When your commercial building needs electrical service, it's good to ask the commercial electrician for some advice on how to keep the electrical systems running smoothly in your facility. He or she can help you to avoid electrical slowdowns and excessive wear and tear on your electrical equipment and wiring in your building, and also help you save money on your electrical costs. Note a few questions to ask him or her and how their advice can help you.

Ask how to save money on electricity in your facility

Some electricians might perform a full energy savings check on your facility, and give you a complete inventory of ways that you can cut electrical usage and costs. However, when an electrician is in your building for routine maintenance or to fix a certain electrical problem, he or she may also readily notice some ways that you're wasting electricity, and can freely point these out to you.

For example, if your wiring is very old and outdated, it may not be conducting electricity very efficiently, and an older HVAC system may also be wasting energy. An electrician may notice stuffy areas of the building that could use added ventilation or better insulation, so you would then pay less for air conditioning. These small tips can actually go a long way toward reducing your energy consumption and electrical bills, and are things that many electricians easily notice during routine service calls.

Ask about the safest place to use a generator

Many commercial facilities use a generator for running equipment outdoors where there is no access to electricity, or will keep one as a backup for when there are power interruptions. Generators need lots of ventilation, an even and level surface, and to stay away from wet areas where the power lines are run. An electrician might check your current generator and note if any of these issues should be addressed, to keep it running safely when in use.

Ask about your risk for electrical fires

A thorough inspection of your building's wiring and other electrical components should be done periodically, but again, an electrician can often note certain risk factors just when performing routine service work. This might include overloaded outlets or circuits, older wiring that is getting bare and frayed, signs of pest infestation and rodents chewing through the wiring, wet areas near electrical outlets and wiring, and other such risks. Correcting these can keep your building safer even before you have a thorough inspection done.