Tag: electrical savings

10 Tips to Save on Your Electric Bill by Electrician in Pasadena

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Even if your electric bill isn’t really a problem for you, just imagine what you could do if you shaved it down just a tad. A few more dollars in your pocket could be put towards your retirement nest egg, save up for that new big screen television you have been wanting or maybe just going out for a nice dinner. It is your money, do as you please. There are always ways to save here and there and your electrician in Pasadena has a few simple tips you can start doing today, to get you one step closer to that nest egg. The Electric Connection has been helping customers for years with energy savings.

1-Cook with small appliances when possible. Use a toaster oven, skillet or slow cooker.
2-Use cold water to run the garbage disposal.
3. Clean the filter on your refrigerator and freezer at least twice a year for maximum efficiency. Defrost the freezer at least once a year.
4. Only run full loads in the dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer. Use warm or cold water to wash clothes with.
5. Use CFL bulbs in place of halogen light bulbs.
6. Rely on a ceiling fan to circulate air and adjust temperature in the home up or down by several degrees. This is a job for your electrician. Pasadena homeowners who rely on their ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner or furnace can save a great deal of money.
7. Turn off all lights when you don’t need them.
8. Unplug small appliances when not in use to prevent phantom energy from being stolen.
9. Install dimmer switches on your lights to reduce the amount of light created and reduce the amount of electricity used.
10. Use a timer to control outdoor lighting to only come on at dusk and turn off at dawn.

These are just a few tips. You can call The Electric Connection to begin saving money today by installing a ceiling fan and dimmer switch.

CFL Lights Save on Electric Bill Explains Electrician in Glendale

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

As you walk around your house trying to find ways to save a few dollars here and there on your electric bill, you may be overlooking the obvious. Your current light bulbs. You have probably seen the more expensive light bulbs in the spiral shape in the stores but may have passed over them in favor of the less expensive bulbs. Your electrician in Glendale is here to tell you, you may be costing yourself more money by choosing those cheaper bulbs.

The experienced professionals at The Electric Connection can answer any questions you have about energy savings. One of the easiest things you can do is to start changing out your current halogen bulbs for the more energy efficient Compact Florescent Bulbs or what are simply referred to as CFLs. A CFL uses 75 percent less energy than the old standard bulbs.

Your light usage in your home probably accounts for maybe $20 on an average $100 monthly electric bill. So, if you replace each of your current energy hogging bulbs with CFLs, you could potentially safe about $15 on your electric bill. While that is not a massive amount of savings, it will certainly add up. Don’t be fooled by the word florescent. There is no eerie yellow or green glow. They are available in a variety of colors depending on your preference. If you have more questions, you can ask your electrician. Glendale residents may also want to consider replacing outdated lighting fixtures with more modern energy efficient fixtures.

This is a job for a certified electrician. While there, the electrician can install dimmer switches on lights that do not need to be at full power all of the time. These dimmers give you the freedom to have just a little light or a lot, depending on what your needs are. Call The Electric Connection today to learn more about dimmer switches and how they can help you.

Leave the Thermostat Alone Says Electrician in Burbank

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Are you one of those who loves the idea of summer, but you hate the heat? Enjoying the warm weather while you are spending a day at the beach or enjoying a picnic with family in the great outdoors is one thing, but what about when you are tired of the heat? After a long day at work or a long day in the sun, you are probably hoping for some relief from the sweltering temperatures.

You probably thought it was a waste of money to run the air conditioner all day while you were out. You would be right, but now that you are back home, you are wishing you would have left it running and running up your electric bill. Your electrician in Burbank has some valuable tips to help you stay cool without wasting a ton of cash on your electric bill.

1-Don’t turn the AC up and down. When you get home and it is hot in the house and you crank the AC down, you will cause the unit to run constantly as it works to cool your home. This is hard on the air conditioning unit and will counteract any savings you thought you were creating by turning it off during the day. Instead, set the AC to 78 while you are away. If you can, leave it there.

2-Invest in a few fans. Ceiling fans are excellent, inexpensive ways to stay cool during the summer. If you do not currently have one, call your electrician. Burbank residents can call The Electric Connection to have a qualified, trained professional install one of these cost-saving devices in your home.

3-Close the windows before you leave. Pull the shades and shut the windows. You don’t want the sun heating up the room. You will be surprised at how well your house will stay cool when the sun is kept out.

If you are interested in learning more about how you can save on your electric bill, give The Electric Connection a call today.

Save Money with Flourescent Lighting Reveals Electrician Pasadena Residents Trust

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Are you looking for ways to cut down on energy usage? Wanting to reduce power consumption is a very common thing, whether it’s to save money, or in an attempt to reduce your carbon footprint. The most common ways people save electricity are by toughing out the heat or cold by not using their AC or heater and by turning off the lights whenever they can. There is a much simpler, convenient way to save energy however.

According to many studies lighting tends to be a fairly large chunk of the average family’s utility bills. Even when lights are turned as often as possible, they can still take up around 12% of the bill. Replacing standard bulbs with fluorescents can save a lot of money over the course of a year on electric bills. In fact, studies show that replacing even just five light fixtures can save the average family over $50 a year. If you need more information about fluorescent lighting or need assistance installing it in your home, contact your local electrician. Pasadena residents can rely on The Electric Connection to answer questions about lighting options.

Fluorescent bulbs tend to be more expensive to buy, but don’t let their price tag scare you away. They are much more energy efficient than regular bulbs, and also last 5-6 times longer than them as well. This means that in the long run they will actually be much cheaper than a standard light fixture.

Although they are more expensive than a regular bulb on the store shelves, it is well worth the investment. The Electric Connection will have a trained and certified electrician in Pasadena ready to help you with any questions you might have about fluorescent lighting. They can also help anybody in need of more energy savings by creating an energy savings plan, which could include fluorescent lighting or other power saving techniques and equipment.

Custom Lighting to Save Money by an Electrician Pasadena Residents Trust

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins | 1 Comment on Custom Lighting to Save Money by an Electrician Pasadena Residents Trust

When you have something you are proud of displayed in your home or your office, you likely want to create a display that accentuates the item. Sometimes, you need the perfect lighting scheme to accent a piece of art, a work station or a meeting area. A simple light bulb in a fixture may not be enough. Have you thought about custom lighting?

You may be surprised to learn that custom lighting is often more energy efficient than the old standard fixtures and bulbs. Whether your goal is to light up a specific area with bright light or simply to create a soft glow, you will want to contact an electrician. Pasadena home and business owners can call on The Electric Connection to help establish a lighting scheme that fulfills your wants and needs.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to creating a design that suits your style and is functional. Your electrician can install recessed lighting, track lighting or a gorgeous chandelier-type fixture. Under counter LED lighting is a great way to shed light on countertops and costs very little to operate. While you are thinking about installing new fixtures, you may also want to talk about dimmer switches with your electrician. Licensed Pasadena electricians at can install dimmers throughout your home or office with very little trouble.

The installation of a dimmer switch can help save money on your electric bill, while giving you the freedom to control how much light is emitted at any given time. These are great for dining rooms, hallways and bathrooms. When you combine a dimmer switch with energy efficient CFL bulbs, you are really maximizing your new fixture. By reducing the amount of light being emitted from your bulb by 25 percent, you are creating a 25 percent savings. Give your friendly electrician, The Electric Connection, a call to see how you can start saving money.

Burbank Electrician Explains Top Ways to Save on Your Electric Bill

Posted on | by K Hopkins | 1 Comment on Burbank Electrician Explains Top Ways to Save on Your Electric Bill

In today’s tough economic landscape, the idea of saving money on your electric bill is especially appealing. By following a few simple tips you will find that your monthly bill will shrink—giving you additional money to do the things you want to do. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Use Fans – Fans use much less electricity than air conditioners. Installing an attic fan or even ceiling fans around your house can help you keep the AC use to a minimum. An electrician in Burbank from The Electric Connection can help with the installation project. (Click Here)

Use Energy Saving Bulbs – An energy saving bulb can produce as much light as a typical bulb but at a significant energy savings. These bulbs cost more up front but cut the electric bill by a significant sum.

Use Power Strips – Most electronic devices use power even when turned off because they remain in a standby mode. If you plug many of your products into power strips and flip the switch off at night you can reduce energy use.

Eliminate Appliances – Do you need all the electric appliances you use? Are there any you could replace with gas-powered appliances? Look over your appliance use and see where you can make changes.

Replace Old Electronics – Older electronics often use more electricity than newer ones. Newer products follow Energy Star standards so they are cheaper in terms of energy consumption. Replacing appliances often saves money in the long run.

Turn Down the Water Heater – If you use an electric water heater, you may not need it as high as it is. See if you can turn it down a few degrees and save money from heating costs.

Saving electricity isn’t just about reducing the impact on your wallet, it is good for the environment too. Contact The Electric Connection, the electrician Burbank residents trust, today and see what other changes may help your bottom line too.

Electrician Los Angeles – A Few Practical Energy Conservation Tips

Posted on | by K Hopkins

Each and every household has at least one reason to conserve energy. This is a very basic idea, and should be important for everyone in all classes of society. By conserving energy you are being less wasteful, which can have a positive impact both on the environment and on your monthly energy bills. In most areas, electrical utility companies still use fossil fuels to provide our homes with the electricity that we use on a daily basis. This includes materials such as natural gas, coal and oil. The exhaust and other by-products of burning these fuels can be very harmful to the environment. Furthermore, they all have a limited supply that is rapidly declining due to the increased demand placed by humans.

What can you do to conserve energy at home?

One of the best places to start is to use your appliances mindfully. By this, we mean turning them off when they are not in use. For further power savings, you can even unplug them or turn an attached power strip off to avoid losing any “standby” power.

Your large home appliances, such as washing machines, dryers, refrigerators, air conditioners and heaters can account for up to two-thirds of the energy that you use at home. By unplugging them when not in use, or ensuring that they are only being used when necessary, you can make a significant dent in your electric bill. Take important steps such as turning your thermostat up when you leave the house, or improving your insulation. You can have your electrician in Los Angeles install time-saving devices such as programmable thermostats and dimmer switches to make this job even easier for you.

The bottom line is that everyone should be doing their best to conserve as much electricity as possible. While the effects may seem small, they truly add up and can benefit you both personally and everyone around you. For more ideas about energy conservation or help with an electrical installation or repair project, contact The Electric Connection. (Click Here).

What are CFLs — Can They Save Electricity and Save You Money?

Posted on | by K Hopkins | 2 Comments on What are CFLs — Can They Save Electricity and Save You Money?

CFLs are those new, small fluorescent light bulbs that screw into most regular light fixtures. You can use them to replace regular (incandescent) bulbs to save money and electricity. As the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power gets over 60% of its electricity from fossil fuels, especially coal, any time you replace a regular incandescent bulb with a CFL, it’s one small step towards reducing fossil fuel use in L.A.

CFLs come in all different shapes, but basically they’re a fluorescent tube bent this way or that or twisted into a spiral. “CFL” stands for “Compact Fluorescent Lamp.” They’re more compact than the long fluorescent tubes of our childhoods. They’re lamps, which is electrician-speak for “light bulb.” Here’s why they’re green — they save 75% of the energy that traditional incandescents use.

Here’s why they save you money — they cost more than a regular incandescent, but last a lot longer — 13 times longer. So even though each CFL costs more per bulb (about $4 for a CFL), it will also save you about $4 in bulbs as you won’t have to replace it so often.

Your electric bill will show more significant savings. Lighting costs about $20 out of $100 monthly electric bill. Because CFLs use one-quarter of the electricity of a regular incandescent, if you replace all the bulbs in your house with CFLs, you’ll save about $15 each month on a $100 electric bill.

CFLs are green, but not blue. Many people don’t enjoy the eerie bluish light of the old-fashioned long fluorescent tubes. CFLs can create all different colors of light, including warm tones. A recent study by the magazine Popular Mechanics found that even when people didn’t know which type of bulb was involved, they preferred the light of the CFL over the light from incandescent bulbs. CFLs also don’t buzz as the long tubes did.

CFLs have one downside — they each contain a small amount of mercury, which is a toxin. If a bulb breaks, you’ll need to take care to clean every bit up and to not touch the pieces. You’ll need to recycle spent bulbs or dispose of them as you would paint or other hazardous waste. However, they’re so long lasting that this will come up on the order of years, rather than months.

OK so you have a basic understanding of CFLs, now what can you do that’s simple to save money and electricity? The next time you go to the store, pick up a four-pack of CFLs. Choose four incandescent lights in your home or business that you use often and replace the incandescent bulbs with your new CFLs. You’ll start saving on your electric bill and will decrease the burning of fossil fuels to power Los Angeles.

Click here for more tips on saving electricity.