Most homes today have the capacity to handle 220 volts in their electrical systems. Modern dryers, stoves, hot water heaters and other appliances all use the high voltage standard, which can deliver twice as much as the 110 volts used by computers, televisions, smaller appliances and other electronics. Chances are your house already has the ability to use 220 volts, but some older homes do not and therefore have no way of powering more heavy-duty equipment. Fortunately, with the help of an electrician, you can add 220 volt service to your home, or run more 220 circuits if you need to add extra outlets.

Bringing in Maximum Voltage

Modern homes hooked up to the electricity grid take in energy from the utility company at 220 volts, which is then split into two 110 volt lines. Those lines are what bring electricity to your conventional outlets, so you can plug in and use your devices without overloading them with power. Homes built in recent years can therefore accommodate 220 volt circuits as well, which can be distinguished in the circuit box because the switches they use are twice the size of those for 110 volt circuits.

Older homes, however, sometimes only have the capacity for 110 volts in total. If that is the case in your home, you will need to upgrade if you want to use many modern appliances, and certainly if you want to sell your home or bring it up to speed on local code issues. If you aren't sure if your home has 220 volt service, call up your utility company, or have an electrician come take a look.

Adding in Extra Circuits

If you don't have 220 volt service, the electric company will have to run a new line into your home, and an electrician will need to replace your circuit box and possibly all your internal wiring as well, particularly if it uses outdated technology like aluminum wires or knob and tube. The process will not be cheap – costing a few thousand dollars at the low end – but as a result, you will improve the safety of your home and may be able to qualify for lower homeowners insurance rates.

If you, like most people, already have 220 service in your home, but need to add more circuits at the higher capacity, the job will be a lot easier. An electrician can add extra circuits to your breaker box so you can power whatever equipment you need. Make sure you specify if you need 3-wire circuits, which are used for most electric water heaters and boilers, or 4-wire circuits, which are more common for stoves and dryers.

Making the Grade in Safety

Remember, upgrading the wiring in your home can be dangerous work with stringent local building code standards. Unless you are already a qualified contractor, you should have an experienced electrician complete the work for you to ensure that it is all done safely and correctly. If you need to upgrade your home to 220 volt service, call up an expert electrician today.

Did you just get the electric bill in the mail and now you are suffering from a minor panic attack? You are not the first person to be surprised by a higher than average electric bill. Along with adjusting the budget to pay for the unexpected expense, you are probably making a commitment to go dark until you can get the high electric usage under control. Where do you start? An electrician in Santa Monica has a few suggestions that may help explain the high bill and how you can avoid repeating the same issue with another high bill next month. The team at The Electric Connection is here to help.

*Using a single light in a room to try and provide enough light probably isn’t working. You may have a couple of other lights on in the room to try and supplement the light, which is running up your electric bill. With shorter days, you will be using more light. Having a better, more energy efficient light fixture installed by a Santa Monica electrician can alleviate that issue.

*A water heater in a cold basement is going to run up your electric bill. Do what you can to insulate the water heater to help the water stay warm without the heater having to constantly kick on. You can upgrade to a better water heater that is insulated.

*Another big mistake people make without thinking about it is running half loads of laundry or the dishwasher. Always wait until the washer is full.

*You probably have several chargers plugged in with many of them interchangeable. If you can charge all the cell phones in the house with the same charger, unplug all but one and take turns charging your phones when possible.

Save yourself the shock of a high electric bill by following the advice from an electrician. Santa Monica residents can save hundreds of dollars every year by taking care of all the little things that add up. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your lighting fixture replacement.

Generally, it doesn’t cost much to hire an electrician to have repair work or installation done at home. Yet, many homeowners in Oregon feel they can save the money they would have to spend by taking care of the problem on their own, even though they lack the experience and the expertise to do it right. This often leads to greater problems and they have to spend more money on the repair than they would have if they had called in an electrician in the first place. Of course, hiring the right electrician isn’t simply a matter of finding a number in a directory and making a call.

There are thousands of electricians you will find and not all of them are made equal. Not to mention, they don’t all offer the same services. But it is important to understand that even with electricians, there are different types. There are electricians that take care of the big stuff and then there are electricians that handle the small stuff. It is important to identify the kind of problem you are facing before you call an electrician.

What is low-voltage wiring and where can it be found? This covers everything from communications to entertainment systems, for example, televisions and telephones, small electrical devices much like doorbells and thermostats. A low-voltage electrician takes care of these things for you so the next time your TVdoesn’t work, call in a low-voltage electrician as he will be quick to assess what is wrong with it and will fix it much quicker as it is after all, in his job description. He will ensure that the wiring is properly installed and that the device does not malfunction again.

A low-voltage electrician will visit clients that are in need of installation or repair, will scope out the job as well as determine what tools are required and also how long it will take to fix whatever it is that needs fixing. For example, a thermostat which is malfunctioning may be the consequence of a frayed wire or it could it that it happened because of a poor wiring job which needs to be redone.A low-voltage electrician will know just how to do it.

Once thelow-voltage electrician has diagnosed the root cause of the problem, he will correct it. Should you need new installation, he will recommend one that will fit your needs as well as your budget. Once that is done, the process of fixing the problem will start.

Think of them as doctors of electronics making house calls in order to check faulty wiring. It doesn’t matter if it is a doorbell that is no longer working or a cable connection that flakes out on you when you are binge watching the last season of Breaking Bad, a low-voltage electrician will come and fix the problemfor you.

It is as difficult to find a low-voltage electrician as it is to find a high-voltage one. But luckily for you, low-voltage electricians are licensed as well. So, find a contact from your most updated yellow pages and once you have a chance to meet the electrician, ask them to see a license. And there you have it.That is how you find the right AND legally authorized low-voltage electrician for any low-voltage work you need done at home.

To conclude, it is important to acknowledge what low-voltage electricians do and how helpless youwould be without one. No one can imagine their lives without the little technological advances in their everyday lives.