Cerritos Electrical
Cerritos Electrical

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIALS

UNITED Cerritos Electrical was tremendously professional!

UNITED Cerritos Electrical offered a “tremendous toolset” that essentially gave us homeowners everything we needed with a Cerritos Electrical Contractor. They helped to turn our house into a home by quickly helping us upgrade our electrical wiring system.

Lisa Williams
Cerritos, CA
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Major Remodel - Upgrade Your Electrical Panel!
If you are contemplating a major remodel, the addition of a room or garage, or a new kitchen you might need to consider an electric upgrade to your electrical panel.

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UNITED Cerritos Electrical Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the difference between 3 phase and single-phase electricity?

The description of the terms are assumed to be like this:

Phase mainly refers to the portion of a period of a sinusoidal wave conveyed in terms of electrical stages.

A single-phase circuit is an alternating-current employing just one, sine wave kind, present flow.

A three-phase circuit is comprised of three varying sine wave present flows which varies 120 degrees from one another.

Now let us have a more quick specification of all of these phrases to enable any average property owner very easily comprehend them:

Single phase: indicates a circuit featuring three cords - live, neutral, and ground. Single phase: Commonly, the main breaker in a sole phase circuit is only one pole which looks just like the others in the panel with the only exclusion that it is more powerful.

Three phase- it describes an electrical system with which the main breaker could be able to turn off 3 poles. For many home owners this is the equivalent of having 3 separate main breakers that are divided among the circuits of the house. You can find 5 wires that generally make up a three phase line, although in many dwellings the three phases just supply the main and sub panels, but continue throughout most of the house as single phase lines. Usually, solely a few home appliances run under a three phase circuit among houses. But nonetheless, there are a few cases which could consists of large three phase appliances such as a three phase oven, three phase airconditioning system, and several others.

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Do I need a surge protector for my computer?

Most local communities in Israel still have fairly frequent power surges. Many individuals realize the implications of a normal surge having the potential to trigger damage instantly. However, only a few sees that minor surges takes place all of the time. Quite different from larger surges, these small sized ones could have the potential to break any wiring of your home appliances which makes them unable to function adequately. You wil need a top quality surge protector since it could guard your computer and any other gadgets within your house. It would be a good idea to acquire a UPS for your computer system unit. They are typically costlier, but they are really worthwhile and could ensure the safety of your computer.

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What is the difference between a surge protector and a UPS?

A surge protector is a tool that simply shields your computer (or other appliance) from electrical surges, spikes, and also other imbalances in the voltage. Surge protectors vary enormously in both price and quality. It would usually be a good idea to keep away from all those "cheap" ones. Moreover, these could just provide you poor quality over time.

A UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) generally has surge protection included, yet that's not all. It has a battery back up that grants you at least a a small number of minutes time (if not longer), to save your project and switch off your personal computer (or other machine) appropriately. Most have a transmission wire among the computer and the UPS, to signal the computer when the UPS battery is reduced. With this, it would lead the computer to switch off in that specific period.

Also, possessing a UPS could be able to strip away the issues of repeated blackout occasionally that may have the power to induce wreckage to your personal computer hard drive. This can make the drive to malfunction prematurely and have everlasting damage.

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I have many appliances with two prong plugs, and my outlets are made to accept three prong plugs. Is using 2 prong plugs in the 3 prong outlets dangerous?

Lots of gadgets which can be bought from many retailers have a two prong plug which can be made from plastic and won't be necessitating a ground wire at all.

If the plug itself is attached by anyone besides the maker themselves, it would be significant to have it audited by a reputable electrician.

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In the States, we bought air conditioners that were rated in BTU. Here they are rated in kilowatts. How do we convert one to the other?

BTU/hour = 0.000293 KW

The British uses their standard energy unit which is known as BTU (British Thermal Unit). A single BTU is equal to the volume of heat which could raise the temperature of one single pound of water by 1 degree F. To assess the energy production of their heating and air conditioning appliances, areas in the west typically take advantage of this standard measuring unit.

There's also a kilowatt of energy which is often used instead of BTU, but this can easily be confused with the better popular use of kilowatt as a unit of power (which is actually 1000 watts).

Here in Israel, it's not odd for sales people to try and vend you an air conditioning unit on the merit of its kilowatt intake (power input) as opposed to its cooling power, therefore selling you a less valuable model. However, it would be best if you don't neglect to ask for the BTU rating (a thing they should provide) when you consider air conditioning units' cooling power.

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Can I put a timer on a water boiler so that it will go on even if I’m not home?

You can, definitely. If you live in Israel, you can pick out to either set up a timer in the panel to operate the boiler line or to merely install a switch with a timer on your recent water boiler switch as a replacement to the old. You will find the most effective solution for you through the help of a reliable electrician.

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What is the difference between a transformer, a converter and a power supply?

A Transformer is an electrical equipment wherein an AC of 1 current is modified to a new current by using coils. There are numerous different kinds, but they all fundamentally execute similar thing - enhance the current. They are most often big for their size due to the weight of the coils (size and weight depends on their ranking).

A Converter is an electric device that is used in some instances instead of a transformer. Although a converter does not certainly lower a current, it gives out such an idea to a machine by holding up the electrical cycle letting the device work very well even if it is not working on a right voltage, and also, it doesn't supply a complete sine wave electricity. In Israel, you would be offered back a measure of 220V if you would estimate a converter's output utilizing a voltmeter. Electronic equipment ought not to be used with these converters, and even I would eagerly go against such a thing. Though they are sold for use with hair dryers, bottle warmers, irons, etc, I've seen too many of these appliances ruined when utilized with a converter.|Regardless of this knowledge, many still use these converters for units like hair dryers, irons, bottle warmers, etc, and in most cases, these machines get destroyed in the end.|Even if they're not suggested, they are still purchased by some for electric equipment; but eventually, they end up ruining the appliances.

Power Supply, if we are to put it in a real factual sense, is anything that generates energy. Yet, power supplies, as how people usually see it, is a machine that is not only capable of lessening the voltage but could also turn an AC (alternating current) to DC (direct current). These are what you find on various little electric instruments (walkman, cordless telephones, desk clocks…etc), looking like a small black box that gets plugged in the receptacle, and possessing a string that plugs into whatever instrument you're using. If you come from the US with an instrument employing a power supply of this kind rated for 110V, simply buy the 220V equivalent here in Israel. They have the same functions as 110V and they're fairly cheap as well. To be certain that you don't get a wrong purchase, take with you the 110V power pack you have.

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I am told that using my air conditioner for heating costs less than using regular electric room heaters. Is this true?

Electric resistance heat (your small electric heater) works by converting electric current into heat. These heaters come in a huge variety of kinds and styles (baseboard heaters, radiant, convection space heaters...)There is a huge range of heater kinds and styles like the baseboard heater, radiant, convection space heaters, ect. All change almost all of the power current to usable heat and are commonly considered to be 98-100 percent beneficial. But then, it's normally one of the most costly heating means.

To supply heat for your home, air conditioners usually capitalize on heat pump system. To transfer heat from a single point to another, heat pumps make use of electricity. During the winter, the heat is directed inside your home while the cold air is thrown outside. The opposite is done in the summer to cool down your house off. Such a heating form would allow you to cut cost.

All this notwithstanding, I'm uncertain that I would encourage purchasing an air conditioning unit only for the heating. If you're to ask me, you would still have to go through a number of years so you could build up adequate heating expenses before you can cover the cost you spent for the unit itself, which could be pricey indeed. But then, if you really want to save heating prices during the winter by putting in an air conditioning unit in your home, it is definitely all up to you.

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Sometimes the main breaker jumps but none of the smaller ones do. Why does that happen?

A basic, standard electrical panel located in numerous homes includes, together with other pieces, a main breaker, and other "line" breakers. With a rate higher than its present rating (generally around 25 or 40 amps based mostly on a standard single phase system), a main breaker provides electricity to the line breakers. Then it is the duty of the other breakers to supply power to the different lines in and around the house having rates operating in between 10 to 20 amperes.

Let's put it in this way: your main breaker has a rating of 25 amps and there are 5 other breakers with ratings of 10 amps for each of them. Now let us suppose that you are using on each line (each 10 amp breaker) just 8 amps. Each 10 amp breaker, having merely 8 amps going through it, would be okay. There is no basis for it to fail. Nonetheless, if you put all that each breaker is consuming, you'd still read 40 amps. This is way over the amount that your main breaker is rated for, and will consequently cause it to trip.

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Both the main breaker and the main ground-fault interrupter turn off everything in the house. What is the difference between them?

In a standard Israeli panel, it is truthful that both the main circuit breaker and the ground-fault are able of shutting everything off inside a house. But they both jump for entirely different factors.

Essentially, breakers only deal with the quantity of current going in it and not about how the current is used up. A good illustration is a an outlet on a 16 ampere breaker. It will keep on operating even if you connect anything you want to like a hairdryer, a heater, toaster, or anything, provided it does not go above the volume that your main breaker is graded for which is, in this given case, 16A.

The GFI or ground-fault interrupter don't really bother about the level of electricity which flows through it even if it's designed for a certain range only. Whether it's 10A, 16A, 25A, or 1000A - for as long as what is going in is building a complete circuit, and nothing is escaping, the GFI is quite happy to go on working. BUT, once some current "escapes" from the line out to someplace else, the GFI will jump right away. For this reason it is often referred to as "The Safety Device". Good to say, if anyone would stick their fingers inside an outlet, the small level of electricity will flow through their body and to the floor they are on. With this, the ground-fault will be able to identify the scenario and would jump thus saving that folk's life.

Generally there are some situations by which the ground-fault as well as the main breaker do jump together with each other. If a live wire touches another thing other than the neutral wire, then it would certainly be anticipated that such scenario could happen.

Simply put, the situations by which a breaker could jump will only be when enormous volume of current is used and the ground-fault could jump should there be a leak of current at stake.

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Can I simply upgrade my breaker to one with a higher rating, so to keep it from jumping all the time?

Not really! Every breaker in your panel is there for the only purpose of safeguarding the wires that run throughout that specific line. Suppose, if you are to put up a wire which only calls for 10A for its size but turns on the switch to 20A then for sure, it could cause problems with it. There would definitely be nothing to shield the wires from burning up and taking the whole residence along with them.

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Why does my florescent fixture make a humming sound?

While the fixture is still currently turn out, the ballast from it creates a hum. Basically, there are many reasons for this. One explanation could possibly be loose laminations in the core. Though makers do claim that this takes place often.

Another, more likely cause, can be magnetostriction. Typically, the word magnetorestriction pertains to the contortion of a ferromagnetic element which is exposed to a magnetic field. The instant by which a magnetic field which is formulated by the ballast adjusts the setup of the molecules within the metal, then it would make a cycle of improvement and shrinking subsequently creating a humming sound.

Yet another cause about that matter is the assembly of the ballast to the surface area.

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Can I get electrocuted by batteries?

You sure can, but you would need lots of batteries to perform this. Regular batteries tend to have minimal voltage making them safe to make use of.

For electricity to go through your body, you will be necessitating a voltage high enough for this. Our skin can't definitely conduct electricity. Simply a little amount of electricity about 40 volts would be sufficient to create a current inside your body powerful enough to injure your entire body. Most of the batteries we use are 12 volts or less. Even so, even a 12 volt battery is sufficient to do damage if the current make its way through the human skin.

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What do the colors of the plastic insulation mean on wires?

Such are being made based on their specific use and function. Wires which directs out high voltage in Israel are often brown in colour. Neutral wires are generally blue. Wires which are grounded are commonly yellow with a green stripe. Due care must be implemented since wires can't be hooked up properly at some times. There are also older households wired with the "old" colors, which are reddish (hot wire), black (neutral), white (ground), and blue (returning hot).

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I have never had a doorbell installed. Is there an easy and quick way to install one?

Completely! Attaching a wireless doorbell is enormously feasible.

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How can I know how many amperes my appliance uses?

The most desirable and the quickest method is just by looking at what's written on the device itself. Lots of appliances have it marked somewhere. If not, then you can break down the watts by the volts (for instance: 2000 watts / 220 volts = 9.09amps). This isn't 100% precise since you usually have additional factors that come into play, such as effectiveness and a power factor. Then again, such type of computation is sufficient for making assessments.

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How can I stop static electricity?

A power charge is produced when two bits of material are rubbed with each other, such as when you stroll over a carpet and get a shock when you contact an object. With this, you will be making a charge the second you rub your shoes on the carpet and the charge is then cleared to the object you touched. They're what we call as static electricity. You can get static electricity when one material (even insulators for instance rubber or glass) exchanges its electrons to another one.

Static electrical energy happens frequently when the weather gets cold and also the moisture content in the air is very low. Thus it would definitely be beneficial to moisten the air more. The process of grounding is one of the best ways but not always it is practical. A fantastic way to do this would be putting water along heating ducts. Moisture content around us will be absorbed by the carpet fibers. A few carpets are made out of antistatic components.

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Why do we use AC electricity instead of DC in our homes?

The computation of power is done by multiplying voltage with current (P=VI). In every power, such low voltage would certainly therefore required a more higher current which could also call for a larger conductor size for the current to be transmitted from a place to one other. Hence it is a lot more economical to transfer power using high voltage, hence requiring a tinier diameter cable.

Transforming DC power to a high-voltage successfully is really tricky and it is expected that it can't reached for long distances other than one mile without any massive voltage loss.Switching DC power to a high-voltage efficiently is truly challenging and is also expected that it can't reached for long miles besides one mile with no any enormous voltage losses.

Having said that, an AC power could be modified efficiently by having a transformer. This makes it much more practical to use for distributing objectives. What's more is that you will be capable to come across AC transformers in use with gadgets among several residences even yours as well. The description of the terms are assumed to be like this:

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