As we transition into Fall and Winter, there will be plenty of new outdoor activities for everyone to enjoy. It is important to remember that, there will also be new challenges associated with outdoor electrical safety. The piling of up leaves and falling of snow can create unpredictable electrical hazards around the home. Keeping safe while outdoors doesn’t have to be complicated. Practice proper electrical safety by following these 4 Expert Electric outdoor electrical safety tips:

It’s always a good idea to semi-annually audit your home’s outdoor electrical equipment, especially in between Winter and Spring and then again in Summer and Fall. This ensures that your home is fully prepared to take on any electrical hazards that could occur during severe weather and temperature fluctuations. A licensed electrician can can easily complete this audit for you; however, it’s also possible to undertake this task on your own if preferable. During this audit, ensure that all outdoor electrical equipment is not only functioning properly also stored properly.

Loose or damaged electrical wiring can pose a serious electrical threat to your home, especially if it comes into contact with snow or leaves. A thorough inspection of all wiring and electrical cords should be completed and followed up with a replacement if necessary.

Melting snow can often result in large amounts of water pooling on the ground. If this water comes into contact with electrical equipment and wiring, the equipment and entire home can be at risk. It’s best to plan ahead and ensure that all electrical equipment, wiring and cords are placed and stored so that they won’t come into contact with water sources.

When in doubt, it’s best to contact your local licensed electrician to ensure that your home or building is safe from outdoor electrical dangers. The team at Expert Electric can inspect all of your outdoor electrical equipment and appliances such as hot tubs and pools, ensuring that all of the necessary outdoor electrical safety requirements are met.

Have any questions about outdoor electrical safety or and of our electrical services? Please fill out one of the forms on our website. We are happy to answer any questions you may have. The Expert Electric team of licensed electricians is here to ensure all of your outdoor projects are handled safely. Call us today at 604-681-8338.

If you are planning on renovating or sprucing-up your kitchen, it’s probably a good idea to map out a detailed lighting plan as well. Most people find this a little strange as they feel that lighting in a kitchen isn’t something that needs too much of consideration or planning. It’s just a place where you cook and probably where you have an informal meal after all.

However, the fact is that it’s important to plan kitchen illumination well if you want to make optimal use of your kitchen spaces. Here, we would like to share some basic lighting ideas to create the right balance of functionality and aesthetics.

If you want to get a better idea about what type of lighting would work best for your kitchen, it’s vital to understand how your kitchen spaces relate to the different type of lighting. Let’s start off with understanding what type of bulbs you can use for the best effects:

These bulbs emit a yellowish light and you will now find many artistic versions of these on the market today.

These bulbs throw off a flat, cold light that has a bluish tinge, which lends a very harsh effect to the room.

These have a warm light that makes the place look very inviting and comfortable

These are the latest in light bulb technology and are available in a range of effects including white, cool daylight, warm light, yellow and a range of other colours and hues. Aside from this, LED bulbs are also 80% more energy-efficient than standard bulbs; and most property owners are now opting for these fixtures.

In addition to the types of bulbs used, the style of lighting or the lighting effects are what impact the ambience and appearance of a room. With this in view, here we discuss the different lighting effects that can be used in your kitchen:

This is one of the simplest ways to create the right lighting effect in your kitchen. This type of lighting is designed to help you move comfortably around the room. In most instances this type of lighting comes from grid-style can lighting, widely-spaced, wall and ceiling lamps, semi-translucent skylights or even the natural light that streams in through glass windows and doors. This is the base layer of any lighting plan.

In your kitchen, task lighting would be required to illuminate kitchen counters and food preparation spaces. Since you will be cooking in your kitchen every day, it’s important that the task lighting be planned and installed well. If you have only recessed lighting fixtures in your kitchen, you will feel the lack of focused light when you are cleaning, cooking or prepping in that space.

If you install one-dimensional lighting in the kitchen, it creates unsightly shadows in different areas of the room, while ceiling lighting is ineffective in illuminating spaces like sinks, under counter or cabinet areas etc. On the other hand, if you add special pendant lamps over the counters or even your kitchen island it can prove to be a more practical solution. Under-cabinet lighting can also help in illuminating the cabinets that are positioned there.

This effect doesn’t seem as necessary as ambient or task lighting does in a kitchen space, as the illumination it provides isn’t as functional as the first two. However, it can have a significant impact on the way your kitchen spaces look. If you want to enhance the appeal of your kitchen (regardless of whether you are getting it entirely renovated or are opting for a lighting upgrade), it’s important that you plan your accent lighting well.

As a car dealership owner, manager, or even sales member; you know that getting the cars out (along with in) is one of the most vital points in your business.

On top of that, keeping the expenses as low as possible to simply operate will allow you to take home more income, rather than spending it on things that are just going to waste (like energy usage).

A good example that will resolve these issues and both increase overall revenues along with decrease expenses is in your lighting. More specifically, LED vs metal halide and HPS.

This brings two major cost saving benefits.

First, it allows you to by 2-3 times less replacement lights since you won’t need to replace burnt out lights as often (because they simply last longer).

Additionally, by reducing the amount of time you need to spend replacing burnt out lights you also get to reduce the amount of time you have to pay someone to switch out and even maintain your new lighting system. This in turn gives you a “two for one” benefit with less buying of replacement lights along with reduced costs associated with hiring someone to maintain your lighting system.

LED offers various ways that it outputs higher quality light (along with operates in a higher quality “way”).

For starters, LEDs will never flicker nor buzz unlike other luminaires do. This issue in and of itself will make your lot look low quality, unprofessional, and even annoying for those walking around the lot.

If you are deciding whether you want to install solar panels or not, there are a few interesting and enlightening facts to consider. Not only should you think about the cost of solar panels, which can be way more affordable than you realize, especially when you take in to count your electricity expenses going down considerably, there are a few other things to think about, as well:

If you are looking for solar panel installers, The Electric Connection, is here to be of assistance. Check out more of our solar energy blogs for more information about solar panel installation, installation costs and the benefits it can add to your own home and life in the long run.

Why is a bad GFCI outlet such a big deal? To put it simply, they exist to protect you from electrical shock. As required by electrical code, these outlets are in places within your house where there is an increased risk of electrocution. These include bathrooms, kitchens or outside (wherever water is likely to be present).

GFCI outlets come with a sensor designed to identify changes in current, which can indicate unsafe conditions or the risk of shock. There’s a breaker inside the outlet, which trips when there is a surge in current. This shuts down the power supplied to the outlet and any connected outlets, protecting you from electrical shocks.

GFCIs come with two buttons on them (usually black and red), with one serving to test the outlet and the other for resetting it after the breaker inside has tripped. A bad GFCI is a serious problem, as they are too important for you to ignore them for any amount of time. It is, therefore, crucial that you stay aware of when you might have an issue with one of yours.

In the majority of cases, a GFCI outlet protects you by not providing power. If there is an issue with an appliance plugged into it, the power would likely cut off long before you even get the chance to use it. When this happens, it can be easy to assume there’s something wrong with the outlet itself. But in many cases, its breaker tripped for a good reason. GFCIs are also designed to shut themselves off in the event of a person getting shocked, which isn’t always easy for it to determine with much accuracy. In other words, your GFCI outlet breaker might trip when you’re not actually in any danger.

The GFCI detects current that branches off from the intended circuit, even if the branches are small and harmless. This can include instances of a wire making contact with another component of the receptacle, which can be completely innocent. When the cause of a trip is a passing occurrence, you should be able to reset the outlet breaker with a simple push of the correct button.

Outlets can get worn out and lose some of their effectiveness over time. This also applies to GFCIs. If your GFCI outlet is tripping much more frequently than it should, it could mean it’s nearing the end of its lifespan. This is due to GFCI outlets losing the ability to adjust to changes in current as effectively as they used to. The result is that trips begin occurring for reasons that were never a problem in the past.

If your outlet breaker is tripping every time you use a hair dryer, and it never did that before, it’s a sure sign you have a bad GFCI outlet. If this becomes the case, it’s important to get it replaced as soon as possible! These outlets are too crucial a safety measure for you to delay on getting a new, functional one.