ways to avoid short circuits from happening in your home, such as:

• Inspecting outlets before use: Loose box connections, faulty wiring, and outdated outlets are some of the most common causes of short circuits. Some warning signs are burn marks, buzzing sounds and sparks.

• Inspecting appliances before use: Faulty wiring or circuitry in your appliances can also cause short circuits. Some signs to look out for are exposed circuitry, damaged wires, broken casing, and cracks.

• Carrying out circuit breaker maintenance: We recommend regularly inspecting your circuit breakers for loose fittings, cracks and damages. You can wipe any spots on the body of the breaker with a dry cloth.

• Scheduling regular inspections: It is best to schedule a complete electrical system inspection with us once a year. We will detect the early signs of trouble and carry out any repairs if needed.

• Minimizing usage during a storm: Lighting strike from a storm is one of the most dangerous ways for a short circuit to occur. You should limit your electrical use to only the necessities in extreme weather.

A whole-home surge protection device (SPD) will join your home's electrical panel. It functions like a filter by letting in safe electrical current while preventing dangerously high voltage from reaching your electrical system. SPDs can prevent dangerous house fires and appliance damage by blocking electrical surges. There are several reasons to invest in one, such as:

• Peace of mind: Firstly, and most importantly, it is essential to consider that a power surge can cause damage worth thousands of dollars. Installing an SPD will prevent this damage and give you peace of mind.

• Equipment protection: If you receive an electrical surge from a lightning strike or damaged wiring, an SPD will react instantly and prevent it from affecting your electronic equipment. Some common appliances that receive protection are refrigerators, televisions, desktop computers, washers/dryers and more.

• Electrical system protection: An SPD does more than protecting your home's appliances. By stopping electrical surges in their tracks, it prevents damage to your circuits, sockets and wiring.

Please speak to our team if you'd like to learn more about whether an SPD is suitable for your home.