As we enjoy the final days of spring, it is time to prepare for a scorching summer and everything that means. Summer is an excellent time to enjoy evenings outside on the back patio with a cool beverage, your favorite book and a little music. Maybe your summer evenings involve entertaining outdoors. No matter how you envision spending your summer nights or days, you will be happy to know it call all be that much more comfortable with the installation of an outdoor ceiling fan by and electrician in Los Angeles. These fans add elegance as well as provide a cool breeze. Your friendly electricians at The Electric Connection are here to help you get the most out of your summer.

Ceiling fans indoors have proven their value time and again. Their cousin, the outdoor fan, is often overlooked, but it is just as useful and provides plenty of benefits when placed over a patio, deck or in an outdoor room. As with an indoor fan, the outdoor fans provide a quiet breeze that helps break up the stifling heat. There is another bonus the fans provide—they are an excellent bug deterrent. Flying insects like mosquitoes, gnats and even bees can make your time outdoors unpleasant. With the breeze created by the fan, the bugs will be less likely to invade your space.

An electrician will need to complete the installation of your outdoor fan. Electrical wiring will need to be run outside and along a wall or deck material to the junction box where the fan will be installed. Because of this, you will need to have an electrician familiar with the intricacies of the Los Angeles electrical codes. You will also rest easy knowing the fan was installed correctly and safely by an experienced electrician. If you are ready to make your outdoor summer nights more enjoyable with an outdoor fan, give The Electric Connection a call today.

Few of us can imagine living without electricity. It’s not an exaggeration to say that it powers our lives, from our heating and cooling systems to our communications networks to our cooking appliances. But electricity can also be a dangerous friend. You don’t want to tackle any but the simplest electrical issues yourself. According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, more than 55,000 house fires are caused each year by electrical systems installed or worked on by someone who isn’t a licensed electrician.

The secret to keeping your home safe is knowing when to call an electrician and when you can do it yourself.

Even the most modern, well-maintained home or building can have electrical problems. If you’re wondering when to call an electrician, we recommend you pick up the phone when you encounter these issues:

New Electrical Installations

If you’re building a new house, garage, or home addition, it’s important to start with proper wiring. A good electrical contractor will safely wire your home according to local building codes and work with you to understand your needs and how you’ll be using the space—ensuring that the electrical system will address those needs.

If you’re adding a new laundry area to your new addition, for assistance, you’ll want special outlets installed for all of those appliances. Will you be installing wall sconces in your new house? Your electrician can help with that too.

When it’s time to call an electrician for your Montgomery County home or business, there’s only one name you need to know: Kolb Electric! All of our workers are licensed electricians, and we’ve been helping area homeowners like you with their electric needs for nearly 90 years.

Kolb Electric is a full-service electrical contractor, and we are happy to tackle any household or commercial electrical project, from installing a new outlet to rewiring an entire house. We cheerfully offer free, fair estimates as well as 24-hour emergency service, seven days a week. To learn more about how Kolb Electric can solve your electrical needs in the DC metro area, and/or to schedule an appointment for our services, call us at 877 287-1179.

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than to do so in Virginia, one of the first colonies to create talks of revolution against the British? Virginia had a huge rule in the American Revolution. In fact, our first president of the United States, George Washington, was from Virginia! Thomas Jefferson helped expressed reason for colonial independence from Great Britain by writing the Declaration of Independence. The last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Yorktown, Virginia and that victory led to the end of the war.

Virginians have a lot to be proud about for their involvement in the American Revolution, so you know we love to celebrate July 4th big! Our fireworks are always over-the-top and our parades are the best in the country. If you’re planning to celebrate big this Independence Day, consider these activities to do the weekend of July 4th. Make this Independence Day a day to remember!

In addition, our industrial electricians specialize in testing, repair, and maintenance of electrical systems in plants, factories and other types of industrial settings. Our industrial electricians are in high demand due to the large number of businesses that depend on the proper installation and functioning of electrical equipment.

Education Requirements

Let there be no doubt: electricians perform complex work. If you’re interested in entering this field, you’ll need specific knowledge and training. While still in high school, prospective electricians should complete basic math and science courses. After graduating high school, candidates enter an apprenticeship program.

As an apprentice, individuals complete 9000 hours of on-the-job training, practicing skills and working under the supervision of other licensed electricians. An apprenticeship could also include classroom study, either at work or at a community college or trade school. After completing the required hours of work, trainees would take a licensing exam that qualifies them to work as journeyman electricians. Working electricians may choose to continue their education by keeping up-to-date on technology and manufacturing trends.

Typical industrial electrician duties include repairing and maintaining large electrical equipment or installing and testing new systems. Electricians need to understand blueprints and diagrams that show circuits and wiring and will need to gain proficiency in a wide variety of diagnostic tools.

Industrial electricians often work in physically challenging environments. Electricians frequently have to crawl into tight places, climb on machines or work in dark conditions. They may be required to work outside in all types of weather. To excel at the job, our team members remain physically strong, healthy and flexible.

Electricians often have a fixed schedule, but sometimes are required to do shift work or to be on call. Because equipment may need to be repaired at any hour, our staff is prepared to come back to the job site if any emergencies occur.

Job Prospects

Call us today! 

Every summer, more and more homes experience outages in their electric systems. As a top Dallas Electrician, my electricians and I see the effects of these outages every day. They can be devastating, and cause a lot of damage.  In fact, the insurance industry pays out over $1 billion in damages annually in claims caused by outages and power surge damage. Most outages are caused by the weather, but there are different kinds of weather can cause an outage. This even includes weather that doesn’t produce lighting damage like the massive ice storms we saw during Super Bowl week this year that left hundreds of thousands without power (and, more importantly, without heat!) during one of the worst winter storms in years. Summer storms can produce devastating tornadoes that can knock out power for miles around the area they touch down in, and many hurricanes begin to build in the summer and early fall, causing catastrophic results even outside of the disaster zone. Hurricane Ike left over two million people without power when it hit southeast Texas in 2008, and not all of them were in the impact zone.

Not every outage comes from something as dramatic as a hurricane or tornado.  A lightning strike, even as far as half a mile away, can potentially cause damage to your delicate electrical equipment and appliances. Often, large-scale outages can occur when lightning strikes a transformer.

Outages don’t just occur because of bad weather:  many outages are caused by power equipment switching to accommodate the heavy load people put on the power grid.  Our power grid is already having trouble with its current load, and the problem only grows as more and more people use more and more electricity.  Summer in Dallas and Fort Worth is the perfect examples.  It’s when people are running their air conditioners constantly. This puts an incredible load on local and state power grids.  This leads to government agencies putting out warnings almost every summer about potential power outages, threatening brownouts and blackouts unless people conserve energy.

These outages aren’t damaging in themselves, but they leave open the possibility for electrical power surge damage.  You’ve probably noticed that when the power comes back on after an outage, it often flickers on and off quickly as the power grid attempts to get the electricity flowing back into your lines.  This stop-and-start action creates surges that can easily damage unprotected electronics or appliances.  Having a nice TV damaged like this is a very expensive hassle, and you can imagine how much more expensive and uncomfortable it could be if the surge takes out your air conditioner and refrigerator!

So, what can you do to keep power outages and power surges from affecting you?

Some of these options can even help you save money on your electric bill without the hassle of gas, fumes, or noise pollution.