Straight answers.

A breaker trips for one of three reasons: the circuit is overloaded, there’s a short circuit or ground fault, or the breaker itself is worn out. If it trips when a particular appliance runs, that circuit is probably carrying more than it was built for.

Reset it once. If it trips again right away, or the breaker feels hot, leave it off and call an electrician. Repeatedly resetting a breaker on a real fault is how wires overheat.

A quick, slight dip when a big motor starts is common, especially on rural services at the end of a long utility line. Motors pull several times their running current for a moment when they start.

Dimming that’s severe, lasts more than a second, or shows up all over the house can point to a loose connection at the panel, meter or service neutral. That’s worth having checked, because loose connections heat up.

That usually means one leg of your service or the service neutral has failed. It can damage appliances and electronics quickly. Turn off the main breaker if you can do so safely and call your electric utility right away.

The problem can be on the utility’s side (the line or transformer) or on yours (the mast, meter base or main panel). The utility can tell you which, and an electrician fixes anything from the meter base in.

Most often a GFCI outlet somewhere else on that circuit has tripped. Check bathrooms, the kitchen, the garage, the basement and outside for an outlet with Test and Reset buttons, and press Reset.

If that doesn’t bring it back, the cause may be a loose connection in that outlet or one upstream of it. Loose connections are a fire risk, so it’s worth a service call.

They work, but they have no ground, so they don’t protect you or your electronics the way a modern outlet does. Don’t use three-to-two adapters as a permanent fix.

The options are running new grounded circuits, or replacing the outlet with a GFCI marked “No Equipment Ground,” which protects people from shock even without a ground wire. An electrician can tell you which makes sense room by room.

Usually yes, at least in stages. Knob-and-tube and early cloth-covered wiring have no ground, the insulation gets brittle with age, and they were never meant for today’s loads or to be buried in insulation.

Many insurers ask about it, too. We can identify what’s still live, prioritize the circuits that carry the most load, and plan the rewiring so the house stays usable while it’s done.

A GFCI protects people from shock by shutting off when current leaks to ground, which is why they’re used near water: bathrooms, kitchens, garages, basements and outdoors. An AFCI protects against fires by detecting arcing in damaged or loose wiring.

They do different jobs, and some breakers and outlets combine both. If one keeps tripping, it’s usually telling you something real.

Most of the time the dimmer isn’t rated for LEDs, or the bulbs aren’t dimmable. Older dimmers were built for incandescent loads and can’t control the small load of an LED properly.

Swapping to an LED-rated dimmer and matching dimmable bulbs fixes most cases. Flicker on lights that aren’t on a dimmer points to a loose connection instead.

Signs include a fuse box or a panel under 100 amps, breakers that trip under normal use, no room for new circuits, lights that dim heavily when appliances start, or plans to add a big load such as an EV charger, a hot tub, a shop or electric heat.

Most modern homes are served by 200 amps. An electrician can add up what your house actually draws and tell you whether the service, the panel or both need to change.

A service upgrade typically replaces the meter base, the mast or underground riser, the service conductors, the main panel and the grounding. The utility disconnects and reconnects the line, and in most cases the power is off for part of a day.

The schedule depends on your utility and any inspection your town or county requires before reconnection. We coordinate those so you aren’t left waiting.

In general, the utility owns the line to your house and the meter itself. The homeowner owns the mast or riser, the weatherhead, the meter base (the socket the meter plugs into) and everything after it.

So if a storm or a limb pulls the mast off the house, the utility will make it safe, but you’ll need an electrician to repair your side before they’ll reconnect. Details vary a little between utilities and REMCs.

Yes. Federal Pacific Stab-Lok and Zinsco breakers have a well-documented history of failing to trip when they should, which is the one job a breaker has.

They can appear to work for decades and then fail when a real fault happens. Replacing the panel is the fix; swapping individual breakers isn’t.

Yes for most homes, and especially in the country. A surge protector at the panel absorbs spikes from lightning and utility switching before they reach the furnace board, well pump controls, appliances and electronics.

It won’t stop a direct lightning strike to the house, and it works best paired with good grounding and plug-in protectors at sensitive electronics. Compared with replacing a furnace control board or a refrigerator, it’s inexpensive protection.

Often, yes. A subpanel adds breaker spaces, and it’s a good way to feed a garage, basement or addition. But it doesn’t add capacity: everything still runs through your main service.

If the service itself is at its limit, the right fix is a service upgrade. A load calculation tells you which one you need.

A feeder from the house or a separate meter, a panel in the building with its own grounding electrodes, and wiring suited to the building. The feeder is sized for what you’ll run out there and for the distance, since long runs need larger wire to hold voltage.

A feeder to a separate building uses four wires (two hots, a neutral and a ground), with neutrals and grounds kept separate in the building’s panel.

For most runs: 24 inches for direct-burial cable, 18 inches for wire in PVC conduit, and 6 inches for rigid metal conduit. A 120-volt, 20-amp GFCI-protected residential circuit can be 12 inches deep.

Depths are measured to the top of the cable or conduit. Driveways and farm lanes with heavy equipment call for extra depth or conduit. Always call 811 before digging.

Yes. Indiana law requires contacting Indiana 811 at least two full working days before you dig, even on your own land. It’s free.

811 marks public utilities. Private lines you or a previous owner installed, such as power to a barn, a well line or a propane line, aren’t marked, so tell your electrician about anything you know is buried.

Feeding from the house is simpler and avoids a second monthly service charge, and it works well for modest loads at a reasonable distance. A separate service makes sense for large loads, long distances, or a building that may be sold or rented separately.

The deciding factors are the size of your house service, how far the building is, and what you plan to run. We can price both ways.

Barns are hard on electrical equipment: dust, moisture, ammonia, rodents and physical damage. Wiring should be protected in conduit or rated cable, with sealed, gasketed fixtures and boxes rated for damp or wet locations.

Receptacles should be GFCI protected, and anything livestock can reach needs to be protected from chewing and rubbing. Bare bulbs and open boxes in a dusty haymow are a fire waiting to happen.

Not for the long term. Extension cords aren’t made for continuous heating loads or weather, and overloaded or damaged cords are a leading cause of barn fires.

A permanent, GFCI-protected outdoor-rated circuit with a receptacle near the waterer or pen is safer and usually not a large job.

Most rural properties have single-phase service. Three-phase motors can usually be run from single-phase with a variable frequency drive (VFD) or a phase converter sized for the motor.

Bringing in three-phase utility service is possible in some locations but can be expensive. The best choice depends on the motor size and how often it runs.

Many hobby and working shops are well served by a 60- to 100-amp subpanel. The right size depends on your largest tools (a welder, a compressor, a lift) and how many run at the same time.

It’s worth leaving room to grow. The cost difference between a small panel and one with spare spaces is small compared with redoing the feeder later.

Most 240-volt shop welders use a 50-amp circuit with a NEMA 6-50 receptacle, and larger compressors typically need a dedicated 240-volt circuit of 30 amps or more. Always size from the nameplate on the machine.

Smaller 120-volt welders and compressors still do best on their own 20-amp circuit so they don’t trip the breaker that runs the lights.

LED strip or high-bay fixtures, spaced evenly and switched in zones, give bright, even light for little power. Aim for more light than you think you need over benches and equipment bays.

In unheated buildings, choose fixtures rated for the temperature swing and for damp locations. Putting lights on their own circuit keeps you from being left in the dark when a tool trips a breaker.

Usually, yes. A Level 2 charger runs on a 240-volt circuit, typically 40 to 60 amps, and most 200-amp services can support one. Homes with 100-amp service may need a load calculation, a load-management device or a service upgrade.

The charger should be on its own dedicated circuit, installed to the manufacturer’s requirements.

Yes for standard 120-volt receptacles in garages, and it’s good practice in any shop or outbuilding. Concrete floors, damp conditions and power tools are exactly where GFCI protection saves lives.

If a GFCI trips repeatedly with a particular tool, the tool or its cord may be leaking current. That’s the GFCI doing its job.

Through an interlock kit or a transfer switch with a proper generator inlet, installed by an electrician. Both make it physically impossible for the generator and the utility to feed the panel at the same time.

Never plug a generator into a dryer outlet or wall receptacle. Backfeeding energizes the utility lines and can kill a line worker or a neighbor, and it can destroy your generator when power returns.

Many country homes can run the essentials (well pump, refrigerator and freezers, furnace blower, some lights and outlets) on a portable generator in the 7,500- to 12,000-watt range. Well pumps and other motors need extra capacity to start.

Running central air, an electric range or electric heat usually calls for a larger standby unit. Listing what you need to keep running is the first step.

An interlock is a sliding plate on your main panel that lets you turn on a generator breaker only when the main is off, so you can choose which circuits to run. A manual transfer switch moves selected circuits between utility and generator power.

An automatic transfer switch does it for you and pairs with a standby generator that starts on its own. Interlocks cost the least; automatic systems are the most convenient.

Stay away from the line and call your electric utility first; treat every downed line as live. They’ll make it safe.

If the mast, weatherhead or meter base is damaged, that part is the homeowner’s to repair. An electrician fixes it, and the utility reconnects once it’s ready.

Check for tripped breakers and GFCIs first. If lights are unusually bright or dim, or only half the house works, turn off the main and call the utility: you may have lost a leg or the neutral.

Electronics, furnace boards and well controls that died in the outage were likely hit by a surge as power was restored. A whole-home surge protector helps prevent that next time.

Indiana doesn’t issue a statewide electrician’s license; licensing and registration are handled by cities and counties. Requirements differ from one jurisdiction to the next.

L&C Electrical is licensed and insured. For any contractor, it’s fair to ask for proof of insurance and which local licenses they hold.

It depends on where you live and the job. Many Indiana towns and counties require permits for service upgrades, new buildings and major wiring, and utilities often need an inspection or release before reconnecting a new service.

We’ll tell you what applies to your project and handle the paperwork where it’s required.

We’re based in New Ross and serve the surrounding area, including Crawfordsville, Ladoga, Jamestown, Advance, Lebanon, North Salem, Lizton and Roachdale.

If you’re nearby and not sure, call (765) 366-7658 and ask.

Electrical service and installation for homes, farms and shops: panels and service upgrades, new wiring, lighting, troubleshooting, surge protection, and power for garages, pole barns and outbuildings.

If it carries current, ask. We’ll tell you straight whether it’s something we do.

A short description of the problem or project, your address, and anything you know about your panel: its size, brand and age. Photos of the panel and the area help a lot.

For new buildings, the distance from the house or meter and a list of what you want to run are the two things that drive the design.