Lighting is an extremely important aspect of setting up a good home office. Because this is the area of your house where you'll be performing the most work, it needs to be lit in such a way that it facilitates concentration and reading, rather than making these tasks more difficult. It may seem like a basic consideration, but with a little more thought and insight you can get more out of this space than you normally would.

A lot of home improvement blogs will recommend putting your office in a place that gets lots of natural light. While this is certainly ideal if you're working on art projects or anything else that involves reading or looking at things on paper, the glare from daylight can make a computer screen virtually unreadable. It may be better in such circumstances to rely more on artificial light, with a few windows thrown in when you don't need to use your computer.

So what kind of lights should you use? It's a good question. Most people will settle for a desk lamp or lights that were built into the room when they moved in. Both of these options represent compromises, however. Desk lamps take up valuable space and make your work area look cluttered, and the built-in lights may not be ideally placed for your home office.

We do a lot to protect our families when they are at home. We lock the doors at night, make sure there are no safety hazards like broken stair rails or exposed pools. Have you ever thought about your smoke detectors? Sure you probably have a couple in your house, but have you checked the batteries? It can be hard to remember to replace the batteries every six months. Fortunately, there is an option your electrician in Pasadena can help you out with.

The professionals at The Electric Connection can explain why hard-wired smoke detectors are so important. This type of device is connected directly to your home’s power so you don’t have to worry about regular battery changes. Plus, you don’t have to worry about somebody “borrowing” the batteries and not replacing them right away.

When the smoke detectors are wired into the home, they are interconnected. Meaning, when the smoke detector in the kitchen goes off, the one in the upstairs bedroom and garage also goes off. In the event of a fire, this can give occupants in the home several extra minutes to get out. Every minute counts when there is a house fire. Your Pasadena electrician can install the detectors in any room you request.

Along with hard-wired smoke detectors, a carbon-monoxide detector is also a good idea. One in the garage and on every floor of the house is typically the standard. These are especially important if you burn any fuel within the home or leave cars running in a garage. Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and colorless. It is crucial to your family’s safety to have one of these valuable devices installed.

Add another layer of protection for your family and give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule an appointment to have your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors installed.

A power surge is an increase in voltage flowing through your electrical units that rise above the standard voltage levels (120 Volts). These surges can be caused by lightning, high-powered electrical devices (elevators, air conditioners, refrigerators, etc), faulty wiring or even problems with your utility company’s equipment. Inevitably, these are all occurrences that we cannot prevent ourselves, so how can you protect your home and equipment from these damaging power surges?

Surge Protector

A simple solution is plugging in your electronics into a surge protector. A surge protector is a device used to protect your electronics from damaging power surges. However, many people use this tool for a much more obvious function, to plug in multiple components into one outlet, not knowing its protective capabilities. You most likely use at least one surge protector in your home already. But how does it work? How do you know that you are providing the top quality protection for your important devices?

How it Works

As you know, your surge protector pulls electrical currents from one outlet and passes them through all the electrical devices plugged into the surge protector. This aside, the more important feature of this device is its metal oxide varistor (MOV) component, which diverts extra voltage and preventing it from damaging your electronics. This MOV acts in different ways depending on the voltage flow to provide your devices consistent access to adequate levels of power. If the MOV indicates high levels of voltage, it will reduce the resistance and if the voltages are low it will create a higher resistance. However, it is important to be aware that these MOV’s can also burn out. By investing in a power surge with an indicator light you will always be able to determine whether or not it’s functioning appropriately.

In our next blog, Power Surge Protection: What to Look For, we will be discussing how and where to use your surge protector and purchasing tips for finding a quality protector. For more information on power surges and how to protect your equipment, contact the experts at Expert Electric. 604-681-8338

If chosen wisely, kitchen island lights take center stage and bring star quality to this multipurpose “heart-of-the-home” station.

From classic and traditional to clean and contemporary, island lighting makes a world of difference, enhancing the appeal and function of your kitchen space.  Over the breakfast bar or full service cooking station, island light fixtures and lighting controls should create balance and deliver a blend of general/ambient, task and accent illumination.

1.  Opt for energy-efficient task light with CFL (compact fluorescent) or LED (light emitting diode) pendant lamps centered over the island workstation.  Updated CFL and LED lamps are dimmable and available with improved color-rendering and color temperature.  Look for bulbs with a CRI (color rendering index) of at least 80 (100 is perfect color rendition) and CCT (Correlated color temperature) between 2700K and 3500K.

2.  Look for shielded, but focused illumination. Light sources should be non-glaring to provide even, shadow-free illumination.