By Clarissa Allison | December 24th, 2015

Wow, now this is pretty impressive. The Tracy Light Show is a yearly and free Holiday Light Show put on by a local music director in Tracy, CA. This spectacular Star Wars production is sequenced to the film’s iconic musical score with over 70,000 lights, 14,000 channels, and special effects. Be sure to check out the rest of his amazing videos online.

Tired of breaking the bank just to keep up with the Joneses? Forget fancy cars and other status symbols. How about a way to maintain a friendly neighborly competition that actually involves saving money instead of spending? Americans have a wealth of resources at their disposal to empower families to cut back on energy consumption and reduce their electricity bills, but we don't do a stellar job of taking advantage of that information. Recent research, however, has shown that homeowners are more likely to take efficiency measures with their electrical work when they can compare their own consumption to that of their neighbors.

Whose Bill is the Lowest?

The experiment took place last summer, when the Vermont utility company Green Mountain Power worked with Opower, a software company that specializes in behavioral economics. During very hot days when air conditioning use was expected to be high, the utility reached out to customers with tips on reducing the amount of energy they need to power their home electrical work.

Afterward, the utility gave a report which ranked households in the neighborhood based on how well they had done on cutting back. By the end of the summer, electricity consumption among Green Mountain customers had dropped by five percent during hot days. That's some serious savings!

Peer Pressure at its Best

That five percent resulted from simple behavioral changes like bumping the thermostat up a few degrees and using curtains to block out sunlight during the hottest part of the day – no major investments or new equipment needed, just a little peer pressure. This research should be useful in helping understand what motivates people to save energy in order to develop more effective outreach programs for utility companies around the country.

One of the big takeaways is that the utility didn't give its customers any kind of incentives or payments to change their behavior – just the money they saved through efficiency, and the bragging rights of being more conservation-minded than their neighbors.

"Some of the decisions we make are not entirely rational, and they are due to a lack of context," Kevin Hamilton, Opower's vice president of marketing, said to Utility Drive, "and by providing that context you can encourage individuals to adjust their usage in ways that can benefit both the customer and the utility as well."

Little Changes Mean Big Savings

People come up with all kinds of reasons not to implement efficiency measures: It costs too much in initial capital, they are too busy to think about it, or they simply don't think the savings are worthwhile. But the reality is that even making small behavioral changes can add up in the long run.

If you want to decrease the cost of your electrical work and impress your neighbors, have a qualified home services technician perform an energy audit on your house to identify the most cost-effective ways for you to cut back.

There has been a sea change in electrical safety systems for residential and commercial properties and these systems are significantly safer than the ones that existed even up until 5 years ago. Even if you have new installations on your property, you need to make some effort to prevent electrical accidents.

This means you have to ensure that the electrical infrastructure in your home is of a high-grade and that it’s well-maintained. It’s also important to make smart choices with reference to using various heat-producing appliances and extension cords. Here are some tips that will help make your home a safer space:

Electrical safety is about ensuring that every fixture, fitting and installation is updated and in a good condition. The power points are one of the most important electrical components on your property. Since these are the ones you come in contact with very regularly, they do become worn and damaged sooner than the other parts of the system.

Since they are the points of contact for various electrical appliances in your home, there is also the possibility of sparking. This is how they become a very common source of residential electrical fires. If you have noticed consistent sparking from these points or if any of the wires appear to be damaged or loose, it’s important that you call in a licensed and reliable electrician to get these fixed.

It’s a good idea to get a full electrical audit of your property. The electricians will quickly identify whether there is any damaged, deteriorated or faulty electrical system that has the potential to cause a fire. If you find the circuit breakers on your property tripping too often, it could mean that circuit is unable to bear the load of the appliances that are operating on it. If this is left unattended, it too could pose a fire risk.

If you find that you are using too many heavy duty appliances like gas stoves, dryers, microwaves and dishwashers on the same circuit, it’s important to spread them across different circuits. Your electrician will be able to handle this job expertly and will provide advice on what the best option would be.

While power strips and extension cords may seem like a convenient solution, they should never be used a permanent option. Long-term use might be required in areas like entertainment rooms or for computer systems; however these should be checked with regularity and replaced at the first indication of a defect/damage. It’s also very important that you don’t overload the extension cords and power strips.

These appliances can also become the cause of an electrical fire. These can’t be strictly categorized as electrical fires; however, if there is any kind of combustible material in the vicinity of these appliances, the heat that emanates from the latter can ignite the materials and cause a fire.

As a thumb rule, it’s important to keep combustible materials away from all heat and electrical sources. For instance, if you use space heaters it’s important to follow the safety instructions mentioned by the manufacturer. Newer model space heaters have more reliable fire prevention features and its best to consider buying a new one.

We at Allround Electricals are a reliable company with years of experience behind us. Our experts can come and conduct audits and provide preventive electrical maintenance services for your commercial and residential property. For more information, contact our friendly team at this number – 1300 169 263. Alternatively, you can also write to us at this email address.

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