Replacing Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs and Regular Bulbs with LED Bulbs be careful or you could cause a Fire

LED bulbs are all the new fad over what was the most energy efficient bulbs at the time CFL  Compact Fluorescent now old technology but with new technology comes new problems .

Just like when we went from Incandescent to CFL going from Incandescent or CFL to LED has its issues and can result in an Electrical Shock and or  Fire.

 Now the LED bulbs look just like an Incandescent bulb same shape and size  but you have to read the label on them before you replica a incandescence bulb or CFL

  Not all LED bulbs can be used with screw in base up their only designed for socket base down like use in a table lamp.

Also not all LED bulbs can be used sideways in a fixture and they also may not be used in an enclosed fixture unless its says so on the box.

They may look like  a standard bulb you can use anywhere but they are not

Also many LED bulbs have exclusion  and not to be used  hot and Cold temperature areas.

also Many old houses with Knob and tube wiring where Neutrals are shared and old Carter 3 way sockets are in use LED may not work properly.

Also not all LED Bulbs are Dimmable and some require special Dimmers  to lesson the light output.

So as you can see you can not just walk in local hardware store and pick up any LED  bulb off the shelf

Choose wisely and follow instructions or expect problems.

Honeywell / Resideo fails again with New Vista Turbo panels . Nothing but problems dealing with ground faults

Its a dam shame the Vista 32,128 and 250 FB panels where Bullet Proof when it came to performance and before UL mandates came in where fairly resistant to Ground Fault signals always going off.

Well let UL and NFPA get their hands on them with all the new revisions and now you can not use the new panels because all they due is cause False Ground Fault troubles .Especially if you have a vista key system tied into it nothing but constant ground faults and no way to get rid of them.

Worse thing also is you could temporarily turn off ground fault while looking for it.
Not with the new Turbo panels you can bypass but panels keep beeping. It was so bad at one customer I had to separate the vista panels burg components including the vista key and put it into a separate burg turbo panel which does not have ground loop detection.
To get rid of the constant ground faults going off.
I love these panels but since the changes I will no longer be installing them.
In fact I will no longer be installing any new Honeywell FBPT Panels on new installs and I will be switching out to a new manufacturer.

Why would a manufacturer allow such a mistake  to happen. When they see their sales plummet from me and other dealers not buying them maybe they will get the message .
They did not get the message on Cellular communicators either Napco Star Link is a far superior product and may Honeywell dealers like me have switched to them

New NEC Code requiring Disconnects on Outside Residential Services safer for Firefighter? Not really can be dangerous

Yes NFPA really did not think this one thru when they passed in the 2020 code cycle that all new 100 and 200 amp residential service must now include an outside disconnect.

On its surface its a good code designed to protect Firefighters so they do not have to wait for the power company to  shut off power which can take 15 to 45 or more minutes to arrive.

But are we setting Firefighters up for failure and accidents with this new code ? Absolutely and are we putting public at risk ? again Absolutely.

As you dive further into this new code the outside disconnect can be a breaker rated for switch duty or a pull handle type disconnect.

1st its going to drive up cost of Job by several hundred dollars and they are already going near $2000 mark as it is with all the new requirements for AFCI and GFCI Breakers etc. more money home owner has to spend and less they can contribute to local charities and VFD

2nd it will encourage home owners to change there own breaker panels and do work they previously would not of tried because they could not shut off the meter . This will ultimately result in more fires due to home owner and handyman wiring negligence .Putting Firefighters at risk who repond to these fires.

3rd it will lead to Firefighters accidents because those outside disconnects age they deteriorate especially breakers and 20-30 or more years down line breaker may not shut off properly or can arc and cause explosion hurting Firefighter turning it off .
Also only one side of 220 service could shut off other 120 leg could still be hot and unless Firefighters check with a Hot Stick they could still have power on in home when they think it is off.

Yes another fine example of NFPA passing a code and not thinking it fully thru. and in 20-30-40 years my predictions will come true as usual.