If you recently had a pole building or shop put up on your property, you are probably debating to have it powered with electricity or stick with a generator. There are clearly some real benefits to a shop having electricity. If you are simply using the building to store items, than electricity is probably not a major concern. However, if you are planning to use your shop to work on various hobbies or use it to repair vehicles, electricity is extremely helpful. You will need a Burbank electrician to go about completing the wiring process. You can depend on the team at The Electric Connection to help you make your shop complete with electricity.

Depending on the amount of electricity you need in your shop, you may need to have a sub-panel installed. This is something your electrician will discuss with you and advise you on. If your home is already using the majority of the breakers available in your existing panel, you will need an upgrade or an additional panel installed to run the shop. The size and type of the tools you will use in the shop will influence your decision.

Once you have decided on the electric panel situation, the next stop is to discuss outlet placement with your electrician. Burbank shop owners can decide how many outlets they need in the shop. You may even need a 240-volt outlet to run certain heavy machinery or to plug in a Level II electric car charging station. These are all options for you to consider when you make the decision to hire an electrician. Lighting is yet another element you will want to think about. Typically, a single fixture is installed along the ceiling and then several lamps will be used to illuminate specific work areas. If you would like to discuss running electricity to your new shop, give The Electric Connection a call today.

You know you need some electrical help around the house, but you are not sure who to call. A quick look at the yellow pages will tell you there are no shortage of electricians listed. Your friends and family are also likely to give you their two cents as well. Before you just randomly choose an electrician in Pasadena, there are some things you need to know to look for. Not all electricians are the same. One crew that you are sure to be impressed with is the team at The Electric Connection.

One of the most important factors of choosing an electrician is making sure they are licensed. Hiring an unlicensed contractor leaves you vulnerable and could end up costing you a great deal of money in the long run. You want someone who has the training and the credentials that qualify them to perform work on your house that is done up to code and will meet the county’s standards. Hiring a Pasadena electrician who has not been properly educated puts your home at risk.

Of course, you also want a professional in your home. Someone that isn’t going to make a huge mess and leave it. Don’t hire just any electrician. Pasadena residents can check the validity of the license and check to see if the person or company is insured and bonded. This way, if there is damage or the electrician happens to suffer an injury while working in your home, they are protected and so are you. While it doesn’t hurt to ask friends and neighbors about their experience with an electrician, always verify the credentials before you make a final hiring decision. Give The Electric Connection a call if you need a licensed, professional team of electricians to take care of any work around your home.

Electricity is like a kitchen knife. If you use it wisely, it can cut food and prepare delicacies. If you use it unwisely, it can end up cutting your finger. Electricity flows through anything that is a “conductor.” Interestingly, humans are very good conductors of electricity!

Since electricity is a form of energy, a strong current has the ability to seriously harm you. If the current is strong enough, you can be fatally injured. Due to the strong possibility of a fatal injury occurring, electric cables are insulated. Another important reason why they are insulated is to prevent energy from dissipating into the surroundings, allowing it to be conserved.

One of the most important factors to consider when designing an outdoor kitchen is the lighting. Outdoor kitchen lighting needs to serve a variety of purposes, including but not limited to: task lighting so the grill master can see what they’re doing, ambient lighting for people to see, and walkway lighting to shine the way from the house to the outdoor kitchen. In this blog, we’ll be going over the best types of lighting for various goals your kitchen needs to accomplish.

Remember: whatever type of lighting you choose for various areas, it should always be rated for use in outdoor environments. Even if you have a solid roof or cover above your outdoor kitchen, you want to make sure your lights can function safely in wet or damp environments.

One of the most important elements of outdoor kitchen lighting design is task lighting around the grill. This is mostly a food safety issues: the grill master needs to be able to see whether the food is cooked properly before he or she can serve it!

Grill task lighting can be accomplished with either Halogen or LED bulbs. The most important thing is that you get a nice, bright white light—this will help you see most clearly and ensure that the food coming off the grill tastes good, is presented well, and most importantly, is safe to eat.

In addition to lighting the grill, you want to make sure all cabinets are appropriately lit. This can also be done with LEDs, which can be installed under lips in the cabinet so you won’t be able to see the lights themselves—just the glow they cast. Such lighting can enhance the aesthetics of your outdoor kitchen area while making it easier to see what you’re doing while cooking.

Once the grill lighting has been figured out, the next thing to do is make sure your eating areas are properly lit! The main goals for lighting eating areas should be as follows:

The best type of lighting for outdoor eating areas is LED, which is highly efficient and durable. When it comes to keeping insects away, meanwhile, one of the best things to do is install a ceiling fan, which can be wired with lights and will discourage insects over a wide area.

Last but not least, it’s important to make sure you have adequate lighting along any pathways from your home to your outdoor kitchen. Walkway lighting can be accomplished with any type of low-voltage lighting, but we prefer LED for this task—they’re efficient, long-lasting, and get the job done better than any other type of lighting.

The right lighting can make all the difference when it comes to your outdoor kitchen. For outdoor kitchen lighting, or any type of low voltage outdoor lighting in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, call Kolb Electric today!