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Paff Electric & Solar | Greater Cincinnati

@paffelectricandsolar

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Electrical · Solar · EV · Generators
Woman-owned since 1985
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25

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2 days ago

Solar owners in Cincinnati: if your app numbers dropped this month, that's mostly normal.

Shorter days and a lower sun mean less production from October through February. Here's how to tell normal from a problem:

→ Normal
Lower numbers on sunny days than you saw in June. Near-zero on heavy overcast days.

→ Not normal
A zero on a clear, sunny day.

→ Not normal
An inverter light that isn't green, or an error code in the app.

→ Not normal
One panel reading far below the others.

Leaves usually wash off in the next rain. A dropped wire under the array doesn't fix itself.

A lot of companies that sold solar here left when the federal credit expired. If yours did, we service systems we didn't install.

Send us a screenshot of your app and we'll tell you if it looks right.

We don't sell, we serve.
Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡
Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233 to talk to a real person.
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#solarcincinnati #cincinnati #513 #solarpanels #cincyhomes

solar production, solar monitoring app, inverter light, fall solar output, solar service, solar repair, orphaned solar system, Cincinnati solar, local solar installer, licensed electrician taken in Cincinnati, OH by @paffelectricandsolar

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3 days ago

ChatGPT can explain what a breaker does. For anything past changing a light bulb, call the licensed electricians who've been doing this in Cincinnati since 1985.

Paff Electric & Solar. We don't sell, we serve.

Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233 to talk to a real person.
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#cincinnati #513 #electrician #electricianlife #diyfail

DIY electrical, ChatGPT, electrician humor, hire an electrician, licensed electrician, Cincinnati electrician, electrical safety, panel repair, West Side Cincinnati, since 1985 taken in Cincinnati, OH by @paffelectricandsolar

103

6

5 days ago

5

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6 days ago

First cold night of the year, and our phones light up with the same call: "The bedroom breaker trips every time the space heater's on."

The breaker is doing its job. Here's the math:

→ Most space heaters pull about 1,500 watts
That's roughly 12.5 amps, from one appliance.

→ A lot of bedrooms in Westwood, Cheviot and Norwood share one 15-amp circuit
Add a lamp, a TV and a phone charger and you're over.

→ A bigger breaker is never the fix
The wire in the wall stays the same size. A bigger breaker just lets it run hot.

What to do tonight:
Plug the heater straight into the wall, never into a power strip or extension cord. If the outlet feels warm, stop using it.

If it keeps tripping, that room needs another circuit, and that's a conversation worth having before January.

We are launching next week. It's a yearly visit where we check exactly this kind of thing before it becomes a problem.

Send this to the person in your house who runs the space heater.

We don't sell, we serve.
Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡
Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233 to talk to a real person.
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#cincinnati #513 #cincyhomes #electricalsafety #breakertripping

breaker tripping, space heater, overloaded circuit, 15 amp circuit, bedroom circuit, old house wiring, Westwood, Cheviot, Norwood, licensed electrician taken in Cincinnati, OH by @paffelectricandsolar

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9 days ago

BLINK lights up 30 blocks of downtown, OTR and Covington tonight through Sunday. Video remix made from the amazing @blinkcincinnati 🙌🙌🙌

We love seeing our hometown light up every year! Go see it, it's something else!

Then come home and look at your porch, because this is the month everybody starts plugging things into it.

→ Your outdoor outlet needs GFCI protection
If it trips when it rains, it's doing its job. If it never trips and has no test button, call us.

→ The cover should close over a plugged-in cord
It's called an in-use cover. The flat flip cover only protects an empty outlet.

→ Indoor cords outside crack in the first cold rain
Use outdoor-rated cords and keep the connections off the ground.

→ Don't run cords through a door or a window, and never staple them
Pinched and pierced cords are how a Halloween display turns into a service call.

If you re-hang the same lights every year, permanent exterior lighting is worth pricing once.

Tell us what you're most excited to see at @blinkcincinnatti this year!👇

We don't sell, we serve.

Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡

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#blinkcincinnati #cincinnati #513 #cincyhomes #halloweendecor

BLINK Cincinnati, outdoor outlet, GFCI, extension cord safety, Halloween lights, holiday lighting, permanent exterior lighting, Cincinnati homeowners, electrical safety, licensed electrician taken in Cinncinati, Ohio by @paffelectricandsolar

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10 days ago

SAVE THIS and do it this week.👇

A 10-minute electrical check for your house. No tools, nothing opened.

It's Fire Prevention Week, so here's the walk-through we'd do in your house if we were there:

→ Smoke alarms
Press test on every one. Then flip one over and read the date on the back. Over 10 years old gets replaced, even if it still beeps.

→ Switch plates and outlet covers
Rest your hand on the ones you use every day. Warm means stop using it and call us.

→ The panel door
Open the outer door only. Look for rust, a brown stain, or two breakers tied together with wire or tape.

→ Cords
An extension cord under a rug, through a doorway, or stapled to a wall is being used as permanent wiring.

→ GFCI outlets
Press TEST, then RESET in the kitchen, bath, garage and outside. If RESET won't hold, that outlet needs replacing.

Found something? Send us a photo. A real person answers, and a lot of the time we'll tell you it's nothing.

Save this and walk your house this weekend.

We don't sell, we serve.
Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡

Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233 to talk to a real person.
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#firepreventionweek #cincinnati #513 #cincyhomes #homesafety

home safety checklist, fire prevention week, smoke alarm, GFCI test, warm outlet, electrical panel, extension cord safety, Cincinnati homeowners, electrical safety, licensed electrician taken in Cincinnati, OH by @paffelectricandsolar

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12 days ago

It's Fire Prevention Week, and this year's theme is safe charging.

That matters more in Cincinnati than most places. Half the homes here were built before 1951, long before anyone planned for a house full of phones, laptops, scooters and e-bikes.

Here's what we find on service calls every week:

→ A power strip plugged into another power strip
Usually behind a bed or a desk. Each strip adds load to one outlet that was never sized for it.

→ A charger in an outlet that won't hold a plug
If the plug sags or falls out, the contacts inside are worn. Worn contacts make heat.

→ E-bikes and scooters charging on an extension cord in the garage
Big batteries, long charge times, and a cord that usually isn't rated for it. A dedicated outlet is the safer setup.

Three habits that fix most of this:
Plug big chargers straight into the wall. Never chain power strips. Charge e-bikes and scooters where you can see them.

If an outlet feels warm or won't grip a plug, stop using it tonight and give us a call.

Send this to whoever charges their scooter in the garage.

We don't sell, we serve.
Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡
Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233 to talk to a real person.
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#firepreventionweek #cincinnati #513 #cincyhomes #electricalsafety

fire prevention week, safe charging, power strip safety, e-bike charging, extension cord, warm outlet, old house wiring, Cincinnati homeowners, electrical safety, licensed electrician taken in Cincinnati, OH by @paffelectricandsolar

7

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13 days ago

A plug that won't stay in the wall is a worn outlet.

The metal contacts inside have lost their grip, and a weak connection makes heat right behind your wall plate.

We see this all over older Cincinnati houses, from Westwood to Norwood, usually on the outlet behind the nightstand or the couch that gets used every day.

Don't bend the prongs to make it fit, and don't keep using it.

If the outlet is loose, warm to the touch or discolored, it needs to be replaced.

Fire Prevention Week starts Sunday. Send this to someone whose charger is always on the floor.

We don't sell, we serve. Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡

Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233.

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#CincinnatiHomes #CincyHomeowners #FirePreventionWeek #ElectricalSafety #electrician

Cincinnati electrician, electrician near me Cincinnati, Cincinnati electrical contractor, licensed electrician Cincinnati, residential electrician Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky electrician, NKY electrician, Cincinnati solar installer, Cincinnati electrical panel upgrade, 200 amp service upgrade Cincinnati, Federal Pacific panel replacement Cincinnati, knob and tube wiring Cincinnati, old house wiring Cincinnati, Cincinnati home inspection electrical, taken in Cincinnati, OH by @paffelectricandsolar

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16 days ago

A plug that won't stay in the wall is a worn outlet.

The metal contacts inside have lost their grip, and a weak connection makes heat right behind your wall plate.

We see this all over older Cincinnati houses, from Westwood to Norwood, usually on the outlet behind the nightstand or the couch that gets used every day.

Don't bend the prongs to make it fit, and don't keep using it.

If the outlet is loose, warm to the touch or discolored, it needs to be replaced.

Fire Prevention Week starts Sunday. Send this to someone whose charger is always on the floor.

We don't sell, we serve. Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡

Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233.

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#CincinnatiHomes #CincyHomeowners #FirePreventionWeek #ElectricalSafety #electrician

Cincinnati electrician, electrician near me Cincinnati, Cincinnati electrical contractor, licensed electrician Cincinnati, residential electrician Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky electrician, NKY electrician, Cincinnati solar installer, Cincinnati electrical panel upgrade, 200 amp service upgrade Cincinnati, Federal Pacific panel replacement Cincinnati, knob and tube wiring Cincinnati, old house wiring Cincinnati, Cincinnati home inspection electrical, taken in Cincinnati, Ohio by @paffelectricandsolar

15

1

17 days ago

Cincy Home Owners👇

When we open a panel in an older Cincinnati home, these are the three brands we look for first:

→ Federal Pacific (you might also see FPE or Stab-Lok)
→ Pushmatic
→ Split-bus, a panel layout with no single main shutoff

If you see one of these, don't panic.

It just means the panel is worth having a licensed electrician look at.

Not sure what's in your basement? Call us and we'll come check it out.

We don't sell, we serve.

Cincinnati's electricians since 1985 ⚡

Link in bio or call (513) 273-1233 to talk to a real person.

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#cincinnati #513 #cincyhomes #electricalsafety #panelupgrade

Federal Pacific panel, Pushmatic panel, split bus panel, Stab-Lok, panel inspection, Cincinnati homes, old house wiring, home safety, electrical panel, licensed electrician by @paffelectricandsolar

2

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19 days ago

Go put your hand flat on a light switch plate. Then an outlet cover. It takes ten seconds.

If any of them are warm, stop using that one tonight.

Why? A switch plate is not supposed to have a temperature. Nothing behind it should be generating heat. When it does, something is resisting the current instead of carrying it.

→ Usually it's a loose connection. A terminal that was never tightened properly, or one that's worked loose over thirty years of the house expanding and contracting.

→ Sometimes it's the device itself failing. Cheap receptacles and switches wear out, and the failure mode is heat.

→ Sometimes it's the circuit carrying more than it should. Which is a different conversation, and usually an older one.

Whatever's causing it, heat at a connection doesn't stay the same. It gets worse, slowly, behind a wall where nobody can see it, which is very dangerous.

One exception: dimmer switches run warm. That's normal, they're supposed to. If it's a dimmer and it's warm but not hot, you're probably fine.

If you find a warm one and your in the Cincinnati area, give us a call at (513) 273-1233 or click the link in the bio.

We don't sell, we serve.⚡Cincinnati's electricians since 1985
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#cincinnati #513 #cincyhomes #electricalsafety #homeowner

warm switch plate, warm outlet, loose connection, electrical fire risk, home safety check, old house wiring, receptacle failure, Cincinnati homeowners, electrical safety, licensed electrician taken in Cincinnati, Ohio by @paffelectricandsolar

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20 days ago