Electrical Service

BOO! Energy Vampires & Phantom Loads
Halloween is the time of year to remind you that Energy Vampires and Phantom Loads lurk throughout your home and business year round! You can save money and conserve energy by taking measures to reduce these areas that suck valuable resources.

What Are They?
Energy vampires are appliances or other devices that draw energy, aka phantom loads, when they are plugged in but not in use. This includes electronics that require standby power to run such as clocks, coffeemakers and cable/satellite units. Alone, each device doesn’t cost that much but consider the cumulative effect of several devices drawing phantom loads over the course of a year. This can add up to significant cash vanishing from your bank account!

Unplug!
While it’s not realistic to unplug devices that feature clocks and timers due to the necessity of resetting lost data as a result of power loss, you can easily unplug laptop, tablet, cell phone, camera and power tool chargers when not in direct use.

Use Advanced Power Strips
An Advanced Power Strip manages vampire load for you so that when you turn off devices such as your TV, your entire home theater system including DVD player and game console, turn off as well. Use an Advanced Power Strip for any cluster of electronics you want to control with the flip of a single switch or the click of a remote control.

Choose ENERGY STAR® Products and Save!
ENERGY STAR® qualified electronics offer the same features and technology as non-qualified products, but they use less energy.

Green Computing
Another step you can take is to activate the power management feature available via your computer’s operating system. This will allow you to reduce energy usage and costs by putting the computer into a low-power “sleep” mode when you aren’t using it. A simple touch of the mouse or keyboard will “wake” the computer up in seconds.

You can also set your system to “hibernate” which puts your open documents and programs on your hard disk and then turns off the computer. Hibernation uses less power than sleep (and protects unsaved files from any power interruptions), but takes longer to wake up.

Enabling power management features on your computer could save you anywhere from 100 to 600 kWh per year depending on your computer usage. These savings are equivalent to anywhere from $9 to $54 per year at 9 cents per kWh.

Easy, step-by-step instructions to activate power management on your computers are available via Energy Star here.

Realistic Savings
According to the ENERGY STAR® program, the average U.S. household spends $100 per year to power devices in standby mode and chargers that are not in direct use. For those that think this insignificant in terms of your bank account, consider this: on a national basis, standby power accounts for more than 100 billion kilowatt hours of annual U.S. electricity consumption and more than $10 billion in annual energy costs.

Need A Licensed Master Electrician?
Give us a call at (214) 536-5555 when you need an electrician for electrical installations or electrical repairs in your home or business and discover why we have so many positive online reviews! Click on the icons below or visit our website for more information.

Visit our website or call Nisat Electric today at (214) 536-5555!

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NISAT ELECTRIC ON THE INTERNET

Has the city or the electricity provider notified you that your meter base needs to be repaired or upgraded? Nisat Electric can help!

Meter Base
Many people are confused about the meter base and the electrical (service) panel. The meter base is the enclosure that houses your electric meter. Typically mounted on the side of your home or business, it’s a gray metal box that encloses the electric meter in order to keep all the electrical connections and wires inside dry and protect them from the elements.

A meter base consists of a grounded backplate holding mounting lugs for the electric meter. One set of lugs connects to the electric utility mains, the other set connects to wiring in the property. Electricity must pass from the electrical utility main line, through the meter, then through the lines into the property.

Possible Reasons to Repair or Replace Meter Base
You may need to repair or replace your meter base for a number of reasons:

The lugs have loosened and burned up causing wires to be overloaded.
An old and outdated meter base most likely needs to be replaced in order to meet changes in the requirements of the utility company, such as repairs necessary prior to installation of a smart meter. If you live in Collin County, chances are you’ve already received notification from your electricity provider that they will be switching your existing meter to the new smart meter.
Changes in the National Electric Code (NEC) or municipality building code may require replacement of an existing meter base in order to obtain a permit for certain home renovations.
Upgrading your home’s electrical system in order to increase capacity or replacing the electrical panel may require a new meter base.

Typically the utility company (Oncor, TXU, Coserv) is responsible for repair of electric service up to the point of connection in the meter base. The property owner is then responsible for repairs from the meter base into the property.

Smart Meters
A smart meter is an electrical meter that records consumption of electric energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates that information to the utility company at least daily for monitoring and billing purposes. Smart meters enable two way communication between the meter and the central system.

Smart Meter Installation
Some homeowners have been advised by their utility company that their meter base requires repair before the smart meter can be installed. Your meter base wiring is not going to change. Meter base repairs are typically necessary because the meter base lugs have burned out or the hub has rusted.

Meter Base Repairs Required by Utility Company
You should call a licensed electrician to complete the necessary repairs. Electricity to your home will be completely turned off during the repair. Nisat Electric will coordinate the meter base installation with both the city and the electrical provider in order to minimize any downtime and provide you with peace of mind.

What You Need to Do Before Hiring an Electrician
Don’t assume that the person you hire to complete electrical repairs or electrical installations is qualified. Questions to ask any service provider before you hire:

Will all electrical work be performed by a licensed electrician?
Is the licensed electrician on staff or a subcontractor?
What type of license does the electrician maintain? (Journeyman, Master Electrician, Residential Wireman, Maintenance Electrician, Electrical Apprentice, Electrical Contractor, etc.)
Can you provide me with the license number so that I can verify the status of the license?
Can you provide me with a copy of the electrician’s insurance policy?

Nisat Electric will make sure your meter base repair/meter base installation and electrical wiring are current with the latest National Electrical Code. Most importantly, don’t put your property and personal safety at risk! Should you chose to hire someone else, only hire a professional licensed, insured electrician to complete any electrical work on your home.

Nisat Electric Licensure
Nisat Electric is proud to maintain three different categories of electrician licenses in the State of Texas: Electrical Contractor, Master Electrician and Journeyman Electrician. Please, take a few minutes to check out our reviews and licensure in the State of Texas and you will understand why thousands of customers entrust their electrical installation and repairs to Nisat Electric!