Knights' Electric, Inc. LIC. #432135

Aage Krepper and Steve Sperbeck are certified TEGG Service technicians for Knights' Electric, Inc. Both Krepper and Sperbeck received their certification and training at TEGG headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last August. They are both certified thermographers (infrared testing) and highly trained in ultrasound testing.
 

Both Krepper and Sperbeck have been very active in the field since receiving their certification, "Right after we got back from Pittsburgh I went to work at a facility that I tested and found some areas that needed to be repaired," says Krepper, "I think that's one of the best things about TEGG, that we can troubleshoot problems that exist before they fail and then fix them before they cause a real problem for the customer."

Krepper is also impressed with the safety training he and Sperbeck received at TEGG headquarters and the PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) that they wear on the job. 'We wear flame retardant clothing, we have mats to stand on, rubber boots, gloves, special rubber sleeves we can put on if we need to reach in deep on electrical systems and insulated tools," says Krepper, who has five years experience as an electrician, "we also have flash suits and hoods for situations where we work on systems with more than 240 volts. We also have thicker suits for higher voltage jobs."
 

"I love working for TEGG," says Steve Sperbeck, who has been with Knights' Electric for six years, "our customers think it's a great idea and they're amazed when we find problems with their electrical system because they can't see the problems and everything seems to be running just fine. I've worked at Beringer (Vineyards), Exchange Bank, Traditional Medicinals and a number of other businesses where TEGG has been very well received."
 

Aage Krepper entering TEGG analysis information into TEGG software
to produce report for customer.

Steve Sperbeck in protective suit used when inspecting electrical systems and equipment.

Mauritson Family Winery (left) and new barrel building.

 

Knights' Electric, Inc. recently completed work on a barrel storage building at Mauritson Family Winery that features a night air-cooling system. Knights' Electric had previously worked on the construction of the winery that was completed prior to the 2004 crush. The barrel storage building is a separate structure adjacent to the winery, which is located on Dry Creek Road and Lytton Springs Road in Healdsburg.
 

Night air-cooling systems have become popular with wineries as a way to provide temperature control for warehouses that contain cases of wine and barrel storage buildings that need to maintain low storage temperatures. Barrel storage requires temperatures in the 60-degree range while cased wine can be closer to 70 degrees because the wine is more stable in the bottle.

This night air-cooling system consists of two sets of louvers that open when the outside temperature is lower than the inside temperature of the building, typically from late spring to late fall. A thermostat setting activates the motorized louvers to open and cooler air is pulled in with exhaust fans. A gable exhaust fan moves warmer air out. The coolest air is captured at night from valley floor and retained inside the building with cost-effective insulation.

The barrel storage building at Mauritson Family Winery has a humidifier system linked to the night air-cooling system to control evaporation in the wine barrels. The humidifier switches off when the fans are on, bringing the room temperature down, and the humidifier then switches on when the desired temperature is reached. The humidifier, which sprays a mist that maintains a desired humidity in the room to lessen barrel evaporation, operates whether or not the night air-cooling system is in operation. Cased wine storage does not require a humidifier.
 

Night air-cooling fans blow hot air towards gable louver at the other end of the barrel building.

 

Gable louver opens and fan pulls hot air out.

Knights' Electric installed the night air-cooling system and field wiring for the refrigeration controls and power for the barrel storage building at Mauritson Family Winery along with two power stanchions, hi-bay lighting for the building and exterior lighting fixtures that match the fixtures they installed on the exterior of the winery.
 

Intake fan pulls cool night air in
 when activated by thermostat setting.

Intake louver opens to allow cool air
into barrel room.

4,600 square foot custom home is nearing completion.

 

John Crawford Construction is putting the finishing touches on a custom home that has been under construction since spring of 2004. About twenty workers are busy with details and trim work including Knights' Electric, Inc., which has a crew of electricians finishing the landscape lighting and indoor fixtures.
 

Pool and pool house situated next to
custom home.

 

Knights' Electric's work crew on site (left to right); Brent Smith, Brad Meier, Dan Beltran (foreman), Steve Sperbeck, Aage Krepper.

 

Knights' Electric has installed approximately 130 recessed lighting fixtures and a Lutron HomeWorks lighting control system to handle all of the lighting, dimmers and timers. "It's a nice system," says John Crawford, the general contractor on the project, "safety wise it's great because you can walk into the house and with one switch you can pretty much light up the whole house. It's economical because all of the lighting is low voltage. When you leave the house you probably won't leave any lights on by mistake because you can turn them all off with one switch, the system has a major over ride ? it shuts everything down except the security lights."

 

The home is 4,600 square feet and with the guesthouse, pool house and garage the total is approximately 7,800 square feet. The home's great room interior walls and ceiling are cedar tongue and groove. "Cedar has about the greatest range of color from dark to light of any wood," says Crawford, "The owners were shocked by the different shades of wood on each plank so we used wood stain to blend the overall color and tone it down a bit ? it looks just fine and they like it."

 

Kitchen area with recessed lighting.

 

The kitchen area and the fireplace in the great room have steel patina trim that was installed by Simpson Sheet Metal and the floor is a dark tan concrete slab with a glazed finish. The great room also has a thirty-foot pocket doors for the huge sliding glass doors that weigh 800 pounds.

John Crawford Construction usually works on the commercial side of the industry specializing in design/build projects like Montemaggiore, a winery he recently completed with the help of Knights' Electric. "When you build a winery you work with speed to save the owner money," says Crawford, "when you build a house you're always making changes to keep the owners happy."