Category: Electrical Contracting

Pole Light Project!

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Kelsey Hill

We have had a very busy summer this year! Along with all of our normal work load, we had a large project of installing 39 street pole lights! You can view the trailer for this project on our website at                 gtechnology-pa.com

What was included in this project?  Here is the rundown and a little something to wet your appetite for seeing our trailer…

With safety being our top priority, before we were able to begin, we made sure to acquire proper permits. We also put up safety signs and cones to ensure this job was completed without incident.

Now for the real fun…

*To start with, we had to pull up and demo all of the surrounding sidewalk area with special equipment and dispose of the old macadam/asphalt.

*The existing light poles needed to be demoed and removed from the job site.

*Following this, we had to trench holes for all of the poles to be placed into.

*Within each hole, we needed to build wood frames in which to place Sono Tubes and Rebar Cages. These are the foundation and the means of stability for the poles. Wires needed to be pulled through and prepared before the concrete could be poured.

*Once the concrete was poured, the work area was neatly cleaned.

*As soon as the concrete dried and was ready, we prepared and installed the poles, and terminated/ connected the  wire. There was a lot of smaller details involved as well, but these were the basics.

Check out some pictures of our crew in the final stages of this project…..             

           

     and Voila’! Let there be light! 🙂

Are your outlets warm?

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Kelsey Hill

Do you have a warm outlet? Are you wondering if you should be concerned? Here are some ways to diagnose your warm outlet.

If you have a warm outlet, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have pending electrical failure or that it is a fire hazard. However; if it is one of these things, its good to be prepared.

1.)  Do you have a charger or electronic device plugged in? These can sometimes cause the outlet to feel warm. Try unplugging it and wait a few hours to see if that helps the outlet to cool down.

2.) If you have lose wiring inside your outlet or switch, it normally will generate extra heat. You will need an electrician if this is the case and it will need to be corrected immediately!

3.) Do you have too many things plugged into the same outlet? Overloading it with a power strip or outlet multiplier may be convenient but be careful not to overload the outlet. Unplug a few things from the strip and disperse them to other plugs around the room.

4.) Sometimes in older homes, the size of the fuse or breaker isn’t up to code and therefore is not the correct size. It might be time to upgrade your electrical wiring.

5.)  If there are visible parts of the switch or plug broken, the entire thing needs to be replaced immediately.

6.) There may be too much demand on your circuits, depending on how the system was wired. You may have too much current flowing into the same switch or outlet. Some circuits may need to be rewired so that the current is equally distributed. If this is the case, you need an electrician.

I know all you ‘DIY’ people out there love to save money and do it yourself but when it comes to electrical work, this is not a project to attempt on your own. The results of messing with electric when your not licensed and you don’t know what you are doing, could be catastrophic. From some of our previous posts, you have seen the devastation that ark flash can leave in its wake. Not to mention electrocution, burns, and electrical shock.

Ultimately, hiring an electrician saves you money. Faulty electrical work can cause fires resulting in a lot more property damage than you had to begin with. Not to mention fry circuits, ruin fixtures, and damaged appliances.

Some may even try to argue that if something goes wrong that insurance will cover it, however; some insurance companies wont cover it if the work was not done by a licensed electrician. Take my word for it when i say it is not worth it. So, do you need electrical work done? Call G Technology today.

How to save money section 1

Posted on May 18, 2017 by Kelsey Hill

Hey everyone!

So i don’t know about you but i can’t think of anyone i know that doesn’t like saving money. I want to cry a little every time i get my electric bill each month. So what are some things that we can do to get a little more money in our pockets and less on that pesky electric bill statement.

1.) Stop the dishwasher when it gets to the drying cycle. Letting your dishes dry naturally will save the extra energy of the machine doing it.

2.) Free the cooling passages in your fridge and freezer. When the vent is blocked, your fridge needs to work even harder to keep everything cool.

3.) Unplug battery chargers. Even if your not using your charger at the moment, just having it in the wall is using electric. Unplug it when its not in use.

4.) Use your front door instead of your garage door. Every time you come in and out of your house through the garage, it uses power. Why not use your front door instead and save a little energy?

5.) Clean fridge coils. Keeping the coils clean will help the fridge to use less electricity when keeping your food cold.

6.) Use table lamps. When your only in a small space in your house use table lamps. Its much more efficient than having a larger overhead light on all the time.

7.) Check your dryer before its finished. Your dryer could be set at a certain time frame but whose to say that your clothes wont be finished drying before that?

8.) Do consecutive loads of laundry. Your dryer will already be warmed up if you do your second load immediately after the first one finishes. That way your dryer wont have to use the energy to reheat itself up.

9.) Turn your computer off. Its a little thing to not really think about but when your not using your computer, its just sitting there running up your energy usage.

10.) Separate your fridge and your stove. Having your fridge and your stove next to each other, makes your fridge work overtime to keep cool next to the heat.

 

I Hope this article helps saves you money!

Arc Flash Training Class!!

Posted on April 20, 2017 by Kelsey Hill

Hey Folks! We now do training classes! We just got done doing a Arc Flash awareness Class. Check out some pictures of a few of our crew members teaching what they know best!

Welcome to the stage our CEO, Toni Guerrero….

One of our skilled electricians, Miguel….

  

And we cant forget about our willing model, Cory, for showing us what the proper PPE to wear…

 

We also thank those that participated…They helped make this class lively and enjoyable….

 

All the other things learned…

With food, Props and some laughs this turned out to be a great class. Thanks to everyone that was apart of it!

 

 

 

 

True and False!

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Kelsey Hill

Test out your knowledge of electricity with these true and false questions! Answers are below!

1.) True or False: You can use any household rubber-soled shoes or rubber gloves as insulators.

2.) True or False: A spark of electricity can measure up to 3000 Volts.

3.) True or False: Electricity can be created from water, wind, the sun, and animal feces.

4.) True or False: Wood is a good insulator.

5.) True or False: If a wire falls to the ground, the power going through it is automatically shut off.

6.) True or False: Electricity travels at the speed of light which is 186,000 miles per second.

7.) True or False: A bird can never get electrocuted by sitting on a power line.

8.) True or False: Wires that fall, will always create a spark.

9.) True or False: Electricity runs through our bodies.

10.) True or False: Electricity tries to find the easiest path to the ground.

Answer Key

1.) False-These need to be made up of 100% rubber. Many Companies add additional things to these items and make them more of a conductor than an insulator.

2.) True

3.)True

4.) False-Wood is a conductor. High voltage doesn’t have any difficulty going through wood. Always use caution around power lines and when using wooden ladders.

5.) False-A power line that falls will normally land on poor conductors such as asphalt. The power company sees a need for an increased amount of electricity. Their equipment can’t discern the difference between a broken line on a poor conductor and a high demand of electrical appliances from people coming home from work and turning things on.

6.) True

7.) False– If a bird is sitting on a power line and its wing or other part of its body touches another line, it creates a circuit and causes electricity to flow through the body.

8.) False- This may be the case sometimes if a power line fall to the ground and doesn’t make firm contact with it, however; if it falls to the ground and makes firm contact, it will often not make a noise or spark. This is dangerous because it may appear to look like a dead wire.

9.) True- Electricity plays an important role in our bodies.It helps send signals to our muscles.

10.)True

Arc Flash!

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Toni Guerrero

If you thought an electrical shock was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. With 30,000 electrical shocks/arc flash accidents occurring each year, it benefits you to know the facts.

First of all, what is Arc Flash?: Where as a normal electrical shock will send an electrical current through your body on contact, Arc Flash sends the short circuit current through the flow of air. This results in an explosion that will go in through your body and find an exit point through your hands, feet or head. The results will not be pretty.

Why is Arc Flash so dangerous?: The temperature rises to 35,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This is 4 times hotter than the sun 18″ from your body.

      

 

With all jokes aside the statistics for Arc Flash are alarming.

*There are 1000 fatalities due to electrocution that occur each year.

*About 10 Arc Flash explosions happen in electrical equipment each day.

*2000 workers are treated yearly for burns.

This is not only for high voltage. Fatalities can occur at only 7 1/2 Watts @ 110 Volts.

 

What can be done to protect yourself?: Only qualified, trained personnel may perform energized electrical systems. All that handle these kind of systems must wear proper PPE.  Inspect all PPE before use. Must be rated for voltages they are being used on.

Proper PPE:

1. Tools (insulated)
2. Clothes
3. Labels
4. Training
5. Eye, Ear, Face

 

How to select proper PPE:

• Non-melting, flammable materials
• Fire Rated shirt, pants, coverall
• Cotton underwear – shorts & shirts plus Fire Rated shirt and pants

NOTE:  double layer switching hood and hearing protection required

• Cotton underwear, FR shirt, pants, and coverall or cotton underwear plus two FR coveralls
• Cotton underwear plus FR shirt and pants plus multilayer flash suit

Safety Procedures:

osha lock out tag out

 

OSHA Lock out Tag out Procedures:

8 step shut down

1. Create a Work order describing work to be done
2. Inform operator and supervisor about work to be done
3. Prepare for shut down
4. Shutdown/turn off equipment
5. Isolate from energy source
6. Apply Lock out/tag out
7. Release all potentially hazardous stored or potential energy
8. Verify the isolation

 

5 step restart

1. Assure equipment operationally intact, clear all personnel & tools
2. Ensure employees are safely positioned
3. Assure lock out/tag out is removed from each energy-isolating device by authorized employee only
4. Notify affected employees of lock out/tag out removal and that work has been completed
5. Completed work order must be signed off by employee and manager

So in conclusion, be safe, wear proper PPE, call a professional…Wink Wink…Nudge Nudge…Us (G Technology) and don’t get electrocuted!