Homes are built to last, there is no doubt about it, but sometimes, the little details in the home are not always quite so durable. Technology is constantly advancing and we are always learning new ways to build. Homes are built to be safer than they ever were in the past. Building codes and regulations are far more strict nowadays, which is a good thing. It means builders and contractors are being held to a higher standard. Older homes are still valuable and worthy of being taken care of and updated to meet today’s safety standards. An electrician in Santa Monica, like those at The Electric Connection, can help you make your old home a safe place to live.

Wiring that was put into houses more than 50 years ago wasn’t made to last. Cloth insulated wiring was regularly used in home building into the 1950s. The cloth has proven to be frail and decays over time. As it decays and falls away, it leaves the wires it once insulated bare. A Santa Monica electrician, along with a team of trained electricians, can replace all of the wiring in a home to make it safe again. It is an extensive process, but once the wiring has been updated, you can expect your homeowner’s insurance to be much lower.

If you are not sure what kind of electrical wiring you have in the home, you can call for an inspection by an electrician. Santa Monica homeowners don’t have to guess about what is behind their walls. An inspection will tell you exactly what you are dealing with. There is a chance some of the wiring has already been updated. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your electrical wiring inspection so you know what needs to be done to make your home safe.

Thinking of upgrading your home’s electrical system but not sure where to start? At Kolb Electric, we work hard to stay on top of the latest and greatest electrical products to make your life easier, safer, and more convenient. Here’s a short list of some of our favorites!

Do you have trouble remembering to adjust the timers on your outdoor lights during daylight savings time? With the astronomical timer from Leviton, you’ll never have to worry about that again! This programmable timer is set to the specific longitude and latitude of your home, so it always knows what time the sun rises and sets in your area.

The timer then automatically turns your outdoor lights on and off at sunset and sunrise, adjusting itself daily for the amount of light your home is receiving.

Unlike photo cells, which can go bad over the years, the Leviton Astronomical Timer lasts a lifetime, virtually maintenance-free. You can also operate it manually without having to change the settings. When it comes to upgrading your outdoor lighting system, you can’t do much better than that!

Cost: $45 – $120

This product combines two useful innovations into one item you can’t live without. Tamper resistant outlets have proven to be so effective at preventing electrocution, especially child electrocution, that the 2011 National Electric Code (NEC) was updated to require them in all new construction.

In addition to safety, these outlets have a USB port to allow charging of things like smartphones, tablets, and other similar devices. The Seymour USB charger is unlike others on the market because it includes two USB ports and a standard electrical receptacle, so it has plenty of space for all your devices. If you’re looking to upgrade your home’s electrical outlets, give these a try today—you’ll be happy you did!

Cost: $17 – $25

The second item on this list from Pass & Seymour is this audible GFCI, which can save you from an electric shock. We’ve written about the benefits of GFCI (which stands for ground fault circuit interrupters) before, and you may know that they’re already required in kitchens, bathrooms, garages, and outdoor outlets. What makes this one so unique is that it sounds an audible alarm when tripped.

Say you have a freezer in the garage connected to a GFCI. If that outlet trips, would you know in time to prevent your food from spoiling? Say the outlet trips at your sump pump. Could you reset it before the big rainstorm? With the audible alarm, you’ll be able to reset the switch and not have to worry about any of these problems.

Cost: $20 – $30

These are just some of the many great new electrical innovations that have come out in recent years that can make your home safer and more efficient. If you want to upgrade your Maryland, DC, or Virginia home’s electrical system by installing these or any other new electrical products, don’t wait—call Kolb Electric today!

Good News! Electric vehicle-related jobs in Los Angeles grew by 15.3% between 2007 and 2010. While the number of these jobs is still small, totaling a little over 550 in 2100, the growth rate is a hopeful sign and is a small part of the overall growth in our green economy jobs. The growth rate in L.A.’s green economy jobs between 2007 and 2010 was 7.1%, yielding a total of over 89,000 jobs in 2010.

L.A. scored #3 in growth rate for electric vehicle-related jobs between 2007 and 2010, with Kansas City at #1 and Phoenix at #2. “Electric vehicle-related jobs” includes manufacturing of electrical equipment and other parts for electric cars. It doesn’t include, for example, what we at The Electric Connection do, install chargers for electric vehicles (EVs), nor the selling of electric cars. Nor does the 2007-10 growth rate include small companies of 5 or fewer employees. For these reasons, the 15.3% figure for 2007-10 is undoubtedly an underestimate of job growth in the Los Angeles area related to electric cars.

However, the figures are an indication of an exciting phenomenon occurring all over the country — the growth of the green economy. The green economy encompasses recycling, energy audits, solar cells, and other industries which, like EVs, have an environmental benefit. The growth of the green economy benefits not only the environment, but also has a particularly welcome benefit of creating middle income jobs that don’t require higher education.

Yes, many green economy jobs go to environmental engineers, computer programmers, and others who have gone to college. In fact, many of these college-educated people are the innovators who create the green jobs to begin with.

But many green economy jobs, like in the manufacturing of electrical parts for electric cars, don’t require a college education. People are calling them “green collar” jobs — jobs that can be filled by people who might otherwise fruitlessly look for blue collar jobs that have been lost to robots in manufacturing plants or have been shipped overseas to people who make low wages.

We’re experiencing a process that has repeated itself throughout history — innovation seeding job creation. When Scottish engineer James Watt created innovations that made the steam engine useful commercially, he made the Industrial Revolution possible. The Industrial Revolution started with steam-powered textile plants. Textile and other steam-powered manufacturing plants led to the creation of factory jobs, which at that time, required limited education. This allowed subsistence farmers to leave their fields and begin (in an admittedly arduous path!) upward mobility. This was the rise of the Middle Class.

Today, the green economy, created by innovation, yields both green collar jobs and those requiring higher education. The growth of jobs in the EV manufacturing sector in L.A. is good over the long term not only for our environment, but also for our job market, providing work for people with various levels of education.

For more information about the growth of electric vehicle-related jobs in L.A. and the rest of the country as well as other green economy jobs, go to the report, Sizing the Clean Economy, by the Brookings Institution, July 2011.

Click here for more information about installing a charger for your electric vehicle.