Sometimes the bad news about energy and the environment in the media can be overwhelming. Good news tends to get pushed aside in favor of spectacular disasters. Yet, every day in towns and cities across America, people are working on green energy projects that both help the environment and save money. This shouldn’t be a surprise — survey after survey has found that most Americans are concerned about the environment, and most cities today are scrambling to save money.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs in Street Lights. Replacing conventional incandescent electric bulbs with LED bulbs in street lights is one popular green energy project. In the largest such project in the world, Los Angeles is replacing the bulbs of 140,000 street lights. The LED bulbs use considerably less electricity, creating not only money savings but also savings in the oil and coal needed to generate electricity. When complete, the project will save the City $10 million each year. Of that, $2.5 million will be saved on maintenance costs and $7.5 million in electrical usage. The project will also reduce carbon emissions from electric generation by 40,500 tons per year. That’s like taking 6,700 cars off L.A. streets for the life of the bulbs – every year for 10 or so years.

L.A. City engineers originally hoped that the LED bulbs would save 40% on electric bills. When they measured the savings of switching over the first 20,000 bulbs, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the savings on electricity was more like 55%. The City has also found that the LED lights create brighter and more uniform visibility, reducing pockets of dark shadow that conventional street lights tend to leave.

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa commented proudly, “We’re seeing L.A. lead the way.” The project is being funded, in part, by Federal stimulus dollars as well as the Clinton Foundation. Sarah Potts of the Clinton Foundation said, “The Clinton Climate Initiative was excited to work on this project mainly because L.A. was willing to be a mover on this. They were willing to set the bar for where energy efficiency street lighting could and should go.”

However, L.A. is not alone. This type of green street lighting project is being undertaken from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to towns in Northern California, where PG&E, the electric utility, gives rate breaks and rebates to its street light customers who switch over to LED bulbs.

Green Energy Projects at Home. We don’t have to wait for government projects before we can start saving money by helping the environment. If you want to go greener in your own home or business, you can take steps that range from quick and simple to more ambitious:

1) Replace the bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Today’s fluorescents fit into regular lamps and fixtures, come in a range of warm colors, and save electricity. While CFL bulbs cost more at the supermarket, they last longer than old-fashioned incandescents, and so cost less over their lifetimes. You can start by buying a four-pack on your next trip for groceries. Unscrew the bulbs in the light fixtures you use most often and screw in the new bulbs. It’s that simple. If you have any questions, you can call The Electric Connection, your Los Angeles electrician.

2) Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans are very efficient when it comes to cooling a room. Set your thermostat for the air conditioner 2 degrees higher than usual, turn on your ceiling fan, and you’re achieving the usual cooling effect while saving money and electricity.

3) Here’s a more ambitious green step. Make your next car an electric hybrid or all-electric. Electric vehicles reduce our dependence on foreign oil — 60% of our oil imports are burned in our vehicles. Electric vehicles are available today that are competitively priced, convenient, and also give you the benefit of freeing you from the ups and downs of gas prices while enjoying the satisfaction of helping the environment. When you’re ready to make the move, keep in mind that The Electric Connection, a fully licensed and bonded electrician in Los Angeles CA, installs electric vehicle chargers.

If you see solar panels on some of the buildings in your town or if you’ve purchased an Energy Star appliance or installed compact fluorescents in your light fixtures, you and your town are part of the green energy movement that is quietly growing throughout our country. To find out more, call The Electric Connection, a knowledgeable green Los Angeles electrician. To visit their website, simply type in electrician Los Angeles CA on a web search, and you’ll very easily find their site near the top of the first page.

Click here to visit our website.

Your home is supposed to be your safe place, your sanctuary, but if you have an older home, it can quickly become a nightmare. Old home wiring, especially if the wiring is 50 years or older , can put your home and everyone it it at risk for an electrical fire. While wiring doesn’t quickly age, it does age, it does break down, and it does carry risks. Keeping an eye on your home’s wiring and the way that it behaves is one of the best ways to avoid an electrical fire and protect your home. Your home is trying to tell you exactly what it needs more often than not, so keep an eye out for some of the following signs that your home’s wiring is too old and needs to be replaced by a professional electrician.

While there could be a variety of reasons you might have dimming or flickering lights in your house, if it becomes a regular occurrence, it’s time to get an electrician out to your house. These kinds of symptoms are your house telling you that there is something going on in your electrical system. Whether it’s that there is too much power being drawn at one time or that the wiring is failing, a licensed electrician can help to diagnose and fix the issue.

If you’ve had a rodent problem in your home at any time, it’s exceptionally important to have your electrical system evaluated. While rodents would prefer to munch on the cereal in your cabinet, there is something about home wiring that is exceptionally appealing to them. While they’re burrowing around in your walls, there is a high chance that they either chomp through wiring or knick it enough to expose the wiring to the insulation in your walls. Both scenarios can put your home at risk for an electrical fire at any time.

If you’ve never had a circuit breaker trip on a regular basis, then you probably don’t know how absolutely frustrating it can be, especially when the problem is probably hidden somewhere behind the walls. A circuit breaker that continues to trip is a big indication that something is wrong with your wiring. Instead of trying to force it on, make sure to call your electrician to help root out the cause of the problem in order to fix it.

If you’ve ever gone to plug in an appliance and been shocked, that’s probably not a good sign. However, if this happens regularly where you get shocked or your switches and outlets start to look discolored from burns, you have a big problem on your hands. These signs are indicative of a wiring problem and wiring shorting from the energy heavy appliances that are more common today. Don’t just hide the problem with a new outlet cover, have the problem checked out and repaired.

Lastly, don’t dismiss random burning smells or the sharp smell of burning ozone. Both could be indicators that something is going on behind your home’s walls that you can’t see. When you flip a light switch, this connects a live electrical wire and allows power to continue into a light fixture or appliance. If there is burning when the switch is flipped on, the odds are the problem is in the wiring that connects the switch and the light fixture. However, a licensed electrician can determine the extent of the damage and what the problem is.

That new electric car will surely save you money on gas and make you feel good about doing something good for the environment, but there are some things you must consider. Before you start planning that trip to Paris with all the money you save on gas, you need to figure out how you will keep the car charged. Without a charge, you will need to rely on gas, thus defeating the purpose of your electric car. This is why you need an electrician. Burbank electric car owners can call The Electric Connection for help.

When you purchased your car of if you are in the research phase and trying to figure out what car to buy, you probably heard about the charging stations. There are two main types. The slower charging stations are much less expensive while the others are faster and more expensive. Obviously, the less expensive station has a major benefit and it can be plugged in virtually anywhere. This makes it convenient to charge the car. However, the downside is the time it takes to give the car a full charge.

On the other hand, you have the initial investment of the faster charging system. But, in this case, the car will charge in about 8 hours versus the 16 to 24 hours it takes for the slower system. Because it is a much more powerful electric car charging station, you will need an electrician. Burbank residents will need a dedicated 240-volt outlet to plug the station into. An electrician will need to check the electric panel to make sure there is enough space to support the additional electrical needs. If you would like to learn more about the different electric car charging stations, give The Electric Connection a call. If you have already made the decision to purchase a fast charging station, we can install it for you.