Do you have a question about the any of the following?

• Our Customer Care?
• Is Your Home is in Need of an Exam?
• Surge Protection?
• Power losses?
• Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs)?
• Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCIs)?

Don't see your answer here?

Our Customer Care

Will you answer the phone?
Our Client Care Representatives are will answer your call M-F 8 am till 5 pm. If you need electrical, heating or cooling services after business hours our emergency call system will put you in touch with on of our service managers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Will You be on time?
Helton Electrical Services guarantees that we will be there when we say we will and do what we say we are going to do or we waive the service travel fee!

Can I get a price estimate on a job before its done?
Our technicians always tell you your investment before they begin the work.

Do you guarantee your work?
All installations come with a solid 100% guarantee or your money back.

Will you leave trash and dirt on my floor?
Our technicians will wear floor savers and use drop cloths when necessary, and clean up when they are finished or you don’t pay for the service

Will you waste my time running back and forth to the parts store?
Our Service Vehicles are stocked with 1000s of parts and that almost eliminates the need to make a trip to a parts house. If we don’t have the part on our vehicle your investment doesn’t change. There are some occasions where a special part requires a special trip.

Back to Top

Is Your Home in Need of an Exam?

Is your home 20 years or older?

Has there been a major addition or renovation or major new appliance added such as a refrigerator, freezer, air conditioner, or electric furnace in the last 10 years?

Are you the new owner of a previously owned home?

Do your lights flicker or dim momentarily?

Do your circuit breakers trip or fuses blow often?

Are your outlets or light switch face plates hot to the touch or discolored?

Do you hear crackling, sizzling, or buzzing from your outlets or breakers?

Do you have extension cords and multiple power strips in use around the house?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then you should schedule our full home protection inspection where we check your outlets, swiches, lights, breaker box, attic, and even your crawl space. We document the inspection with a camera and show you what we find with pictures and a 46 point checklist.

Back to Top

Arc Fault

What is an arc fault?
An ARC FAULT is an unintentional electrical spark - a problem that even the most safety oriented homeowner will not always be able to avoid. This is because arc faults are usually caused by unforeseen problems: Improperly installed wall outlets, electrical cable pierced by picture-hanging nails. Damaged extension cords. Etc.

Why is an arc fault dangerous?
An arc fault may cause a fire - a threat to any home and its occupants. Wire under homes, inside walls and in attics are a common problem.

What can I do to prevent arc faults?
You can't prevent arc faults from occurring. However, there is a device that can stop them, by interrupting the electrical current before any damage is done. It’s called the Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI), and it electronically detects any arc fault and stops the flow of electricity in a fraction of a second. No electricity, no heat, no fire. And, by tripping on a specific circuit, the AFCI helps you identify the source of the problem right at the load center.

Do fuses and circuit breakers serve the same purpose as AFCI's?
No. Fuses and circuit breakers cannot detect low level arcs. Only AFCIs are specifically designed for that purpose.

Are AFCIs required by the National Electrical Code?
Yes. As of January 2002, arc fault circuit interrupters are required by the National Electrical Code on all new bedroom circuits. But, you can protect you existing home too! By installing GE AFCIs now, you can get peace of mind from their added fire protection.

Back to Top

Power Loss

What can cause a power loss?
A power loss may be caused by a damaged service equipment, bad outlets, damage wire splices, 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.

How can I prepare for a power loss?
You can install a standby backup power system, consisting of a generator connected to a generator panel

How does a generator work?
When the power goes out, a generator creates electrical power without using a utility's electrical source. Typically, a generator is run on fuel, like natural gas or LPG.

When a generator is installed in your home, one main breaker is connected to your home's load center and the other main breaker is connected to your generator. The generator panel is then connected to circuits for critical electrical loads - furnace, refrigerator, lights, sump pump, etc. - that you designate need to remain on during a power loss.

What do I do when I have a power loss?
Emergency standby generators operate automatically and simultaneously switch OFF the main circuit breaker connected to your load center and switch ON the main circuit breaker connected to your generator. The generator senses the utility power loss and makes this switch even if no one is home. It also knows when the power comes back on and will automatically switch power back on through your home's main load center.

What type of generator is right for my family and my home?
The first step in purchasing a generator is to identify the things you absolutely need 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.

Our Technicians can share more details with you, just give us a call to find out how you can protect yourself against power losses.

Back to Top

Surge Protection

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.

Where do they come from?
At one extreme, a surge can be generated by a nearby lightning strike. At the other, transients can come from the motors in your electrical appliances when they turn on and off during everyday operation. Harmful surges also are produced by electric utility power switching designed to meet changing energy demands.

What can they do?
While a lightning strike can cause immediate and severe damage, low level surges will, over time, degrade electronic components and shorten the life of computers, home entertainment systems, telecommunications devices and, increasingly, even kitchen and laundry appliances.

What can you do?
You can protect the investment in all of your electronic devices with a family of surge protectors. Surge strips protect electronic device, there are many other surge devices that can protect all the connections in a home, and this is what Helton Electrical Services recommends. When whole home devices are used in combination with surge strips, your electrical devices receive the maximum protection.

How do surge protectors work?
When we install the surge arrestor devices and they are connected to your load center, telephone service or cable service, surge arrestors redirect surges to the earth ground and dissipate the energy spikes. 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 surge protector is right for me?
Each type of surge protector focuses on a particular type of wiring: electrical, telephone or coaxial cable. There are many AC power surge protectors including those with Electromagnetic Interference Filtering(EFI) and Radio Frequency Interference Filtering (RFI) allowing you protection regardless of the brand or size of load center in your home or office. Call or email us today to meet with one of our expert technicians to explore more about your options.

What kind of Guarantee do you offer for your surge protector?
Our Surge Protectors are made to the highest possible engineering specifications and come with a LIFETIME warranty. We will replace the unit at no additional investment for the first year and for a minimal replacement fee after that.

Note: While surge protectors will protect against surges generated when lightning strikes nearby, no surge arrester can guard against a direct hit. The energy is too great.

Back to Top

What is a GFCI?
A GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlet is a device that adds a greater level of safety by reducing the risk of electric shock. Most building codes now require that a GFCI outlet be used in wet locations such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms and outdoors.

A GFCI outlet monitors for a current imbalance between the hot and neutral wires and breaks the circuit if that condition occurs. A circuit breaker probally will not act fast enough to protect you from harm. A GFCI outlet is more sensitive and acts faster than a circuit breaker or fuse and is thus an important safety feature.

A GFCI outlet has a "Test" and a "Reset" button. Pressing the "Test" button will trip the outlet and break the circuit. Pressing the "Reset" will restore the circuit. If pressing the test button does not work, then replace the GFCI outlet. If the outlet does pop when you press the "Test" button, but the outlet still has power, the outlet is miswired. A miswired outlet is dangerous and it should be fixed immediately.

Back to Top