Metal halide lights produce intensely bright white light with a high color-rendering index (more of the spectrum is created in this white light). They produce light through an electric arch that goes through a mixture of mercury and metal halide vapor (usually iodine or bromine). They are most frequently used in exterior lighting, sports fields, parking lots and industrial lighting applications. High Pressure Sodium Lamps are similar to metal halide lamps in that they produce light by sending an electric arch through a mixture of gas. Often used in large industrial settings, parking lots, streetlights and as grow lamps because of their strength in producing the red and orange segments of white light, which encourages plant growth. Root Electric’s commercial electricians are experienced in repairing and replacing metal halide and high pressure sodium lamps. If you have questions about your MH or HPS lights, contact Root Electric for assistance.
Ceiling Fan Installation
Exhaust fan and ceiling fan installation do-it-yourself projects are becoming more and more popular all around Northern Virginia, but in many cases it is still a wise idea to hire a professional electrician to handle the job. As simple as these two jobs may seem on the surface, the wiring and electrical load within the home can cause problems. In fact, national statistics estimate that nearly 6,000 people die, while 100,000 are injured from electrical accidents and electrical fires in the home, many of which occur when inexperienced homeowners try to install electrical fixtures into their home without proper training. Calling in the experienced electricians at Root Electric to help with an exhaust or ceiling fan installation is always the safe, smart choice.
Recessed Lighting
Put the lights in your home to best use: balance form and function when making light fixture choices. Recessed lighting, for example, can be used as general lighting, subject lighting (to highlight a particular work of art or feature in a room), or as task lighting in a kitchen or workshop.
Security Lighting
In past years, many businesses and families would install big, bright, glare-creating globe lights, or randomly-placed flood lights to prevent criminals from sneaking up on them at night. Numerous studies have shown, however, that just over-lighting a backyard or side of a house does little to deter, and may actually help criminals find easier access to these places. The key to successful security lighting is strategically placing and aiming the flood lights or spot lights where they will startle and at least temporarily blind an intruder, while also alerting you, your neighbors and passersby to their activity. Our Northern Virginia electricians have been designing and installing security lighting setups for homes and businesses in the area for a quarter of a century, so we know how to evaluate where and how to install a successful crime prevention lighting scheme.
Exhaust Fan Installation
These areas of your home have a double whammy of potential hazards: water and electricity. Do not try to repair or replace outlets or wiring or exhaust fans or light fixtures in this area without professional help from one of our residential electricians.
Holiday Lighting
In the 1960’s, most people used rakes to clean leaves off of their lawn, and hand-saws for home improvement. In the next few decades, it became more common for people to use leaf blowers for cleaning up their yard and electric power tools for home improvement. Most mid-century homes had outlets on the outside of the house that were tied into the existing circuits for the living room, bedroom, or kitchen. These circuits are typically fairly low-capacity and are really only designed for lamps. By adding a 20 Amp utility circuit, you can run yard tools, commercial grade power tools, or even Griswold-esque holiday lighting without worrying about damage to the wiring or tripping the circuit breaker.
Lighting Design
Here at Root Electric, one of our specialties is helping homeowners with lighting fixture replacement and repair. Aside from being experienced, licensed and insured Northern Virginia electricians, we have an eye for lighting design that can brighten and enhance a home’s interior or exterior spaces. Many older homes could especially benefit from a lighting update. Replacing heavy, old bright brass fixtures, or cheap, builder-grade light fixtures with new, high-quality, energy-saving, design-minded light fixtures is also a relatively inexpensive way to give a home a facelift while cutting your energy bills at the same time. So if you are considering a lighting fixture replacement project, consider the following first, and then give us a call with any questions you have.
Bulb Replacement
Bathroom Lighting
Our residential electricians are highly skilled at helping homeowners with home improvement projects that involve installing any kind of lighting: new ceiling lights or ceiling and exhaust fans, recessed lighting, lighting under kitchen cabinets, bathroom lighting, basement lighting, outdoor lighting and more.
Kitchen Lighting
LEDs are excellent for illuminating confined spaces such as under cabinets for kitchen tasks and reading recipes, thanks to their small size and directionality. It's important to evaluate different products for the best light quality and directionality for your space.
Attic Fan Installation
Light Fixture Installation
If you plan to do a general light fixture replacement project around your whole house, start with the outside first. This is a relatively simple way to enhance your home’s curb appeal.
This is why installing whole house surge protection is a good idea. We can install whole-house surge protection directly to your electrical panel, as well as into new outlets in your home office space. Not only will whole-house surge protection protect your office equipment, but all of the other electronics and appliances in your home as well.
Generator Installation
Learn how your emergency generator works! Preparing for a power outage is as much about knowing what to do as having the right equipment. During your emergency generator installation, we will show you how the whole system works. Take notes if you need to. You will need to know how to turn it on, how to refuel and oil it, where you can get those resources (especially in an emergency), and how the connection to your house works.
Electrical Inspection
There are many, many reasons why your home may be in need of an electrical home inspection by our electricians in Northern Virginia, even if you own a younger home. In fact, most insurance companies require these inspections from time to time, and you usually need one whenever you want to buy or sell a house. If your home is older (the median age of Northern Virginia houses is 34, with the average range falling between 18 years on the low end and 65 years on the high end), an electrical safety inspection can catch safety hazards caused by aging electrical wiring trying to handle modern electrical needs. In fact, we recommend (simply for general family safety reasons) that homeowners have their homes inspected annually. If you need to have an expert electrical home inspection performed, our electrician in Woodbridge, VA can help you ensure that your home is safe!
Electrical Repairs
Only a few months (barely even weeks) ago, adding a home office to your house was considered a “low-ROI” project that didn’t do much for your home’s resale value. However, in this new and unsettling world of stay-at-home orders and quarantines due to COVID-19, all of that thinking has been turned on its head. Suddenly, a huge number of people are now finding that they have to work or do school at home. And whatever they previously thought would pass for a home office or schooling space (the kitchen, the living room, the basement...) just isn’t cutting it. Many families have discovered that they need more electrical outlets and data outlets than they have. They need electrical upgrades so they can power the work they need to do, even though work and school now have to happen at home.
Home Automation
Optional Features: Some people opt for smart charging stations that can be connected to home automation systems, offering additional conveniences like scheduled charging, which can add to the overall cost.
Motion sensors can be tricky because they cannot always tell the difference between a passing neighborhood cat, the wind blowing through a shrub, or an actual intruder. Fortunately, newer models of motion-sensing flood lights and spot lights are being developed with sensitivity settings that can get closer to making the light turn on only when a person passes by the sensor.
Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Some people enjoy the convenience and maintenance free lifestyle of owning a newly constructed home. However, new homes do not always have the character or style exemplified by some old homes. Whether your home is an old 1920’s Craftsman with cedar siding and painted columns, a 1940’s brick-front “federal” home, or a 1950’s glass-walled contemporary, you appreciate the style and workmanship that was built into your vintage home. However, there is a flip side to the coin. A local home inspector once said “From the moment it is built, your house is constantly trying to collapse on itself.” Maintenance and restoration is part of the reality of owning a vintage home. Replacing the electrical system allows you to live in a home that reflects your taste and style, but affords you the advancements in safety and convenience of living in a new home. Updated circuits to bathrooms allow for hair drying without blown fuses. New kitchen wiring allows for installation of the latest computer controlled appliances. Arc-Fault protection for bedrooms helps protect against fire. Networked smoke and carbon monoxide detectors give peace of mind at night. New branch circuits allow for reliable power to high tech audio visual systems. Recessed lighting updates the appearance of the home while adding the sense of space to small areas with low ceilings. Finally, security lighting can add safety when you are away.
Basic 120 volt wall outlet: 20 Amp dedicated circuit with GFCI protection recommended for reliable operation. Lowest cost for installation, but results in longer charging times.
Panel Upgrades
Circuit Breaker Replacement
Wiring Upgrades
Appliance Wiring
During an electrical home inspection our electrician in Woodbridge, VA checks many other safety aspects in the home that can affect electrical function and safety. We check appliance circuits, look for water damage in electrically sensitive areas, make sure all of the smoke alarms are in good order, and also evaluate the light fixtures and ceiling fans. We leave no circuit, outlet, or loose wire unchecked!