When the first real heat wave hits, window AC units come out of the closet and go straight into the window, usually with no thought about what it asks of your wiring. At Castle Electric, our licensed Norwood and Newton electricians spend every summer answering the same call: a breaker that keeps tripping, an outlet … [Read More]
It’s one of the most frustrating parts of summer: you finally get the window unit running, and a few minutes later, the power cuts out. Castle Electric’s licensed electricians in Newton and Norwood see this constantly, and the most common reason a window air conditioner keeps tripping the breaker is that it’s sharing a circuit … [Read More]
There’s a wiring hazard hiding in thousands of Greater Boston homes, and most of the people living in them have no idea it’s there. Castle Electric regularly finds aluminum branch-circuit wiring in Newton and Norwood homes built between 1965 and 1973, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has been clear about what that means: … [Read More]
If your Newton home was built before 1950, there’s a real chance the walls are holding a secret, and not a good one. The Norwood and Newton electricians at Castle Electric have worked inside hundreds of older Eastern Massachusetts homes, and one of the most common things we find is knob and tube wiring that’s … [Read More]
1) A Tripped GFCI Might Be Cutting Power If one outlet suddenly stops working, there’s a good chance a GFCI outlet somewhere else has tripped. These are designed to protect you from electrical shock, especially in areas like kitchens, bathrooms, basements, and outdoors. Because GFCIs often control multiple outlets on the same circuit, one reset … [Read More]
Mistake #1: Poor Fixture Placement This one shows up in two opposite ways. Underlighting happens when fixtures are placed too far apart or aimed poorly, leaving dark patches across pathways, steps, and gathering areas. Glare is the other extreme: fixtures that are too bright, positioned at eye level, or pointed in a direction that creates … [Read More]
