Have you thought about dressing up your house so to speak? A fresh coat of paint, a new piece of art on the wall or even a new plant or sofa can help add a little life to a room. It is exciting to walk into a room that has a new look. You don’t always have to spend a lot of money to make your home look a little different. Consider hiring a Santa Monica electrician to install a new chandelier in your entryway or dining room. The team at The Electric Connection is here to help.

The new chandelier models that are currently on the market today are gorgeous. Many of the chandeliers are designed to look old fashioned, but they are designed to accommodate energy efficient bulbs. If you have an old chandelier hanging in your home right now, you have probably discovered the CFL bulbs don’t fit. It may not seem like a big deal right now, but the bulbs are being phased out. It is time to replace your old chandelier with one that suits your personal style.

Take some time looking at the vast variety of chandeliers that are currently available. This will take some time. Once you have made the decision, call an electrician. Santa Monica homeowners will want to make sure the fixture is hung appropriately and securely. New wiring may be needed if the existing wiring is outdated or worn. Your electrician will be able to determine the status once the original fixture is removed. If you don’t have a chandelier, but want one, your electrician will need to run new wiring to the area. Part of the installation process will include adding a dimmer switch so you can control the amount of light emitted from the chandelier. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your chandelier installation.

Everyone likes to save energy, right? You’re reducing your impact on the environment and saving money on utility bills at the same time – talk about a win-win scenario. However, despite the obvious benefits, the percentage of Americans who take energy efficiency steps in their lives is actually dropping, according to a recent poll. Read on to find out more.

Commitment to Energy-Saving Decisions

The survey, conducted by the Harris Poll, did contain some good news. A relatively high percentage of respondents take some actions to reduce their energy use – 75 percent of people, for example, said that they turn off lights and televisions when they aren't being used. That's a good first step. However, last year the number was 79 percent, and it reached as high as 82 percent in 2012. What gives?

One explanation is that money talks. Natural gas and oil prices have been relatively low in recent years, so people just might not be paying attention to every last megawatt.

"Even though understanding of energy sources remains at historical levels, in the last few years fewer consumers are taking steps to reduce energy consumption in their homes," Carol M. Gstalder, Reputation & Public Relations Practice Leader for Harris Poll, said in a press release. "As energy prices drop, so do consumers' commitment to energy-saving decisions from replacing light bulbs and water heaters to installing solar."

Lax Attention Across the Board

The Harris Poll laid out other areas where the survey found a reduction in consumer efficiency strategies:

Renewable Fuels Popular, Coal Not so Much

Taking another tack, Americans have some strong opinions about what types of fuels are best to keep feeding our energy addiction. Renewables are popular, with 78 and 75 percent of respondents saying that the benefits of solar and wind, respectively, outweigh the costs.

Getting the short end of the opinion stick were nuclear energy and coal. About 42 percent of respondents thought the risks outweighed the benefits for nuclear, with only 34 percent responding positively. And 46 percent of people gave a thumbs-down to coal, with 34 percent still in favor.

How You Can Do Better

If you want to uncover more ways to save energy in your home, have a home services technician conduct an energy audit to discover any waste and inefficiencies. You'll be in a knowledgeable minority: Only 11 percent of Americans have had an energy audit, the poll found.

As your household increases its use of electronics, it seems that the clutter of cords associated with them tend to pile higher and higher. You are constantly stepping over cords or tangling them together behind entertainment centers. There are cords from your tablets, smartphones, TVs, video game consoles and laptops. It seems that you may drown in the clutter of cords before you can find a way to get them organized.

Declutter with Washi Tape

It’s cold throughout MD, VA, and DC now, but the weather will soon start to change. Before you know it, it’ll become warmer, which means you should begin thinking about attic fan installation. An attic fan is a ventilation fan that regulates the heat level of a building’s attic by exhausting hot air. It is similar to a kitchen fan but located in the attic of a home. An attic fan is usually connected to a switch or string that you can access from the top floor of your home. You may be surprised to learn about all the benefits of installing an attic fan in your home.

Attic fans are key to maintaining an energy-efficient home. Your air conditioning unit will have to work overtime if you allow rising heat to stay in your home instead of routing it up and out. This ultimately reduces the unit’s efficiency. An attic fan is an excellent home cooling option that also keeps your energy bill down in hot summer months.

An attic fan helps reduce the humidity, or overall moisture level, in a house. Daily household activities—showering and cooking, for example—create moisture that rises and can build up in the attic if the space isn’t properly ventilated. If you don’t take any action and allow this moisture to sit in the attic for an extended period, it will eventually create mold in the insulation and possibly even in the wood structure of the attic. This moisture can be especially damaging during the wintertime (now!) when cold turns it to ice or frost. The expansion of ice and frost can seriously damage your roof.

An attic fan helps combat moisture and transfers it out of the attic before it can cause serious damage to insulation, wood structure, and roofing materials. Now is the perfect time for attic fan installation—it will help prevent ice or frost from forming and damaging your roof, and you’ll need an attic fan for the warmer months anyways. Contact Kolb Electric for attic fan installation.

Here’s a question: are you currently leaving the windows of your home closed? Doing so could trap gas from your furnace or oil heater in your house. These combustion gases can be removed with the help of an attic fan.

This really is the perfect time to schedule attic fan installation. We’ve been serving Baltimore and Bethesda, MD as well as Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC since 1925. You can count on our experienced electricians to get the job done right the first time. Call us or contact us online for installation.