Can I get a Free Estimate over the phone? If you want a Free Estimate, call us at (800) 990-9490. We give Free Estimates either over the phone, or, if needed, after looking at your job. We can almost always give you a Free Estimate over the phone if your job is installing new items such as: • And all other installations of new electrical components (as opposed to repairs)

How can you give me an over-the-phone estimate for a job as big as a house rewire or an electrical panel upgrade? We’ll do a brief interview with you to find out the size of your house and some other basics. We can give you a rough estimate over the phone. Then if you want to take the next step, we can send an electrician to your home or business. He’ll look over your electrical system and give you a firm bid in writing. If the bid is acceptable, we’ll schedule the job with you.

Can you give me an over-the-phone estimate for installing a charger for an electric car? Yes, these can be as low as $200, and they go up from there. We’ll ask you the distance of your garage or carport to your electrical panel. If you’re interested, we’ll then send an electrician out to see the job. He’ll determine where the charger could go and also check that your electrical panel has sufficient power. The price of the job will depend on the distance from the electrical panel and whether your panel needs to be upgraded for more power. He can give you a firm written bid after looking at the job.

Are there times when you can’t do a Free Estimate? If you need something fixed that used to work, we’ll need to do on-site troubleshooting of your electrical system and charge for the electrician’s time. Within a half hour to an hour, we’ll know the extent of the problem. At that point, if he hasn’t already fixed the problem, the electrician can give you a firm bid in writing before doing more work. Often, by the time the electrician has figured out the problem (within a half hour to an hour or so) — let’s say it’s a loose wire — it will take another minute or so to fix it. In fact, he may not be certain that the loose wire was the entire problem until he tightens the wire, the circuit now works, and the job is done.

Why can’t you give an estimate for troubleshooting jobs? When a component in your electrical system no longer works, there can be variety of reasons, each requiring a different amount of time to fix.

Let’s say you have a swimming pool and the pool light no longer comes on. If the light switch has broken and needs replacing, we’re talking about an inexpensive part plus half an hour of labor. If the light fixture or the circuit breaker is broken, these parts are bigger expenses. If the wire feeding the light has a short circuit, that could mean digging up the wire that runs underground, cutting the concrete pool deck, replacing the wiring and its protective housing (electrical conduit), cutting a new trench and re-burying the wire, and finally, patching the concrete pool deck. That could be hundreds of dollars.

So, the symptom of the pool light not working doesn’t tell us the cost. We’ll need to troubleshoot on-site for a half hour to an hour, find the cause, and then we’ll be able to give you a firm bid price.

What is the difference between an estimate and a bid? We can give you a Free Estimate over the phone without seeing the job if your job is a new installation. If the estimate is acceptable and you want to move ahead, we’ll set an appointment with you to see the job. Once we’ve seen the job and checked out the details, we can give you a firm written bid in writing. It’s a firm price with no surprises for you.

How can I get started? Call us at (800) 990-9490 and ask for a Free Estimate.

For more about my company, The Electric Connection — all the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask — click here. 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.

Kim Hopkins, Owner The Electric Connection

This week, I participated in a weekly twitter chat calledTweetChat, with whom I have no affiliation but do use) Wednesdays at 2 p.m. EST and use the hashtag #KBTribeChat. Information about the interesting conversation. One of the questions was about using lighting to personal kitchens and baths. Of course, this got me very excited. I inadvertently learned that Twitter is great if you have a little that you kind of want to say. It’s terrible when you have a LOT that you REALLY want to say. That 140 character limit becomes a cruel, tyrannical constraint. So I thought to myself: You’ll just have to wait until you get back home to the blog, where you can write actual paragraphs, to answer this question. Ahhh. It feels good now to have a little room to stretch out.

So, how can you use lighting to personalize a space? Here are 4 things to keep in mind.

1) Fixture and Light Source

The third prong on a typical electrical appliance plug provides an extra measure of safety against electrical shock. Two-prong outlets, often found in older homes, may not be grounded adequately and should be upgraded.

The National Electric Code requires that GFCI outlets – with Test and Reset buttons – are installed in areas of the home where water may be present, such as your kitchen, baths, utility room, garage and outside locations.

If the wiring for your light switches or outlets is wrapped in cloth sheathing or bits of black rubber, you need to upgrade your home wiring to keep your family safe.

Appliances such as air conditioners, clothes dryers, refrigerators and furnaces use extra electricity when they start. This may be more than just a nuisance. An overloaded system can damage sensitive equipment.

Too much electrical current causes breakers to trip or fuses to melt. Don’t ignore this warning. Have your electrical system inspected and upgraded.

If you need to use extension cords on a regular basis, you probably need more outlets in your home. When you use extension cords to make up for a lack of outlets, you run the risk of placing too much demand on your electrical system. Extension cords placed under rugs or furniture may also be a safety hazard.

Rust on your main electrical service panel indicates a moisture problem, which can lead to further problems.

This may be an indication of a loose or deteriorating electrical connection, which could lead to shock or fire.

If your home is more than 25 years old, you should have your system inspected and if necessary, brought up to electrical code standards.