High school graduation has come and gone, and now graduates are left with the tough decision of where they want to go and what they want to do with their lives. Enrolling in college, beginning a career or attending trade school are the usual options students choose from. With so many potential directions to go, Mr. Electric wants to power students’ tomorrow by giving graduates reasons to become an electrician. Take a look and see for yourself – you just might be convinced that becoming an electrician is meant for you.

Students who pursue a career as an electrician earn money while receiving on-the-job training. Most trades require you to complete an apprenticeship program before you are allowed to be licensed and work on your own. This allows you to work, learn, and get paid.

In an ever-competitive job market, it is nice to know you can always find work. Skilled electricians are always in demand.

Because it is not your regular suit and tie job, most people don’t consider the monetary benefits of becoming an electrician.  The pay is good and there are opportunities for pay increases the longer you are in the trade. Master electricians can make $100,000 a year.

Everyday as an electrician is different. It is a job suited for someone who wants to learn a trade, work in different locations on a daily basis, and learn how to use many types of equipment. If you're convinced your next career is as an electrician, contact Mr. Electric to ask about positions available in your area!  

We all know Thanksgiving can be a hectic holiday, particularly if you’re hosting. When the 10+ pound turkey has yet to be picked up, the sides have yet to be planned, and your guests are due to arrive in hours, decorating the table is the least of your worries. Don’t be discouraged: you don’t have to be Martha Stewart to create a beautiful, easy, inexpensive holiday centerpiece. In fact, you may have all the supplies to wow those soon-to-arrive guests in five minutes flat:

Option 1: Glass Vases or Wine Bottles + String Lights

Check your cabinets for empty glass vases, hurricane candle holders – any decorative glass bowl will do. If you’re in a pinch, an empty wine bottle creates the same effect! Now, fill with string lights and voilà – instant centerpiece. Battery operated string lights are easiest because you won’t have to worry about the cord, but you can also get creative with hiding the cord under your table runner. Add pinecones and/or branches as you wish.

Option 3: Leaves of Your Choice + String Lights

This incredibly simple centerpiece looks fantastic with deep green magnolia leaves or a collection from your front yard’s best yellow/orange/red ensemble. The rustic tablecloth used in this picture matches well, but any neutral color would work.

Are your customers getting hot under the collar about rising energy costs? If so, suggest they buy a ceiling fan.

Although ceiling fans do consume electricity, experts say the amount of money homeowners can save on air conditioning greatly outweighs the cost of running the fan itself.

“Ceiling fans provide year-round comfort and efficiency,” says Barb Wright, a ceiling fan product manager at Westinghouse Lighting.

Wright says the cost of operating a ceiling fan varies based on how often they’re turned on and how much the electric company charges, but on average, she says a standard ceiling fan costs less to operate than an incandescent light bulb.

Experts say ceiling fans reduce energy in two ways.

First, fans circulate the air in the room, preventing hot air from accumulating at the ceiling.

“A ceiling fan helps equalize the temperature throughout the room, so your air conditioner doesn’t have to work as hard to keep the room cool,” says Scot Wetmore, marketing director at Dan’s Fan City, a ceiling fan retailer with more than 50 stores in the United States.

When people are in the room, Wetmore says ceiling fans have the added benefit of making people feel cooler.

“Ceiling fans cool by evaporation, like a wind chill factor,” he says, adding that fans will make it feel like it’s about 6 degrees cooler in your home than it actually is, allowing you to set your thermostat 6 degrees higher. According to Progress Energy, an energy company that services North and South Carolina and Florida, homeowners can save 7 to 10 percent off their cooling costs for each degree above 78.

And ceiling fans don’t just save money in the summer. Ceiling fans run counterclockwise in the summer, but many ceiling fans are equipped with reverse switches which allow you to run the fan clockwise in the winter, thereby reducing heating bills, too.

“[Changing the direction of the fan] makes the air column go up toward the ceiling, and what it does is it drives air currents up on the ceiling to the wall and down the wall, and that helps redistribute heat from the ceiling. So it helps lower your heating bills by re-circulating the heat,” Wetmore explains.

If a ceiling fan also includes a light fixture, Wright says customers can maximize their energy savings by replacing the incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.

Wright says homeowners should also consider buying Energy Star-rated ceiling fans. “They are about 50 percent more efficient than conventional fan/light units with an estimated energy savings of $15 to $20 per year,” Wright says.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star Web site, Energy Star-rated ceiling fans move air up to 20 percent more efficiently than conventional models due to advanced blade and motor design, and Energy Star-rated ceiling fans that have light fixtures are about 50 percent more efficient and produce about 75 percent less heat.

Several ceiling fan manufacturers make ceiling fans that meet the government’s Energy Star requirements, including Casablanca, Kichler, Minka Aire and Savoy House.

Click here to shop hundreds of decorative and functional ceiling fans at Capitol Lighting’s 1800lighting.com and start saving on energy today!

If you find yourself making that frustrating trip to the circuit breaker often enough to remember, there’s a good chance your electrical panel is overworking itself. An outdated electrical panel is a hassle no homeowner should have to put with. It’s not just an issue of faulty outlets and tripping over extension cords. An outdated electrical panel is a serious fire hazard.

It’s outdated for one, and that can cause a lot of problems, especially for any home improvement projects. An electrical panel’s job is to determine how much electricity is distributed to all appliances, lights, and outlets in your home. If your electrical panel is outdated, not only is it unfit to meet your electrical needs, it puts you and your home at risk. An up-to-date electrical panel has a circuit breaker, which trips or turns off when the wiring is overworked; this prevents your electrical system from overheating and starting a fire. An outdated electrical panel isn’t only a fire hazard; it’s harmful for the following reasons.

If your home needs an electrical upgrade, it can be as simple as replacing a few circuit breakers or replacing the entire electrical panel. It’s best to contact an electrical technician as the wiring in your home is a complicated mess, and a professional knows what to look for. They can inspect your home and provide the best suggestions on how to upgrade your electrical system.