During a recent trip down to Washington, DC I stopped by the National Mall to tour the astonishingly energy efficient homes on display as part of the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathalon.  The Solar Decathlon is one of the DOE’s signature programs to promote cutting edge design and green techonology.

The electrical inspection checklist is perhaps one of the most important documents you’ll want to take notice of if you are building a home or doing significant renovations. In short, it is a rundown of all of the electrical systems in place. It ensures your home’s electrical system meets the requirements set by local codes and overall electrical safety standards. While each contractor and local area may have its own version of this electrical system checklist, it’s important for you to know what to expect.

Generally, this inspection tool is a way for the contractor, local building departments, and licensing agencies to ensure the electrical work completed on a building is safe and done according to industry-wide protocols for safety. It helps home inspectors to ensure that electrical installation meets specific guidelines set forth under local building codes. It also works as a way for contractors and project managers (as well as homeowners) to know what’s been done, what’s going to be done, and what needs attention.

Here’s a look at some of the elements of this electrical inspection checklist you’ll see. You can use this as a basic guide before asking your electrician or building contractor for a copy of your own:

The licensed electricians at Expert Electric receive a lot of questions about how motion sensing lights work and where to install them. Since our team has plenty of experience installing motion sensing lights in residential homes and commercial buildings, we figured it would be beneficial to help answer some of the more popular questions we receive. Keep reading to learn more about how motion sensing lights work, where to install them and how to install them.

Many of us are familiar with motion sensing lights as they have been around for some time now. They frequently make appearances in spy films and may even have been installed at your workplace. Nowadays, motion sensing lights are becoming an increasingly popular security measure in both commercial business buildings and residential homes. These motion sensing lights work by detecting infrared heat waves that can be found on moving objects. In order to ensure that the sensors are not triggered by non-human objects, it is necessary to dial them to a specific sensitivity setting that usually falls between 8 to 12 micrometers. To ensure that sensing lights are installed and working properly, it is best to contact a licensed electrician.

For residential homes, it is important to install motion sensing lights in different areas around the outside of the home, in both the front and back yard. For the front yard, consider installing the motion sensing lights to cover walkways, driveways, entranceways and stairs. For the backyard, it is important to cover any similar areas as well as patios, hot tubs, swimming pools and gates. Don’t feel that you should limit yourself to these areas. The placement of motion sensing lights is based upon each individual home. A good rule of thumb is to cover the most common pathways to home entrances as well as dark and hazardous areas throughout the property. The same goes for commercial properties although these properties will likely require a larger scale of motion sensing lights due to their size and valuables on hand. For questions about where to install motion sensing lights on either residential properties or commercial properties, contact the expert electricians at Expert Electric.

For commercial buildings and businesses, it is recommended that a licensed electrician takes care of the installation of motion sensing lights. This will ensure that the lights are working properly to protect the building and its valuables. Nowadays installing motion sensing lights in residential homes can be a simple process; however, dialing in the sensitivity settings so that the lights are not being prompted by non-human movement every hour of the night can be tricky. A licensed electrician at Expert Electric can have your residential motion sensing lights up and running in no time, allowing you to sleep safely and peacefully, free of frustrating false alarms.

Well, it happened again. The kitchen and bath pros who make up the via www.marketwatch.com

Giant windows are great if possible. That’s a big IF, though. Sometimes, natural light isn’t an option, either because the laundry room is subterranean or otherwise windowless. Obviously, in the image below, natural light is not an option. Yet, the color temperature of the ceiling light is neutral enough to make this laundry room bearable while another, poorer lighting choice could have made this tiny laundry room annoying to visit and kind of scary.

You didn’t think I was going to avoid talking about lighting solutions just because natural light is such a great option for laundry rooms, did you? So, how should you light your laundry room? For any type of laundry room, there are some fundamental guidelines.

I’ve already suggested that you ALWAYS USE NATURAL LIGHT, when and if possible. And for your other light sources? Consider choosing lights with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) of as close to 100 as possible. A light source’s CRI is, in effect, a metric by which to compare the ability of artificial light to render color as well as the sun. 100 is the maximum CRI. Some lamps, like low-pressure sodium lamps, can actually have really low CRIs, while there are now some LED lights with CRIs of 95 – 98. If the sun isn’t shining in your laundry room, there are plenty of excellent options that closely match natural light’s ability to render color and help you keep your clothes clean and fresh as can be.

Layer your lighting.

OK, so this is the main theme in pretty much all lighting design guides. Layering your light pretty much means that you should think about general light, accent lighting, and task lighting. In the main section of a house, this might look like mini recessed ceiling lights with square bronze trim, elegant track lighting to spotlight a painting or picture, and a reading light by the chair or some under cabinet lights illuminating the bar counter. In a laundry room it might look like the image below.

Sometimes, in larger laundry rooms, you can have all three kinds of light. But, generally speaking, laundry areas are on the smaller side and are too focused on pragmatism for decorations that would benefit from accent lighting. Keep in mind that this is a generalization with exceptions galore, but, generally, the two kinds of lighting you’ll find in laundry areas are ambient overhead lighting and task lighting, and this scheme usually takes the form of a ceiling light or two and under cabinet lighting.

Creative Options.

If you’re considering buying an electric car (“electric vehicle” or “EV”), you might have questions. Many of the answers given here apply to anywhere in the U.S. But when it comes to rebates and the electricity rates for charging EVs, the info applies to Los Angeles, where I install electric car chargers. I’ve also included a link so that if you live outside of L.A., you can check which rebates or other financial incentives are available in your area.

Do I need an electrician to install a charger for my new electric car? The most common electric car is still the Toyota Prius, which an electrician can’t help you with. You don’t plug it into an outlet to recharge. The battery is recharged by a mechanism that’s triggered when you put on the brakes. With a Prius, there isn’t a worry about running out of electricity. It’s a hybrid, meaning that until the brakes recharge its battery, the car burns gas in its internal combustion engine.

While at this time, you can’t plug a standard Prius into an electric outlet to re-charge the battery, Toyota has announced that its 2014 model will have this capability. The 2011 Chevy Volt (a hybrid) and Nissan Leaf (all-electric) are “plug-ins.”

Level 1 Electric Car Charger. Plug-in electric cars come equipped with a “Level 1 charger.” This is a special extension cord that you can plug into an electrical outlet which carries ordinary house current (110 volts). You may have a suitable electrical outlet right where you need it in your garage or carport. It can charge a Nissan Leaf, empty to full, in about 20 hours. For a Chevy Volt, it takes about 10 hours. Don’t worry, there’s also a faster alternative, a Level 2 charger.

Even if you’re all set up with an outlet in your garage for your Level 1 charger, if you’re not knowledgeable about wiring, have an electrician check things over. The electrician should make sure that the charging outlet in your garage is on a “dedicated circuit,” meaning it serves no other outlets or switches. The outlet should be a GFI (safety) outlet in working order. And the electrical panel should have enough capacity to deal with the added load of charging your car.

Level 2 Electric Car Charger. Most drivers will want the speed of a Level 2 charger. It’s housed in a container about 18 inches around and hangs on the garage wall, sticking out about a foot. It takes a Nissan Leaf from empty to full in about eight hours and a Chevy Volt in about four. This will allow you to charge your car overnight even if the battery starts from empty. Nissan and Chevy have both partnered with manufacturers and installers of Level 2 chargers. Your car dealer can arrange for purchase and installation of the charger, or you can do it on your own.

What does installation of a Level 2 charger involve? Let’s say you decide to go ahead with a Level 2 charger. The electrical contractor will select a location in your garage or carport where a charging cord won’t get in the way. He will consider the location and size of your electrical panel, existing circuits, and where and how your electricity is metered.

He will give you a bid for installing the charger and, if needed, upgrading your electrical panel for the additional load. An electrician who specializes in charger installations can also tell you about tax credits and rebates. Actual installation of the charger along with any needed upgrade of your electrical panel and/or electric meter will take a few hours to a day or so.

Do chargers require an electrical permit and inspection? If you already have a dedicated circuit for a GFI outlet (no other appliance is served by the circuit) in your garage, it can be used for Level 1 charging and no additional permit or inspection is required.

If you need to install a new circuit or new electric meter or upgrade your electrical panel for either a Level 1 or Level 2 charger, you’ll need a permit and an electrical inspection.

How much does installation of a Level 2 charger cost? Without any rebates, installation of a Level 2 charger averages around $2,000. The price for your installation will depend on the distance of your charger from your electrical panel, whether your panel needs an upgrade, and whether you will be installing a special electric meter. Rebates and tax credits can reduce this price if you install before December 31, 2011. We don’t know yet about financial incentives for 2012.

INCENTIVES FOR ELECTRIC CARS The information below on incentives for electric car buyers focuses on L.A. and California. Here’s a link where you can find out more detail about L.A. and also check out incentives for electric cars in other zip codes.

What financial incentives are available for purchase of electric cars? If you purchase an electric car in 2011, you may be able to reduce your federal tax bill by $2,500 to $7,500 with a tax credit. Converting your Prius or other non-plug-in hybrid to a plug-in can reduce your federal tax bill by 10% of the cost of the conversion. Purchase of an electric motorcycle or low-speed “around the neighborhood” electric cart can reduce your federal tax bill by up to $2,500.

Californians who buy an EV and act quickly enough can qualify for a rebate from the State of up to $5,000 on an electric car and up to $20,000 on a commercial vehicle. These rebates apply to many kinds of electric vehicles, including all-electric, hybrid, motorcycles, and low-speed “around the neighborhood” carts.

What rebates are available for installing an electric charger? A homeowner who installs a Level 2 electric charger can cut their 2011 federal tax bill by 30% of the cost of purchase and installation, with a cap of $1,000 (as a tax credit).

If you are customer of the L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP), you may qualify for a $2,000 rebate on installation of your electric charger. To qualify, you need to also install a separate electric meter for your new car. Ask your electrician to see if you will save money with this approach.

Are there any other incentives for electric car owners? Some states, like California, provide a sticker to qualifying electric car owners so that they can drive in freeway carpool lanes regardless of the number of occupants.

Does EV charging receive any special break in electric rates? In Los Angeles and many areas of the country, yes. In L.A., both Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) offer special reduced rate plans for charging EVs at night, during off-peak hours.

Both power companies encourage people thinking of buying an EV or installing a charger to contact them. Call (800) DIAL-DWP or call SCE at (800) 4EV-INFO. SCE has extensive information on its website at www.sce.com. Both companies are particularly interested in customer plans regarding EVs because they need information for planning power demand.

Are electric car chargers safe? At this time, all the evidence points to extreme safety. At Level 1, the EV charging cord is plugged into a GFI outlet carrying ordinary house current (110 volts), very much like outlets in newer bathrooms and kitchens. GFIs are specially designed to protect people against shocks. Should something go wrong, like the outlet gets wet while charging your car, the GFI immediately shuts off power. Homeowners and businesses have many years of safe experience with GFIs.

Level 2 chargers carry more current, 240 volts. Manufacturers have designed Level 2 chargers for every eventuality and advertise that Level 2 chargers are 100% safe. Of course, nothing is 100% safe. But, so far there have been no reports of someone figuring out how to injure themselves with one.

Do all chargers serve all electric vehicles? Your new electric car will come with a Level 1 charger that is compatible with any ordinary electrical outlet.

The manufacturers of Level 2 chargers have worked out universal standards. Regardless of the make of your electric car, any Level 2 charger will be compatible with it.

Where can you charge an electric car in Los Angeles? Level 2 chargers are currently available for a fee in Los Angeles train stations, LAX, the Bob Hope Burbank airport, the L.A. Convention Center, and other public places. Click here for an on-line map of electric car chargers. You can type in your zip code to find publicly-accessible chargers near you.

Click for more information about charging EVs in L.A. For more about my company, The Electric Connection — all the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask — click here. If you’re interested coupons for electrical work, for example $50 off installation of a Whole House Surge Protector in the L.A. area, click on our coupon page.