GFCI stands for ground fault circuit interrupters. This specific type of outlet can help prevent most electrocutions, and are even required in homes near sinks such as those in the kitchen or bathroom. GFCI outlets measure the current flowing out of the outlet and back. If the values vary, even slightly, the outlet with shut down any transfer of electricity. This has saved thousands of lives over the last 40 years. It’s very easy and quick to have an electrician go through your home and replace standard outlets with life-saving GFCI outlets.

If you’ve ever had children, you know how important outlet covers are in the home. While they may not be necessary all the time in a home with only adults, there are many other reasons besides children that these covers come in handy. Outlet covers are simply pieces of plastic that fit into outlets to protect anything from making contact with the available electric current. These covers protect children from putting their fingers in outlets, dogs and cats from licking them, and help prevent the rare accident as well. Pick some up at your local hardware store.

If you’ve ever opened up a light switch panel, you’ve probably seen simple situations that have three wires. One wire is the hot wire which carries electricity to the outlet. The other hot wire is only hot when the switch is activated and carries the electricity to a light or appliance. The third wire is the ground wire. More often than not, especially in older houses, this third ground wire may not be attached to anything. It’s important to make sure this ground wire is properly installed to the switch to avoid things shorting out or electrical fires.

Perhaps your house was originally built without air conditioning or you have added a full laundry room onto your home that wasn’t there when the house was built. If that’s the case, you may have outgrown your home’s electrical panel without realizing it. Adding high energy use appliances can easy place an extra toll on your electrical panel. The best way to know this is if your lights flicker when you start an appliance or you have a breaker regularly flip. It’s time to call an electrician if you think this may be the case.

You may not believe this, but my time machine is over fifty years old and I have never needed to repair it. Built in the 1900’s it is one of the electric models. My great uncle, who died about twenty years ago, built it right here in Pasadena during WWII, and not only was he one of the best electricians in Pasadena, he built things to last. When I stepped inside this morning with the intention of heading back to 1967, something made a funny click and then everything went dead. I should have visited Uncle Frank, my trusted Pasadena electrician, last week for an evaluation when I was doing some errands that I neglected in 1979.

Because I could not use the machine to fast forward to 2030, when requests are as easy as wishing them done, I had to resort to using my laptop and a search engine that could respond to “electrician Pasadena CA,” a slow but fairly accurate method. After looking over my choices, I decided to take a chance and call a company called The Electric Connection. I could hear a bit of hesitation over the phone when I mentioned time machine, and they asked be if I meant a an electric timer, or if it was for a modern security lighting system, or if I needed an electrical rewire to bring my home wiring up-to-date, but after explaining that it wasn’t any of those, they went ahead and made my service call appointment. I am pretty sure they thought that I didn’t know what I was talking about, and that they figured they would sort it out after they arrived. I did confirm with them that the problem was definitely an electrical issue, though, and that it would most likely need some skilled electrical troubleshooting.

The Pasadena electrician arrived promptly for his scheduled appointment. He tried to cover up his surprise, but I was sure he had never worked on this kind of electrical project before. After he looked it over, he forgot all the intrigue and discovered that it needed an electrical conduit replaced. Well, that was easy enough. We also discussed the possibility of renovating it to function like an electric car. He told me they were the electrician in Pasadena that was doing most of the electric vehicle charger installs these days. That just might work for trips into the future, but for the ones heading back in time, there would be no electric charging stations.

Then he asked the big question: would he allow me to let him test it? He looked like a capable fellow with exceptional integrity, so I agreed. After much thought as to whether he wanted to visit Benjamin Franklin in the mid 1700’s to learning about electricity through lightning or Thomas Edison to see him inventing the phonograph and light bulb in the 1870’s, he chose Ben, and this electrician in Pasadena took off with excitement. We even set the timer to get him back without missing a beat for his next electrical service call appointment; I love that feature.

I was able to enjoy two cups of tea and a pastry before my Pasadena electrician returned. It would be insufficient to describe the look on his face as he stepped out of the machine. He could not put into words the incredible meeting with old Ben Franklin himself. Besides having an educational one on one, he was also asked to participate in a few of the famous kite experiences. This young Pasadena electrician would never be the same!

As we parted for the day, he asked if he could come back sometime and fly off to meet Thomas Edison. He looked like he could keep a secret, so I agreed as long as he told the office that he had replaced the electrical conduit and all of my clocks were working just fine now. I knew my search for electrician Pasadena CA was over, and that I finally found an electrician that I could trust at The Electric Connection in Pasadena CA.

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