Electrician Oakville
If the keyword “electrician oakville” or the variations of it has led you to this site, congratulations! You have to thank yourself for typing in that keyword because you have just come across the most competent and trustworthy electrical company in town. By the way, we’re literally a one-stop shop for your every and any electrical needs in Oakville, Ontario. To save both your time and ourselves, let us first brief you with what we’d like to achieve with our landing page. First, we’ll give you a brief history of electricity and our use of it as an energy source including its generation, transmission and distribution. Then, we’ll talk about electrician, the profession that derives from our use of electricity and what the occupation entails. Lastly, we’ll talk about the importance of having someone professional perform the work when it comes to electricity related issues and why you should choose us to perform the tasks. With that said, let’s dive right in.
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution
Now we’ve established that electrical power is essential in the modern society, have you ever wondered how electric power is generated or where your household electric power comes from? After all, the power supply couldn’t have appeared out of thin air, could it? So, let us now show you the basics workflow of electrical power generation, transmission and distribution.
Electricity is generated at a generation plant, usually distances away from urban areas and close by a primary energy source such as a coal mine or river. Once produced, the electricity is then converted to high voltage by transformers at a substation so the energy loss can be minimized during the process of transmission. Then, the high voltage electricity is transmitted through transmission lines to areas of usage such as industrial factory plant, commercial office space, or individual homes. Right before electricity arrives at these places, the voltage is then stepped down at a substation and then distributed through the distribution lines into places of electricity consumption. The network connecting the various components involved in this process is called the electrical grid.
Methods of electric power generation can be categorized by forms of energy conversion. Existing forms of energy conversion produce electricity by directly transforming either mechanical energy, chemical energy, or light energy into electrical energy. Current commercial electric power generation methods predominantly use the steam turbine which converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, thus generating electric power. Power generation by steam turbine is based on the Faraday’s law of induction. In the year 1831, Faraday discovered through an experiment that a closed loop of wire moving in a magnetic field perpendicularly exhibits a potential difference; and the potential difference generated is proportional to how fast the magnetic field influx is changing. This discovery subsequently led to the development of the first electric motor by Faraday himself. With this discovery, which was later named Faraday’s law of induction, endless electric power can be generated by spinning an electric motor. Crazy how an interesting yet seemingly trivial discovery almost 200 years ago would become and continue to be the basis of electric power generation in Oakville, ON and all around the world, eh?
By now you’re probably thinking “But how does the electricity actually work once inside the house?” I’m glad you asked. Indeed, to a layman, the fact that you can turn on the light by simply flipping a switch on the wall is so simple yet so mystifying. Also, this is actually the crux of this website because this is where most people in Oakland, Ontario would ever need an electrician in Oakville for. Below we’ll give you a rough idea of how this all works.
Electricity meter quantify how much electricity is used and it’s what electricity companies use to bill you. The electricity meter is connected to a transformer mounted on a distribution pole by two hot wires and one neutral wire, which usually run overhead or underground. The transformer itself has two sets of coils, the primary coil connecting to the power station, and the secondary coil connecting to the user’s property. Noted here that the two hot wires connect to each end of the secondary coil and the neutral wire connects to the center of the secondary coil.
Each property will be equipped with a main service panel, also known as a load center or breaker box, which connects to the aforementioned electricity meter by two hot wires and one neutral wire. The two hot wires attach to two lugs of the main breaker inside the panel. The main breaker extends into two main bus bars which are metal sheets carrying electricity to the circuit breakers attached to them. Inside the main breaker box, we can also find a neutral bus bar and a ground bus bar connected to each other. Appearance wise, the neutral bar and the ground bar are strip metal bar with holes screwed in with metal screws. This way, the ground wires and neutral wires can both be firmly connected to their respective bars. Connection wise, the neutral wire from the electricity meter will connect to a lug on the top of the neutral ground bar. Since North America adopts an alternating current system, current will flow from the electricity meter to the load center through the hot wires, going through the main breaker and the main bus bars, and back to the electricity meter through the neutral bus bars and the neutral wire.
Although we’ve only touched the surface of a master electrician’s knowledge base, I know you’re thinking this is too complicated and you simply don’t have the time nor brain power to understand all that, let alone working on electrical wiring, panel wiring or board wiring yourself. And that’s exactly the point because that’s why we need licensed electricians, someone who understands all that complex wiring and do it for a living!
What Does An Electrician Do?
In a modern residential, commercial and industrial setting, a properly set up electrical power system is but a default. However, that, by no means, means that electrical wiring is something so simple that a layman can accomplish. In fact, electricity related work is so sophisticated that electrician is a licensed trade all across North America. But just what does an electrician do exactly? Let’s find out below.
Generally speaking, an electrician’s job encompasses the installation, repairment and maintenance of electrical systems which can be further categorized into residential, commercial and industrial aspects. From a practical standpoint, common tasks/items requiring an electrician include the following: ceiling fans, electric meter, electrical panel, generators, GFCI & AFCI, lighting, safety inspection, smoke & carbon dioxide detector, surge protection, switches, outlets & dimmers, trouble shooting, electrical wiring, ev stations, electrical car charges, residential & commercial lighting retrofits, residential and commercial lighting installations, fire alarm installation, knob & tube rewires, home visual inspections for rental properties and property sales, residential service upgrades, panel changes and upgrades, outdoor lighting repairs and upgrades, residential renovations, commercials renovations, sign maintenance and service.
In case you’re wondering, Fluxx Electrical does them all!
Simply speaking, if it’s something related to electricity and you’re not familiar with it, reaching out to oakville electrician companies will be your safest bet, both literally and figuratively.
Why Leave It to The Pro
I know what you’re thinking and I’ve been there. Why hire someone when I can do the job myself especially when it’s something as simple as replacing a faulty light bulb? Please be reminded that electricity is inherently dangerous. The amount of current enough to light a lightbulb is also enough to make someone’s heart stops, let alone coming into contact with high voltage transmission lines. In that regard, the number of people who died or got injured accidentally from attempting to perform electrical work might shock you. Here are some facts. On May 26th, 2016, M-B Oakville Autohaus, a car dealer of a celebrated brand, hired an electrical company to determine the source of an electrical short. The said electrical company sent a master electrician and an apprentice for the task. Due to a series of miscommunication, the electrical installation of the property in question was not locked and tagged. The apprentice touched a power line, was shocked and fell from a roughly 22 ft roof as a result. Not convinced yet? Here’s another true story. On November 24th, 2015, a hydrovac excavation equipment made contact with overhead high-voltage electrical distribution lines in Vaughan, a city not far from Oakville in Southern Ontario. As a result, a 24-year-old worker was electrocuted and died despite being rushed to a hospital. Now, if tasks seemingly as small and trivial as replacing a lightbulb can lead to such serious consequences, imagine the risks you undertake by trying to do any electricity related task yourself. Here’s the verdict, if it’s not your expertise, leave it to the pro. Trust me. Leave it to the pro. Some pros include Electrician Lethbridge.