How do I choose an electrician ?

First thing is to make sure they are licensed and insured. This is required in all jurisdictions. Your home or businesses are big investment. Do not risk your investment by hiring an electrician who's not licensed. If they are not licensed both their customer and the unlicensed electrician are uninsured. If something did go wrong with their work and you had property damage, you would then have to pay out the money to repair their work plus the repair of any property damage. Don’t risk it ! Find a contractor that can do the work that you need to have done. Every contractor needs to be licensed.

Alliance Electric is a California based licensed electrical contractor. We carry at all times $2,000,000.00 in aggregate general liability insurance.

Alliance Electric has been an electrical contractor licensed in California for over 25 years. Any time you would like to check the status of any contractor in California, you can go to the following link, enter in the contractor’s name or license # to get current status. www.cslb.ca.gov

Why should UL Listed products & service companies be important to you?

For more than a century Underwriters Laboratories® has been one of the most recognized
and trusted resources for product safety testing and certification in the world. More and more local authorities having jurisdiction, building owners, insurance companies and risk managers are requiring all materials, products and services installed have a UL listing.

Alliance Electric is a UL listed service company # S24311-1

What causes a power loss?

A power loss may be caused by a storm, summer brownout, energy shortage, downed tree
falling on a power line, or any unforeseen event that cuts off power to you electrical system.

What can I do to prepare for this type of occurrence?

You can install a backup power system, consisting of a generator connected to a
generator panel. Contact Alliance Electric to help determine the size & type need for your needs.

How does a generator work?

When the power goes out, a generator creates electrical power without using a utility’s electrical source. A generator is typically run on fuel such as 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 that you designate need to remain on during a power loss such as –furnace, refrigerator, lights, sump pump, etc…

What do I need to do when I lose power?

Emergency standby generators operate automatically and simultaneously switch ‘OFF’ the main circuit breaker connected to you load center and switch ‘ON’ the main circuit breaker connected to you generator. The generator senses the utility power loss and makes this switch even if no one is at 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 is an Arc Fault?

An ARC FAULT is an unintentional electrical discharge. This can occur even with the most safety conscious homeowner. Arc faults are usually caused by undetected problems such as damaged electrical cords, improperly installed wall receptacles, electrical cables pierced by picture hanging nails etc…

An arc fault is dangerous because it could ignite combustible materials and cause a fire. One of the more common causes is the furnace.

You can not prevent arc faults from occurring. However, there is a devise that can stop them by interrupting the electrical current before any damage is done. These types of devises have been so successful that they are required as of 2002 by the National Electrical Code. These devises are known as Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI), and it electronically detects any arc fault and stops the flow of electricity in a fraction of a second. By tripping on a specific circuit, the AFCI helps you identify the source of the problem right at the load center.

Fuses and circuit breakers cannot detect low-level arcs. Only AFCI’s are specifically designed for that purpose.

For more information on AFCI’s, click on the following link to view a brief video on AFCI’s:
www.esfi.org/node/110e