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.

Don't get caught in the dark if a storm or other disruption knocks out your power. You can protect your home and your family with a backup generator. Read on for tips on how to pick out the right one for your house.

Why Do I Need A Generator?

Blackouts are unpredictable. Of course, you can have family fun in a power outage, but if the lights stay off for an extended period of time it can mean trouble. If you rely on electric heat and the power doesn't come back on promptly in cold weather, your pipes could freeze and your home could even become too cold for human habitation. In the summer, you can end up sweltering with no air conditioning while all the food in your refrigerator spoils. Smart homeowners are prepared to keep their electrical systems up and running no matter how long it takes the utility company to restore power.

What Are My Options?

You can buy a small portable generator if you just need to keep a few appliances functioning. Plug your equipment into the portable generator directly, or a special connection to your circuit box can be installed to allow you to plug into your wall outlets as normal. Be careful not to overload the generator, or you can cause it to short out. 

A standby generator is the best option if you want to keep your whole house online. Standby generators run off your gas connection (or you can attach a propane tank) and they turn on automatically when the power goes out. Standby generators are simpler to use once they are installed because you don't need to worry about cords or even turning it on yourself. However, they can cost $10,000 or more.

You should choose the size and power of your generator based on how much electricity you will need in an emergency. Adding up the wattage of all the equipment and appliances you want to keep online will give you a baseline to use as a guide. Portable generators range in capacity from 1,000 watts to around 17,500 watts, while heavy duty standby generators can handle up to 30,000 watts and above.

Safety First

If you get a portable generator, never run it inside. Find a level surface at least ten feet from your house, and connect properly-rated extension cords to the appliances you want to run. Because most portable generators burn gasoline, placing one too close to your home can put you at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Don't forget to inspect the extension cords for any fraying or damage and ensure they are rated for outdoor use.

Never modify an extension cord or plug your portable generator directly into a wall outlet. This will send electricity back through your circuit box and onto the grid, creating a danger to utility workers fixing the wires.

Choosing the right generator, not to mention properly installing it, can be tricky. Call an expert electrician to help you purchase and set up your new generator so you know that the lights will stay on the next time the power goes down.

Call local Mister Sparky® for generator advice or assistance. We're always here to help!

Tired of breaking the bank just to keep up with the Joneses? Forget fancy cars and other status symbols. How about a way to maintain a friendly neighborly competition that actually involves saving money instead of spending? Americans have a wealth of resources at their disposal to empower families to cut back on energy consumption and reduce their electricity bills, but we don't do a stellar job of taking advantage of that information. Recent research, however, has shown that homeowners are more likely to take efficiency measures with their electrical work when they can compare their own consumption to that of their neighbors.

Whose Bill is the Lowest?

The experiment took place last summer, when the Vermont utility company Green Mountain Power worked with Opower, a software company that specializes in behavioral economics. During very hot days when air conditioning use was expected to be high, the utility reached out to customers with tips on reducing the amount of energy they need to power their home electrical work.

Afterward, the utility gave a report which ranked households in the neighborhood based on how well they had done on cutting back. By the end of the summer, electricity consumption among Green Mountain customers had dropped by five percent during hot days. That's some serious savings!

Peer Pressure at its Best

That five percent resulted from simple behavioral changes like bumping the thermostat up a few degrees and using curtains to block out sunlight during the hottest part of the day – no major investments or new equipment needed, just a little peer pressure. This research should be useful in helping understand what motivates people to save energy in order to develop more effective outreach programs for utility companies around the country.

One of the big takeaways is that the utility didn't give its customers any kind of incentives or payments to change their behavior – just the money they saved through efficiency, and the bragging rights of being more conservation-minded than their neighbors.

"Some of the decisions we make are not entirely rational, and they are due to a lack of context," Kevin Hamilton, Opower's vice president of marketing, said to Utility Drive, "and by providing that context you can encourage individuals to adjust their usage in ways that can benefit both the customer and the utility as well."

Little Changes Mean Big Savings

People come up with all kinds of reasons not to implement efficiency measures: It costs too much in initial capital, they are too busy to think about it, or they simply don't think the savings are worthwhile. But the reality is that even making small behavioral changes can add up in the long run.

If you want to decrease the cost of your electrical work and impress your neighbors, have a qualified home services technician perform an energy audit on your house to identify the most cost-effective ways for you to cut back.