Your smoke detector is arguably the most essential safety fixture in your home. However, a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) report found that at least 5 million homes in the U.S. still don’t have smoke alarms. According to the NFPA, having a working smoke alarm cuts one’s chances of dying in a reported fire in half. But since most of us are so accustomed to this appliance, it becomes easy to take it for granted and remember how important it is to our security.

Obviously, your smoke alarm’s primary function is to notify you of any suspicious smoke inside your house. This includes anything from burnt cooking, improperly extinguished cigarettes/cigars (actually among one of the most common causes of fire), and electrical fires. Your alarm will sound at the first sign of trouble, hopefully notifying you of the fire before flames can spread to other parts of the house. Likewise, many electrical fires first take shape as a spark followed by smoldering wires. Your alarm will be able to give you some warning before the fire gets out of control, protecting you and your family.

To optimize your safety in the event of a fire, we recommend taking the following steps:

If you need assistance with your smoke alarm or would like to schedule a home electrical safety inspection, contact Bryant Electric Service today. We are one of the most trusted electricians in Austin, TX and are happy to answer your questions!

It is that time of year when the temperatures drop and things like spiders and mice are seeking shelter in your home. You don’t want to share your living space with the critters and they know that. They will stay hidden for the most part, but that means they are somewhere you can’t see what damage they are causing. Mice will chew anything and everything and they don’t care if they get a little jolt when they bite through a wire. Chewed wires can spark and create an extremely dangerous situation in your home. An electrician in Burbank has a few tips to help you protect your home from the damage a rodent can cause. The team at The Electric Connection is on standby and ready to help you.

Rats are much worse than mice, but both are equally troublesome. They both love the heat the insulation in the walls provides and will make their nests there. These nests often encompass wires that run warm. An overheated wire is another fire hazard. The following will help keep your wires safe from gnawing rodents.

*Your Burbank electrician suggests you hire a pest control service to ensure the rodents stay out of your house. The best cure is prevention. Take action at the first sign of an infestation. If you see one, there are plenty more where that came from.

*Seal up any gaps around the foundation of the home. Mice can squeeze through a hole or crack that is a quarter of an inch thick. Steel wool is a quick and easy fix for small holes.

*Regularly check your crawlspace and attic area for signs of rodents. Use traps if you suspect you have a problem.

*Schedule an electric safety inspection with an electrician. Burbank homeowners who want to know their wiring is safe will feel better once an electrician checks for any issues.

Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your inspection to determine if you electrical wiring has already been compromised by a rodent infestation.

In many parts of the country, like Los Angeles where I do electrical work, electric vehicles (EVs) are being delivered to anxiously waiting customers. Deliveries are also starting in other West Coast cities as well as cities along the Eastern Seaboard. In the center of the country, not so much. In many cases, these areas will start receiving deliveries towards the end of 2011.

Let’s say electric car deliveries have already started in your area and you own of these new-fangled vehicles — a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. How do you recharge the battery? In my last post, I talked about the simple and inexpensive option, Level 1 charging. This is using a charging cord that comes as standard equipment with your electric vehicle, similar to the one your cell phone comes with. You’ll need an electrician to make sure that you’ve got the right kind of outlet in your garage or carport (GFI outlet on a dedicated circuit). Your electrician will also need to check whether your electrical panel needs upgrading for sufficient capacity. Once it’s a go, plug your charging cord into the outlet and wait … a long time. For the Chevy Volt, 10 hours, and the Nissan Leaf, 20 hours — empty to full.

Even though Level 1 charging is slow, drivers who have short commutes may be satisfied with it because, if they work it right, they won’t start at empty. They’ll have charge left in their batteries and will simply top off at night.

Here’s how it can work. The range of the Nissan Leaf is about 100 miles. Americans drive an average of 33 miles a day. Drivers who drive the average 33 miles will use only one-third of the battery in a day. If they religiously plug in when arriving home, they will be able to top off at night in about seven hours and leave with a full charge in the morning.

In addition, the pressure to be fully charged when leaving home will ease as chargers are increasingly installed in public places. Chargers are already available in Los Angeles train stations, the main airport (L.A.X.), the L.A. Convention Center, and other public places. One can easily find the network of existing public chargers on-line. In addition, malls will begin installing chargers as an inducement for shoppers and workplaces as an employment benefit. In time, you’ll be able to recharge your battery while you shop or work. But we’re not there yet.

For hybrids, like the Chevy Volt, the issue of leaving home fully charged is less pressing. The Chevy Volt can drive for about 35 miles on a fully-charged battery. Once the battery hits empty, it, like other hybrids, the Volt turns to burning gas in a conventional internal combustion engine. This isn’t good for gas usage, but on the other hand, the driver may suffer less from “range anxiety.”

While you may be able to make Level 1 charging work, you also have the option of faster charging by installing a special Level 2 charger in your garage or carport. More on Level 2 Charging in later posts or find out more by clicking here.

For more about my company, The Electric Connection — all the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask — . If you’re interested coupons for electrical work, for example, $50 off installation of a Whole House Surge Protector in the L.A. area, click on our coupon page.

When things go wrong with the electricity in your home, it’s easy to get overwhelmed in a hurry. Do you need an immediate solution? Is the problem normal? What should I do!? All very understandable when you’re talking about something as both volatile and vital as electricity. The team at Hoffman Electrical in Tampa never wants you to be at a loss, and today we’re going to differentiate normal electrical behavior, and things that are emergencies!