Gas prices are fabulous—right now. We all know it is only a matter of time before the gas prices creep back up and we will once again be forced to pull from other areas of our monthly budget to afford to drive our vehicles. Many people have already made the switch to electric cars in an attempt to save money on their gas bills while reducing the strain on natural resources. There are plenty of different models of electric cars available that are sure to suit your needs. When you make an electric car purchase, you will likely also buy a charging station for you car. An electrician in Pasadena has some vital information for you. The team at The Electric Connection can also help answer questions about the electrical requirements of your electric car charging station.

When you buy your car, you will have the choice to buy a Level I or a Level II charging station. A Level I station is essentially a trickle charger. It sends a small charge to your car and can take upwards of 24 hours to fully charge the car. This charging station can be plugged into a standard outlet. However, it will need to be the only item plugged into that outlet and should be on its own breaker. If you need additional outlets or breakers, your electrician can take care of that for you.

A Level II charger is a fast charging system that typically fully charges a car in about 8 hours. This charging station requires a 240-volt outlet, which is not standard in your garage. It is a special outlet that will require installation by an electrician experienced with Pasadena electrical requirements. An inspection of your breaker panel will need to be conducted to make sure you have room for an additional breaker dedicated to your fast charging station. These are all things your electrician will evaluate on the first call. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your consultation.

Even though they won’t be able to provide full power to your home in the event of an extended power outage, there are many practical uses for a portable generator. Depending on what you do in your free time, you may be surprised at how many parts of the country do not have electricity that is easily accessed. A portable generator can help ensure that you have access to electricity, even when you want to spend time outdoors. If you need to take electricity to an area that has no electrical outlets, then a portable generator is one of the best routes to go. Here are a few ways to use your portable generator:

Tailgating – Many tailgating locations do not have electrical outlets that are easy to access. To solve this problem, just bring your own generator along. You can place your generator in the back of your truck so that you have all the power that you need to keep your television, satellite dish and any other electrical devices going for the entire game.

Camping – Even if you like to rough it for most of your trip, having access to electricity while camping can be very handy. This way, you can charge your phone and use any electrical devices that you may not have brought if you did not have access to electricity.

Emergency Backup Power – Though portable generators are not designed to provide long-term emergency power, they can be great to have around when power is lost. You will need to keep your portable generator outside of your home so that you do not vent combustible gases into your home. You can still, however, bring lines of power into your home to keep essentials such as lighting and refrigeration going for a short period of time.

Portable generators are good to have, because you can take them with you to provide power wherever you need it. They are not stationary, and do not require the assistance of an electrician in Santa Monica such as The Electric Connection to set up and start using. Give us a call if you have any questions about standalone or portable generators.

Picking the right light bulbs for your home doesn't need to be a challenge. While there are many different styles, brightness options and colors in your local hardware store, identifying the best bulb for a given lighting scenario is relatively straightforward.

One measurement you should pay attention to on the packaging for light bulbs is color temperature, usually represented by a four digit number next to a K (which stands for Kelvin, the unit for measuring absolute temperature). Color temperature determines the softness, or warmness, of the light that is emitted by the bulb. A light with a lower Kelvin number will typically have a yellowish tint, while higher numbers indicate a cooler, or bluish, shade of light.

Here is a basic breakdown of how these temperatures affect the mood and feel of the room they're in: