The electrical system in your home makes a lot of your most valued modern conveniences possible, not the least of which is the use of your indoor lighting system. What you cannot afford to forget, though, is that electricity can actually be quite dangerous if it is not used properly within your home. For that reason, you really must take any potential problems with your electrical system very carefully, and that means heeding any and all warning signs that your system is in trouble. One such sign is the development of flickering indoor lighting in Needham Heights, MA.

There are actually quite a few reasons as to why your lights may flicker, and not all of them are terribly serious. However, the only way in which to ascertain whether or not the problem is serious is to hire a professional electrician. That is why there is really no such thing as a “minor” electrical problem, even if it is just a flickering light.

In many instances, a loose bulb is actually the cause of the problem, and that is something of a best case scenario. Tightening the bulb will often fix the problem, though you may also have a bad connection in fixture. If you have multiple flickering lights throughout your home, though, it is probably a different problem.

Another potential cause of the problem is a big draw from larger appliances in the household. If your HVAC system, for instance, is not on a designated circuit, it may draw to heavily upon the system, causing lights throughout the house to flicker. In such an event, upgrading a service panel or redesigning circuits may be necessary.

Finally, and this is a serious one, is faulty wiring. Over time, your wiring may degrade for a number of reasons. You may also have critters on your property that are nibbling at your wires. Damaged wiring can lead to arc faults in your home, which is a serious fire risk. That is why even a flickering light merits a visit from a professional electrician.

Although the holiday lighting season is still at least a month away, you are probably already digging around and planning your decorations for the season. Maybe you have already pulled out some of your Halloween decorations that require electricity and realized you are going to need some work done before it is time to pull out the twinkling lights. A Burbank electrician has some tips for you before you start plugging in your lights this year. If you have any questions, you can call The Electric Connection for help.

One of the most important rules of stringing lights together is not to connect more than three strands of lights. Doing so could overload the circuit and cause the breaker to trip. If you have a shortage of outlets, consider hiring an electrician. Burbank residents can have outdoor outlets installed that are designed to withstand the weather. The additional outlets outside are handy to have all year round. You won’t have to worry about running extension cords.

Speaking of extension cords; only use cords that are approved for outdoor use. Do not use cords that are damaged or have some of the protective insulation covering missing in areas. Wrapping the area with tape to compensate is never a good idea. Invest in the proper extension cord. A cord with several outlets is helpful. However, do not get carried away with hooking up numerous strands of lights are large yard ornaments. If the breaker trips, it is a sign the outlet is overloaded. Move some of your lights to a different outlet.

Outlet power stakes are a great option and many of them are equipped with timers and remote controls that allow you to turn on your lights without ever stepping foot outside. The power stakes are designed to protect the outlets from wet weather.

If you are ready to get your home ready for another holiday season filled with pretty lights, give The Electric Connection a call today.

It has been six months since I started writing for the Light Reading blog, and boy has it gone by quickly. It’s hard to believe that I have written almost 50 posts! To mark this occasion, here are the six blog posts YOU liked best during my last six months of blogging.

1. via Strobel Design Build

In retrospect, I can see why this has been such a hit with the Light Reading readership. I mean, when it comes toMinions Web

This post was one of those visual, inspirational posts that I enjoy reading on other blogs. Instead of giving step by step instructions, this blog post shows you a bunch on interesting things that people have done with LED Matthew Danser Photography

This was my first blog post for Pegasus! In it, I interview Austin, TX photographer Matthew Danser to find out how he “paints” with light in his photos. We learn some interested photography tricks – tricks that I try out in the next most popular post.

5.

In this post I take some of Danser’s suggestions and experiment with “light painting” in my apartment at night. There’s lots of fun stuff here, and things get a little weird with my designs, but hey! It was an experiment! No stuffed animals were hurt during this photo shoot.

6.

How do tripped circuit breakers happen in the first place? An overloaded circuit is the most common reason for a breaker tripping and usually happens when a circuit has more electrical load connected to it than it really should have. Let’s say you have a 15 Amp circuit breaker that is protecting a 15 Amp circuit. If 20 Amps of current start flowing through it because a toaster, TV, radio and space heater were all connected to the same circuit and were on at the same time, then what you’re left with are tripped circuit breakers aimed to prevent overheating of the circuit.

Allow Kolb Electric, one of the premier electricians in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and all of Northern VA, to guide you through the process of resetting tripped circuit breakers, which is actually quite easy.

If your breaker continues to trip immediately after you’ve reset it, this is indicative of a direct short. Do not try to reset your breakers at this point. If these steps don’t help you resolve your tripped circuit breaker problem, it’s time for you to contact a quality electrician in Virginia who can uncover the source of the problem, which could be due to one of the following: