Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

I’ve owned three homes in my life. The youngest was 41 years old when I moved in and the other two were both over 80. I chose all three based on a combination of affordability and character – I’m a sucker for period features like ceiling molding and solid-pine paneling.

Residential energy use today accounts for about 20% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – though this figure varies widely by region and income level. Certainly, getting more of our energy from renewable resources can help reduce those emissions, but we also need to limit overall energy demand in order to meet the emissions cuts necessary to blunt climate change’s worst effects.

I'm working on upgrading the electrical outlets around the outside of our house. In addition to adding more receptacles around the perimeter, I'm finally getting around to "electrifying" the shed and lean-to in the backyard.

Three years ago, I decided to finally bring my home into the modern age, in terms of its electrical distribution system. Gone was the 50-plus-year-old, 60-amp fuse box (yes, I said “fuse box”), along with the similarly low-capacity line from the pole to the house. In their place, a new 200-amp service line and breaker panel.

There’s no getting around it. A lot of people spent a lot more time in their homes the past few years. And while some of it was by choice, not all of it was.

I retired from electrical work and work my copywriting business totally from home now.

That was a choice.