New & Upgraded Electrical – Harbor Springs & Charlevoix MI

It’s been a busy winter, for which I’m grateful. I helped two homeowners upgrade and add new electrical wiring in homes they were remodeling.

One was a 3500 square foot home on Bay Street in Harbor Springs and the other was a home in Charlevoix MI.

It’s always a good idea to upgrade electrical and plumbing to current standards and code when doing a remodel. Remodeling a home often offer the opportunity to get in behind the existing walls as they are opened up for floor plan changes. I’ve had homeowners who didn’t need to, but went ahead and removed existing sheetrock to upgrade their wiring since the house was already a mess.

I have a big project starting on Sheridan Street in Petoskey. This commercial building has changed hands and the new owner is renting out parts of it, while keeping part for his cabinet shop. I’ll be looking at all the existing wiring to make sure it is up to code, making recommendations on what needs upgrading and doing any new wiring needed for the various businesses.

Looks like it will be a great summer for business – if summer ever gets here!

Low-voltage Track Lighting Upgrade at the Circle of Arts in Charlevoix Michigan

Another great project from Indesign is this track lighting upgrade for the Circle of Arts in Charlevoix, MI. This new lighting is a quantum leap over what the arts center had before, which were old fluorescent fixtures that had a loud continuous hum.  These new track lights are perfect to highlight art work.

The 12 volt halogen MR 16 lamps come in a variety of wattages and beam spreads. So if your trying to light up a particular piece from far away you can use a higher wattage lamp with a narrower beam spread.

Also this set up is the  ultimate in versatility, all the heads can be moved anywhere on the track and pointed in any direction. Whenever a new show is being displayed the lights can be moved and aimed to perfectly illuminate each piece.

The first show with the new lighting is open for viewing now, so if you happen to be in Charlevoix why not stop in and see what the local artists have created for all to enjoy!

Charlevoix Electrician & Electrical Contractor

Track Lighting – Spot Lights

(231) 348-9607

Complete Remodel of a Lake Front Condo in Charlevoix Michigan

It’s summer time in Northern Michigan, a busy time for most contractors – including this electrical contractor. Here are some pictures of a condominium that I just completed for Indesign in Charlevoix. As a master electrical contractor in Northern MI I do a lot of work for them.

The last time anything was done in this place was probably the 80′s so it was definitely time for a face lift. And as you can see from the pictures, Indesign has done another great job. I love the four inch low voltage can lighting they spec out and on this one we installed some really trick dimmer switches.

Lutron’s “Maestro” series dimmers are top of the line. With standard dimmers you can only control the light level from one location (if there are more than one switch to turn the lights on and off from). But with Maestro light dimmers, there are master and slave dimmers that communicate with one another so you can control the light level from any switch location. Also the lights don’t just come on instantly but they fade on and off so you can leave the room before the lights go out. It’s a really cool effect, I love them.

Kitchens and bathrooms are areas where Indesign really shines. I like the clean look and interesting light fixtures they come up with. Like the vanity fixtures in this bathroom, also low voltage, and very unique. Also I always put in Panasonic fans in their projects. They’re very high quality, are very energy efficient and extremely quiet. You hardly know they’re on!

All in all another great project from them. I can’t wait for the next one. If you are thinking of remodeling remember that a great plan is a critical step to making your project flow smoothly, getting completed on time, and under budget.

Electrician & Electrical Contractor

Condos – Kitchens – Bathrooms

(231) 348-9607

Installing strobe lights for overhead bridge cranes at Jervis Webb
Harbor Springs Michigan

Last week I got a call from Jervis Webb to trouble shoot the strobe lights that one of their workers installed on all six of the bridge cranes that are used throughout the plant. When working in factories you have to be very careful of what voltages you are working with and connecting to. They usually use 480 volts for large stationary equipment like: presses, mills, drills, welders, cranes and some lighting. This high voltage is very efficient but also hazardous. So for the control of these large machines and general use receptacles the voltage is dropped down to 120 volts (which is the same as house hold voltage). This is much safer for the workers coming in direct contact with the controls.

Because of this an electrician or maintenance person has to be constantly aware of the system he is woring on and the voltage rating of the device he is connecting. As soon as I opened the control box I noticed that the strobe light was connected to the high voltage side and that the strobe was only rated for 120 volts. This caused catastrophic failure of the strobe light as you can see by the picture. So after new lights where ordered I rewired them into the low voltage control side of the control box using auxilliary contact blocks that snap onto the existing contactors.

Now whenever the bridge is in motion the stobe lights go off as a warning for workers to watch out for large pieces of material and equipment in motion.

Maintaining a power center for Jervis Webb in Harbor Springs Michigan

The other day I was asked to accompany a representative from Chubb Group through the Harbor Springs and Boyne City plants of Jervis Webb. He was there to take thermal pictures of the factories main distribution system and power panels. This is done for insurance purposes, the special camera that is employed picks up any temperature variations in the panels. Anything that is above a certain temperature is flagged as a problem that needs to be repaired.

You can see the problem areas in the pictures. The bright yellow areas are the “hot spots”. So what’s next? First I took as many pictures of the existing switch gear as I could to see if I could get replacement parts. This equipment was installed in the early 1960′s. It was made in Detroit Michigan if that gives you any idea of the age! I was told by the salesman at Standard Electric that the old panels were obsolete. So the next option is ordering new breaker style switch gear. To save on labor and down time Standard quoted custom “I line” panels from Square “D” to go into the existing panel tubs. That way all I have to do is label the existing wiring, remove the existing interiors and install the new ones.

I always think of the customer’s needs first in this situation. Because time is money every second that the factory is not up and running it’s costing them. So this work will have to be done most likely when the plant closes down over the weekend or on night shifts.

Energy Efficient Lighting Upgrade For The Resort Township Hall

These are some pictures of the Green energy efficient lighting upgrade I just completed for the Resort Township Hall in Petoskey Michigan. The new T8 style fluorescent lamps and electronic ballast I’ve installed are much more energy efficient, while at the same time providing more light, than the previous (and soon to be obsolete) T12 style lamps and magnetic ballast. The salesman Mike Meyer from Standard Electric did an initial cost analysis for me. This is a service they do for free. They take the lights you have and calculate how much per year you will save by switching to the new style which in turn tells you how long the pay off will be. In this case it will take about three years for the new lights to pay for themselves.

In my mind this is a “no brainer” the new style lamps and fixtures have an approximate life span of 20,000 hours. So depending on usage they can expect them to last between six and nine years. This equates to thousands of dollars in savings over time. I was speaking with Den Tippet the other day. He is plant manager at Jervis Webb’s Harbor Springs plant. He recently got a call from his accounting dept. located in Farmington Hills and they were shocked at how low the utility bills have become now that they have switched over to the new lights I’ve been installing. They thought there must have been an error somewhere in the system!

So if you own a business in Northern Michigan and are looking for a way to cut operating expenses just look up at your outdated lighting and call Select Electric for a free quote today!

Installing new street lighting for Harbor Watch Condominiums in Petoskey Michigan

I just finished a street lighting project for Harbor Watch Condominiums in Petoskey. These pictures show the final result. Members of the board first contacted me this summer to give them a quote, but they weren’t sure what kind of fixtures they wanted to install, so I recommended that they call Tim Fisher at Indesign. As you can see Tim was able to give them a great looking fixture and at a reasonable price.  The fixtures take a standard screw in light bulb so I provided compact fluorescent lamps that give ample light and use very little energy.

I’m very happy with the way the project went. The lights are installed on concrete bases that were existing so I wasn’t sure how pulling new wire through the existing conduits was going to go. Also, the new fixures had a different bolt pattern than the existing fixtures, so I had to drill special anchors into the concrete bases for the new lights to secure to.  The effect these lights have on the property is quite dramatic, they create a very warm and inviting entrance. I hope the owners at Harbor Watch enjoy them as much as I do.

New Landscape Lighting Project on Glen Drive Harbor Springs Michigan.

Here are some pictures of a landscape lighting project that we just completed. I’m happy to report that the woman contacted me to do the job after reading some of the articles I have been writing for this website.

There are a few things to take into account if your considering a project along these lines. First is that you want to think of the future, there is a lot of labor involved in digging the trench in which the wires are  buried. So what I’ve done is to leave extra room on the circuit to accommodate more fixtures if the want arises. I’ve also run an extra wire to some of the fixtures in case the owner would like some of the fixtures on a different switch.

Second, you must take into account that the fixtures are exposed to the elements. Because of this I have selected high quality aluminum landscape fixtures that are powder coated. They also have a protective tempered glass lens and are “O” ring sealed to help keep moisture out. These are more expensive than the big box store variety but they have a five year warranty. They will pay for themselves in the long run.

And last but not least I use a product called Noalox when making all of my connections and on all of the screws for the fixtures. Noalox is an antioxidant joint compound that inhibits rust and corrosion. It’s fantastic for keeping screws from seizing and wirenuts from becoming corroded.

After all work was completed I met with the home owner after dark to be sure she was satisfied with all of the light locations and the directions they were pointed in. With that final and most important step completed I know that this home owner will enjoy years of trouble free landscape lighting out of her new fixtures.

Comercial and Industrial Electrical service work  in the Petoskey, Charlevoix and Harbor Springs Areas.

Do you own or manage  a shopping center, store front, factory, restaraunt or other business in Northern Michigan? If you do, you’ve probably had some thing break down in the past. Whether it be lights, outlets or a piece of complex equipment. At Select Electric, we realize that every second your business isn’t operating it’s costing you. Fast reliable service day or night is critical when things stop working.

If you are in this position you need someone you can trust, someone you can count on to get you up and running again quickly. Places like Harbor Plaza and Jervis Webb in Harbor Springs and Glen’s North Plaza, Twisted Olive and Mitchell Street Pub in Petoskey are a few of the clients that we care for.

So remember fast  and reliable service anytime day or night is only a phone call away!

231-348-9607

Lamp and Light Fixture Repairing and Rewiring in Northern Michigan. Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Charlevoix and surrounding areas.

Today I picked up a broken floor lamp from a long term client of mine who lives in downtown Petoskey. The lamp has been in her family a long time and she couldn’t bear to throw it away. Once I got it back to the shop I disassembled it to determine the extent of the damage. The first thing I noticed was a broken socket. It is difficult to get some parts for some of these fixtures, because of that I had to make the piece that holds the socket in place for this lamp. I used some parts out of the Light Fixture Repair kits that I have and I made another critical part out of some flat stock steel plate that I had in the shop.  I also replaced the cord and plug end for the fixture. In less than an hour my client has her favorite floor lamp back and in perfect working order!

If you live in Northern Michigan and have  a light fixture, floor lamp or table lamp that just stopped working don’t throw it away, call Select Electric today to repair or replace the faulty parts so it’s working like new again.

231-348-9607