As summer comes to a close, it is time to get ready for the fall cleanup season. This is a great time to have your outdoor lighting inspected, revamped or replaced by your electrician in Los Angeles. Summer storms and typical wear and tear will often result in broken lights or bulbs that need replacing. Although you may not be planning on spending as much time outside during the cooler months, lighting provides safety as well as enhances the appearance of a home. At The Electric Connection, we know how important it is to maintain a gorgeous landscape no matter how cold it is outside.

This is also a great time to review your current lighting scheme and make adjustments to areas you may have noticed were a little more shadowy than you would prefer. Take the time to note these areas and then call your electrician. Los Angeles homeowners have plenty of options when it comes to creating a beautiful, well-lit landscape.

Maybe you have taken advantage of some of the end of season sales and need some help hooking up that beautiful new water feature. Or maybe you have a new piece of yard art that deserves some special lighting to highlight it during the shortened days.

While you do have the option of using solar lights, winter months make it very difficult for the lights to charge. They will often go dark before the sun rises due to the limited amount of charging time allowed during the shorter days. For this reason, many people opt for outdoor lights that are electric. They tend to be more reliable and will stay illuminated throughout the entire night. If you would like to learn more about having electric lights installed in your landscaping give The Electric Connection a call today.

Depending on what sparked your need for an electrical repair, you might be wondering if you can DIY a solution or whether you need to call a professional. If the fix just means changing a lightbulb or resetting the breaker, sure, go ahead! However, if your problem requires potentially exposing yourself to a live current, the job is probably best left to an electrical repair service. There’s a reason electricians are rigorously trained and licensed — the job can be dangerous.

Do you oftenHere are the signs you need an electrician

At the least, making a mistake while doing DIY electrical repairs could mean subjecting yourself to the discomfort of an electric shock … at the worst, fatal electrocution. Even if you do manage to get the job done, poor wiring or improper installation could also create a fire hazard down the line. There are some jobs it just makes sense to pay someone else to do.

One minute, you're watching television with your family – the next minute, all the lights cut out and the TV goes black. Blackouts are relatively rare in most regions of America, but when they do occur, they can cause serious problems for any family that relies on its electrical work. Read on for advice on how to be prepared for an outage so you aren't left in the dark.

When the Lights Go Down in the City

Follow these tips to make sure you're ready when the lights go out:

Making the Best of a Power Outage:

If you are prepared, power outages don't have to be a bummer – they can even be an opportunity for family fun. For assistance in choosing and installing a generator, call an expert electrician today.

It may sound like science fiction, but phantom power is very real and it is costing you real money. It isn’t a lot of money, but when you add it up, it can be more than a hundred dollars a year. And let’s face it, every dollar in your pocket helps. Learning how to stop that phantom from stealing your power is easy and your Burbank electrician is here to give you the power you need. Okay, really it is just knowledge, but knowledge is power and The Electric Connection wants to help you keep your hard earned cash in your pocket.

Phantom power is the electricity that is being pulled from anything and everything you have plugged in, whether it is on or not. Just because you are not using your coffee maker does not mean it is not drawing a current. This goes for your cell phone charger as well. Even if you are not charging your phone or laptop, the charger is pulling electricity and running up your bill. One charger or small appliance isn’t going to cost you a lot of money, but take a walk around your house and look at everything that is currently plugged in.

Make a list of things that can be unplugged when not in use. You will see the savings on your electric bill almost immediately. Obviously, it doesn’t make sense to pull out furniture everyday to get to some items, but just focus on the cords that are easily unplugged. If you want more energy savings tips, contact your local electrician. Burbank homeowners may find it is easier to plug several items like your television, DVD player and stereo all into one powerstrip. This makes it easy to turn it off and on without unplugging numerous devices. Give The Electric Connection a call today to find out more.

Besides just having light, light layering (having multiple light sources for different purposes) is the most important, all-encompassing rule in home lighting design.

I recently ran across a post on Image via Freshome.com

That’s not just one, not two, but five different light sources, not counting the ample ambient light coming in from the windows. You have under cabinet lights on the left, recessed accent lights on the back wall, a pendant light, a table lamp, and linear accent lights atop the window.

On the other side of the room, there are just as many layers:

So there you have it. The most universal rule in residential lighting design, and a few ways to make it your own. What’s your favorite light layer in this space?