“Some of the worst things and illegal things I have seen homeowners and unlicensed contractors attempt to do is replace their main electrical panel,” said Christopher Haas, the owner of Haas & Sons Electric in Pasadena, Maryland. “This poses many dangers from injuring themselves, the home, and the occupants. … I have seen people unknowingly hook up the ground and power wire backward — reverse of what they should have done — which can cause injury or death to any unsuspecting person or animal that touches the now electrified ground.”
To learn more about the safety considerations of generators, we spoke to Christopher Haas, a licensed master electrician and owner of Haas & Sons Electric.
"Never run the generator in enclosed spaces, as they produce exhaust no different than your car or power tools and, that's not good for anyone due to CO poisoning," Haas said. "Even so, we recommend a portable CO detector to be certain exhaust doesn't find its way to your living quarters. These can be purchased easily online for infrequent use, but I recommend installing CO detectors in your home anyways, so place a wall unit near your garage year-round."
If you ever flip a light switch, plug in a toaster or charge a smartphone, you are handling electricity. And while these tasks are simple and not risky, the reality is, your home’s electrical system is complex and potentially dangerous, says Christopher Haas, owner of Haas & Sons Electric in Maryland.
Electrocution, Haas says, occurs more frequently with 120 volts of electricity — the standard in a home — than any other level of voltage.
“And, unfortunately (home electrocution) claims lives every single year,” Haas says. “So, don’t think of it as ‘just’ 120 volts — think of it as something that could permanently injure you.”
From MentalFloss.com“Those who have problematic heating issues with an isolated room in their house [can benefit from space heaters],” Christopher Haas, a licensed master electrician at Haas & Sons Electric in Pasadena, Maryland, explains to Mental Floss in an email.
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“Space heaters typically use less energy than powering your central heating system, but they are not as efficient with that energy use. So, determining what is best for your unique situation will have to be taken into consideration,” Haas says.
