Electrical questions, straight answers.

If you can do it safely, turn off the breaker for that circuit or the main breaker, keep everyone away from it, and call a licensed electrician. If there is fire or smoke, get everyone out and call 911 from outside.

Don’t keep resetting a breaker that trips with a burning smell, and don’t open the panel cover yourself.

A warm outlet, switch or cover plate usually means a loose or failing connection, an overloaded circuit, or a device that is wearing out. Stop using it, turn off its breaker if you can, and have it checked.

Warmth at a dimmer is normal within limits; a hot plate, discoloration or a smell is not.

Lights that dim briefly when a big appliance starts are often normal. Flickering on its own, flickering in many rooms, or lights that get brighter and dimmer can point to a loose connection, a failing neutral, or a utility-side problem, and should be checked soon.

If several rooms change brightness together, call Xcel Energy as well: a bad neutral on the service can damage appliances.

Stay far away from it and anything it touches, including fences and puddles, keep others away, and call Xcel Energy or 911. Treat every downed line as live.

Never try to move a line or a branch on a line. If the service mast or the meter on your house was pulled loose, call Xcel first and an electrician second.

No. Plugging a generator into an outlet (a ‘backfeed’) can send power back onto the utility line and electrocute a lineworker, and it can overload your wiring and start a fire.

A generator should connect through a transfer switch or a listed interlock kit installed by a licensed electrician, or run appliances directly with proper extension cords.

A GFCI trips when it senses current leaking where it shouldn’t, often from moisture in an outdoor or garage outlet, a worn appliance cord, or a fault somewhere downstream on the same circuit. Unplug everything on it and reset; if it trips with nothing plugged in, the fault is in the wiring or the device.

Don’t replace a tripping GFCI with a regular outlet. It is protecting you.

Signs include breakers that trip often or won’t reset, a warm or buzzing panel, scorch marks or rust, no open spaces for new circuits, or a panel brand known for problems. An electrician can test it and tell you whether repair or replacement makes more sense.

Age alone isn’t a reason, but many panels in Denver-area homes from the 1950s to the 1970s are now fifty to seventy years old.

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco panels, common in homes built in the 1960s and 1970s, have a documented history of breakers that may fail to trip. Most electricians recommend replacing them.

If you have one, don’t panic, but don’t put off having it evaluated, and don’t add circuits to it.

Some homes built roughly between 1965 and 1973 have aluminum branch wiring. You may see ‘AL’ or ‘ALUMINUM’ printed on the cable jacket in the attic, basement or panel. Its connections can loosen and overheat over time, so it should be inspected.

Proven repairs are connectors specifically rated for aluminum-to-copper connections, installed by a licensed electrician, or rewiring the circuits.

Only if a ground is present or added. Without a ground, the code-accepted options are a GFCI outlet (labeled ‘No Equipment Ground’) or running a new grounded circuit.

A three-prong outlet with no ground behind it is a false sense of safety.

Not always. Many older homes need targeted work, such as a new panel, a few new circuits and GFCI protection, rather than a full rewire. An inspection shows which circuits are sound and which aren’t.

Full rewiring makes sense when the original wiring is deteriorated, ungrounded throughout, or being opened up anyway in a remodel.

Yes. Insulation can cover junction boxes, old wiring and recessed light housings that need clearance. A quick electrical check first makes sure everything up there is safe and accessible before it disappears under the insulation.

One of our customers did exactly that, and wrote that it let them ‘feel comfortable knowing that everything is up to code and safe in our house.’

For most homes, yes. The Front Range gets frequent summer lightning, and modern furnaces, appliances, garage door openers and chargers all contain sensitive electronics. A surge protector installed at the panel is the first line of defense.

Pair it with good plug-in surge strips for TVs and computers. Neither will stop a direct lightning strike, but they handle the far more common surges.

A Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) is a planned outage that Xcel Energy can call during extreme wind and fire weather to reduce the risk of power lines starting a wildfire. They have been used along the Front Range foothills.

If you live near the foothills, sign up for Xcel’s outage alerts and plan safe backup power for the essentials.

The common options are a portable generator connected through an interlock or transfer switch, a permanently installed standby generator, or a battery system. The right choice depends on what you need to run and for how long.

Whatever you choose, it must be connected so it can never backfeed the utility line.

Look at the service mast and weatherhead, the meter base, outdoor light fixtures, outdoor outlet covers and the AC disconnect. Cracked covers let water in, and a damaged mast can be a hazard.

Anything on the utility side, such as the service drop wires, is for Xcel Energy. If a roofer is replacing your roof, ask them to coordinate with an electrician if the service mast comes through the roof.

Check your panel for tripped breakers and reset any GFCIs. If that doesn’t restore power, one leg of your service may be out, or there may be a damaged connection. If half the house is dark or lights are unusually bright or dim, turn off sensitive electronics and call Xcel Energy first, then an electrician.

Usually, but the electrical box must be rated to support a fan. Many light-fixture boxes aren’t. An electrician replaces the box with a fan-rated one or adds a brace, and can add a separate switch for the fan if you want one.

A common starting point is one recessed light for every 4 to 6 feet of ceiling, adjusted for ceiling height, the light’s beam and what the room is used for. Kitchens and work areas need more; living rooms often look best on dimmers with fewer, well-placed lights.

Modern LED wafer lights don’t need bulky cans, which makes adding lighting to an existing ceiling much easier.

You need a dedicated 240-volt circuit sized for the charger, enough capacity in your panel, and a permit. Most home chargers use a 40- to 60-amp circuit, but the right size depends on your car, the charger and your home’s load.

An electrician should do a load calculation first; a smaller circuit or a load-managing charger can avoid a panel upgrade.

Not necessarily. Many 100- and 150-amp panels can handle an EV charger or heat pump after a proper load calculation, sometimes with a load-managing device. Older or full panels are more likely to need an upgrade.

Ask for the load calculation before agreeing to a new service.

Sometimes, but older dimmers were made for incandescent bulbs and can make LEDs flicker, buzz or not dim smoothly. The fix is an LED-compatible dimmer and dimmable LED bulbs.

Usually, yes. Electricians fish new wiring through existing walls, ceilings and basements with small access holes. Some patching may be needed, but it is far less than opening the walls.

Most electrical work beyond like-for-like replacement of a device, such as new circuits, panel changes, EV chargers, hot tubs and remodel wiring, requires an electrical permit and inspection. In Arvada and the surrounding cities, permits come from your city’s building division; in unincorporated areas, from the county.

A licensed electrical contractor normally pulls the permit and arranges the inspection.

Colorado allows homeowners to do some electrical work on their own owner-occupied home with a homeowner permit, subject to local rules and inspection. The rules vary by jurisdiction, so check with your building department first.

Panel, service, feeder and new-circuit work is dangerous; we strongly recommend a licensed electrician for it.

Colorado’s State Electrical Board adopts the National Electrical Code for the state, and cities and counties enforce it, sometimes with local amendments. Your inspector applies the edition adopted where you live.

Older homes don’t have to meet today’s code until the parts being changed are updated.

Colorado’s high altitude and sunny climate make solar productive here. Fit depends on roof direction and shade, roof age, your panel’s capacity and your usage.

Before adding solar or batteries, have the panel checked: solar connections can require panel or busbar changes. Solar rebates and interconnection are handled through Xcel Energy and the installer.

Current code requires GFCI protection in places like kitchens, bathrooms, garages, basements, laundry areas and outdoors, and AFCI protection on most living-area circuits in new work. Existing homes generally don’t have to be updated until those circuits are modified, though adding protection is a smart safety upgrade.

Use the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) license lookup. The State Electrical Board, part of DORA, licenses individual electricians and registers electrical contractors. Search the company name and the electrician’s name.

Sonshine Electric LLC is a registered Colorado electrical contractor, number EC 103862, and owner Arlyn Mund has held a Colorado electrical license since 1986.

A journeyman electrician is licensed to do electrical work; a master electrician has more experience and testing and can supervise and plan work. An electrical contractor is the business registered with the State Electrical Board to offer and contract electrical work, and it must have a responsible master electrician.

Hiring a registered contractor means permits, inspections and insurance are handled properly.

Ask whether they are a registered electrical contractor and licensed, whether they carry liability and workers’ compensation insurance, whether the job needs a permit and who pulls it, and what the price includes.

Get the price before the work starts, and be wary of anyone who suggests skipping a required permit.

Yes. In the company’s own words, Sonshine Electric is a Christian owned and operated electrical company in Arvada, Colorado. The cross in the ‘O’ of the logo reflects that.

In practice it means honest, dependable service for every customer: clear prices, straight answers and work we stand behind.

Sonshine Electric is based in Arvada and serves the northwest Denver metro, including Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Golden, Lakewood, Broomfield, Thornton, Northglenn and Denver, and in its own words the entire Denver Metro area and the Rocky Mountain region.

If you are not sure we come to you, call (303) 525-7727 and ask.