If you’re already familiar with rebates from electric utilities and government organizations in your area, you may notice that the dollar amounts for most rebates have decreased over the past year. The average rebate for an LED replacement lamp has gone down by 7% since last January. Rebates amounts also decreased for LED fixtures: recessed down lights decreased by 66%, accent lighting by 12%, and high bay fixtures by 8%.

You needn’t be alarmed by these numbers, though. They’ve only been adjusted to match the lower prices of LEDs in 2013. Less money is necessary to make purchasing an LED financially attractive. Also, since there are over twice the programs this year, money is even more accessible.

If you’re still pondering a switch to LEDs, or have never considered utilizing LED rebates before, starting to look for them is easier than ever. Currently, you can find rebates and incentives for energy efficient commercial lighting in 71% of the U.S. As the year progresses, we should see that number go up.

Why is a bad GFCI outlet such a big deal? To put it simply, they exist to protect you from electrical shock. As required by electrical code, these outlets are in places within your house where there is an increased risk of electrocution. These include bathrooms, kitchens or outside (wherever water is likely to be present).

GFCI outlets come with a sensor designed to identify changes in current, which can indicate unsafe conditions or the risk of shock. There’s a breaker inside the outlet, which trips when there is a surge in current. This shuts down the power supplied to the outlet and any connected outlets, protecting you from electrical shocks.

GFCIs come with two buttons on them (usually black and red), with one serving to test the outlet and the other for resetting it after the breaker inside has tripped. A bad GFCI is a serious problem, as they are too important for you to ignore them for any amount of time. It is, therefore, crucial that you stay aware of when you might have an issue with one of yours.

In the majority of cases, a GFCI outlet protects you by not providing power. If there is an issue with an appliance plugged into it, the power would likely cut off long before you even get the chance to use it. When this happens, it can be easy to assume there’s something wrong with the outlet itself. But in many cases, its breaker tripped for a good reason. GFCIs are also designed to shut themselves off in the event of a person getting shocked, which isn’t always easy for it to determine with much accuracy. In other words, your GFCI outlet breaker might trip when you’re not actually in any danger.

The GFCI detects current that branches off from the intended circuit, even if the branches are small and harmless. This can include instances of a wire making contact with another component of the receptacle, which can be completely innocent. When the cause of a trip is a passing occurrence, you should be able to reset the outlet breaker with a simple push of the correct button.

Outlets can get worn out and lose some of their effectiveness over time. This also applies to GFCIs. If your GFCI outlet is tripping much more frequently than it should, it could mean it’s nearing the end of its lifespan. This is due to GFCI outlets losing the ability to adjust to changes in current as effectively as they used to. The result is that trips begin occurring for reasons that were never a problem in the past.

If your outlet breaker is tripping every time you use a hair dryer, and it never did that before, it’s a sure sign you have a bad GFCI outlet. If this becomes the case, it’s important to get it replaced as soon as possible! These outlets are too crucial a safety measure for you to delay on getting a new, functional one.

In this digital age, having a strong online presence is vital to attract new employees and clients. However, with a few simple tools, any residential or commercial electrical contractor can quickly and easily set up a website. They can also create advertisements and build an online brand. Digital marketing is now accessible to the masses.

Even with a proper website, social media profiles, and company listings, it can be difficult to be noticed online. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. This is a method of making your website appear in the top search results for a given search term. For example, if a user searches for “electrical companies in [your city]”, SEO will ensure that your website appears in the top results.

This can be a complicated process, so SEO experts exist that can handle this task for a fee. Otherwise, an active social media presence will boost your SEO, as Google and other search engines are able to gather and combine data from all over the internet. The larger your online presence, the more likely it is that your company will appear in the top results.

Digital marketing can be simultaneously simple and complex, but with these recommendations, any contractor can start building an online reputation. There are a variety of options to suit any size company. With the right ideas and good management, you can drive traffic, clients, and good employees to your business.