When is it Time to Upgrade Your Electrical Work?

You can't see the electrical wiring in your home, but it’s integral to your day-to-day life. The electrical work behind your walls is responsible for lighting your home, powering your microwave and electric stove, running the air conditioning and so much more. So while your electrical work might be out of sight and out of mind, you'll definitely notice if something goes wrong. That's why you should prevent electrical problems before they start by evaluating your wiring and planning upgrades if your system turns out to be damaged, out-of-date, dangerous or otherwise not up to the standard required for modern homes.

Update Outdated or Dangerous Wiring

There are a number of reasons why your electrical work could be in need of an update. One of the most important, and potentially most expensive, is if you have an outdated wiring system running through your home. Homes built in the 1970s or earlier could have aluminum wiring, or even worse, knob and tube wiring – neither of which was designed to carry the amount of electricity necessary for today's households. If you have one of these systems in your home, you might be able to increase your home’s electrical capacity and improve its safety by replacing that infrastructure with modern copper wiring.

Even if you have a modern wiring system, problems like corrosion or damaged wiring may be undetected and worsening. That's a serious hazard hidden in your walls that you might not know about until it's too late. There could also be other dangers in your electrical work, like shoddy connections in your circuit box, too many outlets on a circuit, or a lack of proper grounding.

Look for Expert Guidance

If your electrical work seems like it's performing fine for now, that doesn’t mean there’s no reason to check it out. First and foremost, old wiring puts you at increased risk of an electric fire, which is a risk to both your property and your life. Furthermore, many home insurance agencies won't issue you coverage, or will charge increased premiums, if there is outdated electrical work. Old wiring also may not be up to your municipality's current local building code. Although existing homes are generally grandfathered into compliance if they don't meet new standards, you may be required to make updates to bring the system up to code if you perform any electrical work on your home in the future.

Properly evaluating the safety of a home electrical system is beyond the ability of most homeowners, let alone performing major upgrades like rewiring the home. If you have any doubts about the age or status of your home electrical work, call a qualified electrician today to advise you and make any necessary updates or repairs.

Using a warm white or RGB COB (chips-on-board) LED, these flood lights emit up to 1,000 lumens of illumination in a wide 120-degree beam pattern. The weatherproof LED fixtures have a low-profile die cast aluminum housing with an integral heat sink and a tempered glass lens. An adjustable mounting bracket is also included to direct illumination where it’s needed.

You probably never really think twice about using your toaster or running the vacuum. That is because we are so used to electricity we rarely give it a thought when we use our favorite gadgets and gizmos. However, electricity can still be dangerous. We need to take precautions and teach our children about how to be safe in a world surrounded by electricity. A Los Angeles electrician has some tips for staying safe. You can call The Electric Connection to find out more about staying safe in this electrical world.

One thing you can do to keep your children safe as well as your home is to keep cords out of travel paths. Cords that are stepped on repeatedly will break down over time. This can result in bare wires, which can lead to an electrical spark and even a fire. Not to mention, cords that are strung about also create tripping hazards.

Any cord that looks like it has suffered some abuse or been chewed by animals should never be plugged in. Have the item repaired with a new cord by a certified electrician, or throw the appliance out. It is too risky to try and use.

We all know the dangers of using electricity around water. However, places like the kitchen and bathroom need electricity and water. Accidents happen, but you can add a layer of protection against electrocution by having GFI outlets installed by an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners will feel safer knowing a GFI outlet automatically cuts power to an appliance as soon as the electric current is interrupted. This keeps the electricity from flowing into your body.

These are just a few things you can do with the help of your electrician to keep yourself and your family a little safer. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your appointment to have GFI outlets installed in your home.

Your computer system is essential to your business. But are you protected in the event of a serious power surge? Most companies aren’t, which means they’re playing with fire when it comes to the essential system that powers their company.

A serious power surge can severely damage your computers, causing thousands of dollars in repairs and replacement—and that doesn’t even account for the priceless data that you could lose. And even aside from serious damage to your computer system, your computers require a lot of electricity, which can cause frequent tripped breakers and power outages, and damage productivity of your office.

The most reasonable solution is to install a dedicated circuit breaker for your computer system. Not only will this protect your computers and your business, but it will improve productivity and give you ease-of-mind. Our licensed, trained electricians can install dedicated circuitry for the computers in your office to prevent slowdown and correct any electrical problems you may experience throughout the day.

Like in any other building, all electricity that enters your office travels through your circuit breaker before being fed into the different parts of your business. Each circuit is protected by a breaker, and to protect against electrical hazards, certain medium and heavy duty appliances require their own circuit or a “dedicated circuit.”

Too many items plugged into the same outlet, or several outlets connected to the same circuit, creates a lot of “noise” that consists of fluctuations in electronic current. This noise can cause problems for sensitive electronic equipment that can be damaged by mini-surges and fluctuations in power.

Without an appropriate dedicated circuit, an appliance may draw more current than the circuit can handle. This can lead to a number of problems, including causing the wiring to overheat and potentially start an electrical fire. Dedicated computer circuitry reduces this danger, allowing you to run your computers without risk of outages or worse.

In this digital age, having a strong online presence is vital to attract new employees and clients. However, with a few simple tools, any residential or commercial electrical contractor can quickly and easily set up a website. They can also create advertisements and build an online brand. Digital marketing is now accessible to the masses.

Even with a proper website, social media profiles, and company listings, it can be difficult to be noticed online. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. This is a method of making your website appear in the top search results for a given search term. For example, if a user searches for “electrical companies in [your city]”, SEO will ensure that your website appears in the top results.

This can be a complicated process, so SEO experts exist that can handle this task for a fee. Otherwise, an active social media presence will boost your SEO, as Google and other search engines are able to gather and combine data from all over the internet. The larger your online presence, the more likely it is that your company will appear in the top results.

Digital marketing can be simultaneously simple and complex, but with these recommendations, any contractor can start building an online reputation. There are a variety of options to suit any size company. With the right ideas and good management, you can drive traffic, clients, and good employees to your business.