•  What are electrical surges?

Surges and transients are momentary spikes in electrical voltage. These surges or transients can enter a home through the incoming electrical line, telephone line, and even the cable TV or internet line.Once in place and connected to your load center, telephone service or cable service, surge protectors redirect surges to ground and dissipate the energy. The surge protection selected must be UL rated on response time (where lower clamping voltage is better) and surge rating (where the greater the surge current rating, the longer the surge protector will last).

•  What Causes A Power Loss?

A power loss may be caused by a winter storm, an energy shortage, a summer brownout, a downed tree falling on a power line - any unforeseen event that cuts off the power to your electrical system. You can install a backup power system, consisting of a generator connected to a generator panel. Mr. Electric locations carry Generac Emergency Home Generators. The first step in purchasing a generator is to identify the things you absolutely cannot live without during a power outage. Usually high on the list will be the refrigerator and the freezer, a well pump, the furnace fan if you have natural gas or oil heat, or maybe some lighting

•  What is an arc fault?

An arc fault is an unintentional electrical discharge - a problem that even the most saftey-conscious homeowner can't always avoid. That's because arc faults are usually caused by undetected problems: Damaged extension cords. Improperly installed wall receptacles, electrical cable pierced by picture-hanging nails. An arc fault may ignite combustible materials and cause a fire - a threat to any home and its occupants. Furnaces in attics are a common problem. You can't prevent arc faults from occuring. However, there is a device that can stop them--by interupting the electrical current before any damage is done. It's called the General Electric Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI), and it electronically detects any arc fault and stops the flow of electrcity in a fraction of a second. No electricity, no heat, no fire. And, by tripping on a specific circuit, the GE AFCI helps you identify the source of the problem right at the load center. Fuses and circuit breakers cannot detect low-level arcs. Only AFCIs are specifically designed for that purpose.