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Found 127 results for the keyword ‘Electrical’

  • Should I change to All Electric heat?

    All-Electric heating can mean many things: baseboard heating / baseboard with split head high wall mounted non-ducted heat pumps / an electric central forced air furnace with or without a heat pump / or an electric central boiler for a hydronic system.  If you are thinking of removing your Oil o...
  • The river is rising – preparing for a flood: OVERVIEW

    This article is about stopping water outside the house, then if necessary, controlling the situation as your basement floods.  For some very interesting water alarms, covering both plumbing and overland water,see Stopping Plumbing Floods.   SANDBAGGING The first line of defense is sandbaggin...
  • Dividing available energy from your electrical panel

      YEARS AGO -- CHEATING A CLOTHES DRYER ONTO AN ELECTRICAL STOVE OUTLET TODAY - ADDING AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGER TO A FULLY LOADED BREAKER BOARD THE HISTORY Several years ago there existed in Canada a lot of homes with 60amp electrical mains panels. As electrical appliances became more and ...
  • The 3-FLEX CONTROLLER -- getting the most out of every central heating system

    If you are looking at changing or upgrading your heating system – read this article.  It may introduce you to things you have never heard about and can certainly save you a lot of money while improving the comfort of your home.   BANNING OIL HEATING If you are concerned about the move to ban h...
  • Roof De-Icing Cables and Leaf Guards

    When placing de-icing cables on a roof which has leaf guards on the rain gutters the layout of the cables need to be modified from traditional installations because the small holes in the leaf guards freeze over very quickly.  Best practice for standard cable installation is to have the cables l...
  • Still worried about Aluminum wiring.

    Rick writes: I HAVE BEEN TO YOUR WEB SITE BUT STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THIS TOPIC. HERE GOES: FIRST, IF THE OVERHEATING OCCURS, WHY DOESN'T THE CIRCUIT TRIP? AN ELECTRICIAN TOLD ME THAT IF I HAD A SWITCH PANEL VERSUS FUSES, THAT THIS WOULD PROTECT ME! Both fuses and circuit breakers (neither...
  • Installing a garbage disposal unit

    David from Richmand Hill, Ontario has installed a garbage disposal unit himself and has some questions about the electrical hook-up. We took advantage of the fact that David has a video telephone connected through his internet connection, which allowed us to see David, but more importantly, both ...
  • Can I have three light switches controlling one light?

    Chris from Toronto, Ontario writes: "In my new house, the light for the hallway has a switch at the bottom of the stairs and again at the top. The stairs are located at the front of the house and the bedroom is at the back. When we go to bed we have to turn on our bedroom light and then walk back...
  • Lighting Dimmer details

    We all like the ability to reduce the intensity of a light, but not all dimmers work on all lights. First a really important distinction: Fan speed controls and light dimmers often look almost identical, but are radically different devices, not to be mixed up at the risk of burning out a motor or...
  • Is a Dual Energy electrical rate program worthwhile?

    Many electrical utilities across the country offer a "Dual Energy" rate program. Before trying to decide if it is appropriate for your house, you should understand why the utilities have created this system.  Click here to get the full picture on Hydro Quebec's residential electrical rates and su...