Southern California residents are fortunate in the fact the winters are fairly mild, but you will need to run the heater from time to time. You can save a lot of money on heating costs by following these tips presented by your Los Angeles electrician. The team at The Electric Connection can help you get your home ready for what very well may be a very long, cold winter.

Keeping your house warm can be difficult if it isn’t properly insulated. Do your best to make sure your attic space is insulated. Another helpful tool to keeping in the air you pay to heat inside where you want it is by adding weather stripping around doors and windows. This will take care of those cold drafts that seep in around the spaces. The stripping includes sticky tape that is easily peeled off and stuck to the door and window jams. It is fairly inexpensive, but can save you a great deal of money on heating AND cooling costs. It won’t be visible and can also reduce the sound that comes through those small cracks.

Another option that is very helpful during the cooler months as well as the summer months is a ceiling fan installed by an electrician. Los Angeles residents can help reduce heating costs with the installation of a ceiling fan. The fan blades will push the hot air that rises up to the ceiling back down into the living space. The hot air in the room will keep the thermostat from kicking the furnace on repeatedly. This is where the cost savings is. Your ceiling fan can also act as a light fixture in the room. Remote controls are an option if you have high ceilings. If you are ready to take the next step in fighting high heating bills, give The Electric Connection a call today.

Energy-efficient residential homes are becoming increasingly popular in Canada which is good news for both the environment and our economy. Having an energy-efficient home also helps Canadians save big on their electricity bills. Expert Electric has been helping homeowners improve their home’s energy-efficiency for many years. For help on how to make your home more energy efficient, here are some actionable steps that you can take.

One of the best ways to make your home more energy efficient has to do with your home’s thermostat. Properly programming your home’s thermostat is essential in saving big on electricity costs. Many people overlook the impact of their home’s thermostat and leave it on all throughout the day, whether they are home or at work. By programming your thermostat to run only during the times when you are home, you will keep your home warm and see a big improvement in cost savings. Always remember to turn your home’s thermostat down when you are not at home. Your wallet will thank you.

Is your home properly insulated? Insulation is important in making your home more energy efficient. Insulation can help keep your home warm during the Winter months and keep your home cool in the Summer. Your home’s insulation is an important investment that can help you save lots of money in the long-term.

Make use of your home’s windows by pulling back the curtains and allowing the natural light to enter during the day. Sunlight is the most energy-efficient source of light in your home because it is free to use.

Making the switch (pun intended) to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can result in big cost-savings for your home. These lights are known to last longer and use up much less energy. Halogen light bulbs are another energy-efficient option for Canadians looking to reduce their electricity costs. Similar to CFLs and LEDs, these light bulbs last much longer than regular light bulbs and require less energy to operate. Make your home more energy-efficient by switching to one of these three types of light bulbs today.

For questions about how to make your home more energy-efficient, please contact Expert Electric today. We offer a variety of different residential and commercial electrical services including standby generator installations, ceiling fan installations, hot tub wiring and more. Call us today at 604-681-8338.

If you have had your electric car for a while you have probably enjoyed saving on your weekly gas bill. Of course that is if your car is charged and ready to go when you are. If it is always on low-charge, you are relying on gasoline and the savings you could be experiencing is nowhere near what it should be. This is usually because people are trying to use a Level I charger to keep up with their busy lives. If you want to have a car that can keep up with you and your busy schedule, give your electrician in Beverly Hills a call. At The Electric Connection, we have experienced electricians who can help you get what you need to make your car more economical.

If you are ready to make your work for you, look into buying a Level II electric car charger. These chargers require less than half the time to get your car fully charged. The slower trickle charger typically needs a full 24 hours to get your car charged. The faster charger only needs 6 to 8 hours. Because it is a faster system, it requires more juice. This means you need a 240-volt outlet. A Beverly Hills electrician will need to install this outlet. They are not standard in the garage or carport.

Before the outlet can be installed the electrician will need to do an inspection of your electric panel to make sure there is room for the additional breaker needed to power the outlet. Most new houses will have the room. If your home is older, an electric panel upgrade will be needed. This is something your electrician will discuss with you. If you would like to take the first step in getting your home ready for your new Level II electric car charging station, give The Electric Connection a call today.

Given just how much we depend on electricity nowadays, it’s normal to look for a quick solution for your home electrical repair needs. As fast as doing it yourself might seem, calling in an electrician will always be the best course of action. Everyone wants to save money, but hiring a professional for home electrical repair isn’t an expense you should try to avoid.

Basic knowledge and skills might be enough for various other types of repairs, but when it comes to electrical work, it just isn’t enough. Aside from the obvious dangers involved, you could cause the kind of damage that defeats the purpose of trying to cut costs in the first place.

A licensed electrician can diagnose your problem quickly. Beyond that, an experienced professional will resolve your problem in a way that will ensure it doesn’t come back. Unfortunately, even if you or your friends are good with tools, you can’t make that same promise. Trying to fix the problem yourself can make it worse, and when you finally call an expert in the price tag will be much harder to stomach.

The job could also become much lengthier, along with additional hours of frustration as the electrician corrects your mistakes in addition to the original problem. When it comes to electrical work, it takes only the smallest error to cause a big issue. Even an incorrectly placed wire could cause extensive — and expensive — damages. These issues could endanger your safety and prolong the duration of the repair job.

Experts will also have equipment in their arsenal that allows them to complete the job faster and more effectively than any amateur. As such, trying to save time by attempting repairs yourself is only going to achieve the opposite.

Even if you’re skilled enough to address what appears to be the issue plaguing your electrical system, you might still be doing more harm than good. Sometimes performing a minor repair, even one that seems to resolve the problem, only covers up a much more serious underlying issue. This can lead to a much bigger headache down the line, as the hidden problem will only worsen as you mistakenly believe everything is okay. Long-term issues like these become a time-consuming hassle to get repaired. Not only that, but they can also be extremely expensive if allowed to persist for too long.

You can avoid all that if a professional handles the home electrical repair in the first place. An expert electrician will catch the warning signs, even the subtle ones, and pinpoint the real issues at work. Sometimes, in spite of how you may feel, a quick fix is actually the last thing you need. Getting the problem repaired the right way so it won’t come back is much more important than reaching a speedy resolution.

Also, experienced professionals will not focus only on the home electrical repair that seems necessary. Instead, they assess the full picture when they work, which includes looking into the condition of your entire electrical system. This, apart from allowing for a more thorough and effective repair, can help them identify future problem areas. The earlier a pro spots the issue, the more easily it gets resolved.

Performing your own home electrical repair is an extremely risky move. This isn’t just because of the extra expenses associated with mistakes, or because you’d only make the problem worse. No, the most important reason you shouldn’t try to perform your own electrical repairs is safety!

When the doors to your home stick, they could be trying to tell you that your home’s  foundation is shifting. If your HVAC system makes funny sounds, it’s begging to be serviced. But what about your electrical system? Outside of an electrical house fire, how does your house try to tell you that it’s in need of some tender love and care by a certified electrician? If you answer yes to any of the following questions, your house is trying to tell you to call an electrician today.

One sign that you should immediately call an electrician is if your circuit breakers are tripping on a regular basis or if you reset the breaker and it re-trips. This is a sign of a bigger electrical system problem that will need the expertise of a certified electrician to diagnosis and remedy.

If your lights flicker often, then there may be a bigger electrical problem with your home. Yes, it is possible that the power grid is being temperamental but it’s far more likely to be something with the wiring in the home. Perhaps even a pesky rodent chewing on wires in the wall leaving you open to a fire hazard.

Much like when you burn food in the oven, a burning smell is definitely a problem. If you cannot pin-point the burning smell to a ruined dinner or lit candle, then you might want to consider contacting an electrician because it could be your outlets or wiring system.

Call us today if you suspect that your home is making a plea for electrical help.