With energy prices on the rise and looking to keep going up, it is time to start considering your future. You can offset the increasing cost of supplying your home with electricity by switching to solar energy. Before you turn up your nose at the thought, you need to understand that solar energy has come a long way in the last ten years. The panels are a lot smaller and aesthetically appealing than they used to be. The solar installation process has been fine-tuned as well. The team at The Electric Connection has the experience you want when you are looking for solar installers.

You don’t have to live in a rural area to take advantage of solar energy. Most home covenants will allow for today’s more modern solar panels. The panels typically mount directly to the home’s roof and do not take up any space in the yard. Many of the panels blend right into the roof and hard to notice unless you look. They are available in a wide range of styles that are sure to fit your home’s design. One of the biggest concerns people have about switching to solar energy is the cost of solar panels. Cost isn’t what it used to be. There are plenty of options available to help make the initial investment a little more affordable and doable for the average family.

Imagine being able to save money every month on your electric bill. If you chose to rely completely on solar energy for your home’s energy needs, you could eliminate that bill from your monthly budget. You wouldn’t have to worry about an unreliable power grid or rapidly increasing rates. You can also take comfort knowing you are doing something great for the environment by switching to a renewable energy source. If you want more information about solar panel installation, give The Electric Connection a call today.

You have probably turned on your furnace already this year or pulled out the space heaters to help warm up your room. It won’t be long before you start to see your electric bill rise with the cost of heating your home. There are some things you can do to help keep your electric bill down and more money in your pocket. Your neighborhood electrician has some best practices to help you reduce the amount of electricity you use on a daily basis. For more information, call The Electric Connection.

1-Turn the thermostat down a couple of degrees. You can wear a warm sweater or some thick socks while you are at home. At night, turn the thermostat down a couple more degrees since you will be sleeping with blankets.

2-Unplug your cell phone charger as well as tablet and laptop chargers when you are not using them. It may seem small, but every charger pulls a little electricity even when nothing is plugged in.

3-Switch out your old incandescent bulbs with CFL or LEDs. You may need to change out your light fixture, which your electrician can do for you. The investment in a new fixture will pay for itself when you save money on your monthly lighting bill.

4-Turn down the temperature on your water heater a few degrees. It is unlikely you would use water that is 125 to 140 degrees anyways. If you can’t use water that hot, it doesn’t make sense to waste the electricity heating it to that point.

5-Make it a rule you only wash full loads of dishes in the dishwasher and only full loads in the washer. Try washing clothes with cold water when possible.

6-Invest in heavy curtains to block the chilly air coming in through the glass in the winter and block the heat of the sun in the summer. This will keep your home more comfortable and save you money on your electric bill.

If you have any more questions for your electrician about energy savings, give The Electric Connection a call today to see what else you can do to save some cash.

— Electric Connection (@LAElectricianCA) December 15, 2015

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.

For more information, contact the friendly team at AllRound Electrical at this number – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.You can also write to us at this email address.

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