44 NJ Contractors Issued Registration Violations

New Jersey Consumers should beware of Home Improvement Contractors that hold themselves out as Licensed when they are not in fact licensed. Many list a "License Number" on their vehicles beginning with 13VH. This is not a license number it is and always has been a State of NJ Home Improvement Contractors Registration Number.

Only Electrical, Plumbing and Alarm Contractors are Licensed in the State of New Jersey, Home Improvement Contractors are not Licensed, they are merely required to be Registered. If there is no number at all, that is a huge RED Flag for any consumer to stay away from that contractor.

To that end New Jersey has issued violation notices to 44 home improvement contractors that the agency found to be non-compliant and unregistered. The Division of Consumer affairs is seeking $195,000 in civil penalties from the contractors. The investigation was based on complaints and referrals from consumers across the state.

Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa says the division receives more complaints about home improvement contractors than any other category. Chiesa says four of the contractors face sanctions for failing to perform work after accepting customer deposits. Forty of the contractors allegedly performed or solicited home repairs without properly registering with division. 

  

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Home Fires On The Rise All Over New Jersey

Over the past several months – in counties all over Jersey – there has been a significant spike in home and apartment fires.

No one is sure why this is happening, but many fire officials think the increase may be tied to the economic downturn- where people have been more willing to put off fixing or upgrading the electric wiring in their homes, because it’s so expensive.

New Jersey state Fire Marshal Bill Kramer says “we don’t have the data yet to make a comparison (on how many fires there have been this year compared to previous ones” but older homes or apartments can have sub-standard electrical wiring, and if you find yourself having to reset – or your breakers are tripping on a regular basis – and it’s the same breaker all the time – that’s a problem – that circuit is overloaded and you need to either find out where that circuit is and unload it or have an electrician come in and upgrade your service or add more outlets.” Read More

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MAY IS ELECTRICAL SAFETY MONTH!!!

Faulty Circuit Breakers In Thousands of Homes 

May Cause Serious Fires

Circuit breakers are designed to keep you, your family and your property safe from fire, some breakers might not only fail to protect your family, they may cause a fire.

“There’s thousands of them out there,” Clifton, N.J. Fire Chief Vince Colavitti told NBC 4 New York's I-Team. “It’s a ticking bomb waiting to happen.”

The breakers, mostly found in homes built before 1990, were made by Federal Pacific Electric and there are thousands of these breakers that are still installed in homes today. 

Circuit breakers are designed to trip during an overload or short circuit, if the breaker doesn't trip, the increasing current causes excessive heat and can ignite a fire. Any circuit breaker can fail however Federal Pacific has the reputation of an extreme failure rate. Any competent Electrical Contractor would always suggest that Federal Pacific Electric breakers and panels be changed..

Home inspectors and some insurance companies are aware of problems with Federal Pacific Electric breakers. Some insurance companies refuse to cover homes that have the breakers. Some Municipalities also notify Homeowners of the dangers and suggest that the electric panels be changed. 

According to fire investigators, the Federal Pacific Electric breaker in Clarissa Rosario's New Jersey home did not trip when overheated wires were burning in the ceiling between her bedroom and the attic. “I saw the light flickering and I thought it wasn't normal,” said Rosario. “When I opened the attic, it was full of smoke.” 

Engineer Jesse Aronstein has been studying the breakers for decades. He has testified in lawsuits against the company and published reports about the failures. According to his research, Federal Pacific Electric breakers may be associated with as many as 2,800 electrical fires each year in the U.S.

“People should know that these have a high defect rate and should be advised to have them replaced,” said Aronstein. Read More 

May is Electrical Safety Month !!!

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Planning for Florescent T12 Lamp Phase Out

More than 500 million T12 fluorescent bulbs are still in use throughout the U.S., but by July 2012, manufacturers will cease producing most of these products. As with many incandescent lamps, the T12 fluorescent – with a design that hasn't changed significantly since 1938 do not meet current energy-efficiency standards.

The first choice is to maintain the existing fixtures and retrofit them with florescent T8 ballasts lamps. Choosing this option will provide environmental and economic benefits since T8 lamps contain less mercury than T12 lamps and offer longer life. Their light output also does not degrade as much over time than less-efficient T12 lamps.

On the surface, a one-for-one T8 retrofit may seem the least expensive approach, however new fixtures designed for T8 technology may provide better light optics a comparable overall cost, especially when energy savings are factored into the equation. Read More

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Republican House members are preparing themselves to take a stand to save the incandescent light bulb.

Monday, the House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 2417, the Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB) Act, a bill to repeal the federal ban on the incandescent light bulb, contained in a 2007 energy law.

Sponsored by Texas Republican Rep. Joe Barton, the bill would protect Americans’ ability to use the kind of light bulbs they want and not be forced to use mercury containing light sources such as compact fluorescent lights. Read More

As Electrical Contractors we have mixed feelings about the ban and this legislation to reverse it. The light bulb is perhaps the single most important invention by Thomas Edison. He worked on the invention in his two labs right here in New Jersey and Menlo Park NJ was the first city in the Nation to be lit by the Edison Light bulb, To see it banned is extreamly sad, but there are much more energy effecient lighting choices now.

Most of the reasoning for wanting to reverse the ban is that CFL flourescent lamps, that are widely replacing the Incandescent lamp contain mercury. However, there is a better although more costly choice that saves even more energy without mercury, which is the up and coming LED lamps. We predict that LED Lamp is the future of lighting to replace the Edison Incandescent Light Bulb.

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New Jersey & Solar Not So Perfect Together

There is considerable confusion about whether an Electrical Contractor's License and Business Permit is required for solar-photovoltaic (SPV) installations in New Jersey.

The answer, direct from NJ's Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors who regulate the Electrical Contracting Industry in NJ is; with the exception of owners of single family homes performing the installation of PV panels on own home themselves is yes. See letter published in the NJ Construction Code Communicator Here

N.J.S.A. 45:5A-1 et seq., known as "The Electrical Contractors Licensing Act of 1962", States; "No person shall advertise, enter into, engage in, or work in a business as an electrical contractor unless they have secured a business permit and a license from the New Jersey Board of Electrical Contractors (the Board)."

The term "electrical contractor" is defined as a person who engages in the business of contracting to install, erect, repair, or alter electrical equipment for the generation, transmission, or utilization of electrical energy (N.J.S.A. 45:5A-2(d)).

SPV systems, by definition, are electrical work. They are a series of components that generate (the SPV panels), transmit, and/or utilize electrical energy. Any person engaged in installing, erecting, repairing, etc. such equipment must be an electrical contractor under the provisions of the Act. Read More

The Law applies to all Residential, Commercial, and Institutional, and Industrial installations of Photo Voltaic Panels.

Additionally any person who engages in these activities without a valid Electrical Contractors Business Permit may be charged with a Felony in the State of New Jersey. (151_C.2C21-33 of the New Jersey Statutes) Read Felony Law Here

May is Electrical Safety Month

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Place Safety High On Your Project List!

Do it Yourselfers: Put safety high on your project list!

If summer weather is sprouting thoughts of home improvement projects, you are not alone. Rising temperatures traditionally give rise to more remodeling, repairs, maintenance, landscaping and construction projects both inside and outside the home

Whether it’s putting in a new deck, remodeling, or landscaping, Advanced Electric Design & Service urges everyone to take precautions, particularly when working around electrical equipment and overhead power lines. Make sure electric tools are in good working order, with cords free from frays and cracked insulation. Be sure to use ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protection when using power tools.

For added protection consider the installation of ARC Fault Circuit breakers on your existing circuits. More on ARC Fault Here

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