Tag: los angeles electrician

Kitchen Upgrades Require Electrician in Beverly Hills

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

There has probably been a time or ten that you have walked into your kitchen and thought how nice it would be to have it a little brighter. Or maybe you have lamented the lack of adequate outlets. In this day and age, we rely a great deal on our gadgets and appliances. It can be a real drag to have to unplug the coffeemaker you have set up on a timer to plug in your mixer. It is time to take the first step in getting a kitchen that is designed to suit your needs. You need an electrician in Beverly Hills. The Electric Connection can help you brighten up your kitchen without a lot of work.

You will get the freedom to choose what upgrades you would like to implement. Things like new lighting fixtures can go a long way to making a dark kitchen brighter. And a brighter kitchen just feels bigger and more inviting. You won’t have to worry about hiring contractors to complete an expensive remodel. Take a trip to the home improvement store and check out all the lighting aisles. Then call your electrician to complete the installation process.

Track lighting is very popular in kitchens and allows you to cover a lot of space with just one switch. The lights can be aimed at specific areas. Another option is recessed lights. These take up no space and are mounted directly into the ceiling. There are so many options to choose from. You will wonder why you didn’t take the plunge earlier.

As far as the lack of electrical outlets, this is an easy fix. If you are in need of some Beverly Hills electrical work like adding outlets, give The Electric Connection a call. An electrician can add outlets your current electrical panel allows. Your electrician will let you know how many outlets you can safely add.

What to Look for in a Los Angeles Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins | 3 Comments on What to Look for in a Los Angeles Electrician

If you are in need of an electrician in the Los Angeles area, you have probably picked up the yellow pages or headed to your favorite search engine to wade through the listings. It is hard to pick the right one. How do you know which Los Angeles electrician to choose? At The Electric Connection, you won’t have to worry about what you are going to get when you make that first phone call. Here are some things every homeowner or business owner should look for when they are trying to hire the right electrician.

Reputation

A solid reputation is important. Past customers will be able to tell the real story about a company. Look for reviews online and verify the business with the Better Business Bureau. Angie’s List is another great place to check out an electrician’s reputation.

Clean

You take pride in your home and are likely a little picky about who you let in. You want a company who employs people who will respect your home and clean up after themselves. Presentation of an employee is also important and says a lot about the company’s image. Clean, nice-looking uniforms are always a plus. This is especially important if the work is going to be in a business where customers will see the electrician.

Honest

When dealing with any Los Angeles electrical work you want to ensure you are dealing with somebody who is being honest and up front with you. You don’t want to be paying for work that is not completely necessary. An honest electrician will tell you what needs to be fixed and what is optional but recommended. This gives you the option to decide what is best for you or your business.

At The Electric Connection, we pride ourselves on all of the above qualities and would love to help you with your electrical needs.

Electric Outdoor Lights for Winter Months Explains Electrician in Los Angeles

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins | 1 Comment on Electric Outdoor Lights for Winter Months Explains Electrician in Los Angeles

As summer comes to a close, it is time to get ready for the fall cleanup season. This is a great time to have your outdoor lighting inspected, revamped or replaced by your electrician in Los Angeles. Summer storms and typical wear and tear will often result in broken lights or bulbs that need replacing. Although you may not be planning on spending as much time outside during the cooler months, lighting provides safety as well as enhances the appearance of a home. At The Electric Connection, we know how important it is to maintain a gorgeous landscape no matter how cold it is outside.

This is also a great time to review your current lighting scheme and make adjustments to areas you may have noticed were a little more shadowy than you would prefer. Take the time to note these areas and then call your electrician. Los Angeles homeowners have plenty of options when it comes to creating a beautiful, well-lit landscape.

Maybe you have taken advantage of some of the end of season sales and need some help hooking up that beautiful new water feature. Or maybe you have a new piece of yard art that deserves some special lighting to highlight it during the shortened days.

While you do have the option of using solar lights, winter months make it very difficult for the lights to charge. They will often go dark before the sun rises due to the limited amount of charging time allowed during the shorter days. For this reason, many people opt for outdoor lights that are electric. They tend to be more reliable and will stay illuminated throughout the entire night. If you would like to learn more about having electric lights installed in your landscaping give The Electric Connection a call today.

Hard-Wired Smoke Detectors Installed by Electrician Los Angeles Residents Trust

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

As you look around your home, you probably see a long list of little things you would like to do to make it better and safer. It is all a part of home ownership. It is exciting to take something that is very basic and mold it into something that is as much a part of your family as the dog or cat. It is only normal you would want to protect your home and the family that resides in it. The Electric Connection can help you do just that.

Homeowners can have hard-wired smoke detectors installed in their home by an electrician Los Angeles residents probably already know how important it is to have at least one smoke detector on every floor of the home, but there is a big difference between hard-wired and battery operated detectors.

The hard-wired varieties are interconnected. This means when the one in the kitchen goes off, the one in the master bedroom upstairs will also go off. Doesn’t that just make sense? It can be difficult to hear an alarm when doors are closed or the television is on. You need detectors that give you precious seconds to get your family out of the house quickly and safely.

Another benefit to this particular type of smoke-detector is the reliability. As long as the home is powered, the detectors will work. There are battery backups as well in case of a power outage. Because the devices are wired directly into your home’s main power, you will need somebody trained to work with electricity. Los Angeles electrical work can safely be performed by the experienced and professional staff at The Electric Connection.

If you would like to learn more about these devices or would like to schedule an appointment to have yours installed, give us a call today.

Outdoor Ceiling Fans—Electrician in Los Angeles Explains the Benefits

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Stagnant air can be rather miserable. When you are sitting outside, you are typically hoping for that refreshing breeze to keep you cool and comfortable and to break up the hot air that tends to become thick and heavy. Of course you have heard about ceiling fans inside your home to take care of this problem, but did you know you can actually have a fan outside as well?

Outdoor ceiling fans can be placed in any outdoor living space to make it more comfortable and enjoyable for you. Evenings out on the patio or lunches in the middle of the day can still be enjoyed without the heat becoming too much when you have an electrician in Los Angeles install an outdoor ceiling fan.

These fans are specially designed to withstand the elements. Rain, wind and salty sea air are kept out of the electrical components with a specially designed housing. Although, there are different levels of protection. You will need to consider where the fan will be placed and your proximity to the ocean and the corrosive salty air. This is something you can talk more about with your electrician. Los Angeles residents can rely on The Electric Connection to help explain the ins and out of outdoor ceiling fans.

Basically, there are 3 different main types of fans. The first is designed to withstand minimal exposure to the elements. This is the type of fan you would put in a covered outdoor area. The second fan is designed to withstand direct exposure to the elements. If you are considering putting your fan in an area that is not covered, you will need this type. The last fan type is one that is made to hold up against the erosion from the salty air.

Of course, each type of fan is available in an assortment of styles and colors. Have fun choosing a fan that is right for your needs. Once you have picked the perfect fan, give The Electric Connection a call and we will be happy to schedule an installation appointment.

Cloth Wiring Explained by Electrician in Los Angeles

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Are you living in a home that was built before 1950? If so, you may have a potential fire hazard on your hands that you cannot see. Wiring in older homes is often an antiquated system know as insulated cloth wiring. While it may be perfectly safe in some houses, it can lead to problems down the road. If you are not sure if you have cloth wiring, you will want to call an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners can rely on The Electric Connection to provide prompt service.

An electrical safety inspection will determine whether your home has cloth wiring and whether or not it should be replaced. If you are noticing problems with the power in your home, like lights flickering, outlets not working and etc…it may be an indication the protective cloth around the wires is fraying. Overtime, the cloth becomes brittle and decays. This ends up leaving bare wires that can certainly become a major risk.

Your electrician in Los Angeles will be able to advise you the best course of action to take. If you are planning to do any remodeling or upgrading light fixtures, it is highly recommended you replace the old wiring in your home. During the inspection, the electrician can also check for the old knob-and-tube wiring. This is more common in homes built before 1935. This type of wiring involved the use of ceramic tubes and knobs. It is not safe and is not allowed in new construction anymore.

If you suspect your older home may have either one of these types of wiring, it is certainly better to be safe than sorry. Home fires started by faulty wiring are a preventable tragedy. The professionals at The Electric Connection are ready to help you make this big decision. Give us a call today to schedule your inspection.

Outdoor Lighting Made Easy by Electrician in Los Angeles

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

With the summer months fast approaching, you are likely more than ready to get outside to enjoy the warm summer nights. After a long winter of being cooped up inside, outdoor picnics and get-togethers are just what you need to celebrate the gorgeous weather. To truly enjoy your outdoor space, you need adequate lighting. This is where landscape lighting comes in to play.

There are literally hundreds of options when it comes to lighting up your lawn, garden and patio. If you are keen on a specific theme, you will certainly be able to find a lighting scheme that suits your needs perfectly. If you have toiled long and hard in the flower bed or created a magnificent focal point in your landscaping, you will want to show it off. A strategically placed spotlight or lights that emit soft light are ideal for highlighting those areas you have worked so hard on. This is when you will need an electrician. Los Angeles residents can rely on The Electric Connection to help make their boring nighttime landscape into something absolutely stunning.

Properly placed lights can be used to accent the areas of your yard you want everybody to see and enjoy as well as provide adequate lighting for outdoor parties. However, lighting is not all about appearances. Safety is dramatically enhanced when proper lighting is placed along pathways and in dark corners where things that go bump in the night may be lurking. You want to feel safe in your backyard, and having a well-lit space certainly helps.

Los Angeles electrical needs will require an experienced and qualified electrician to install the lights. In many cases, homeowners prefer to have their landscape lights on a dedicated circuit. This is a job that an electrician will need to complete. Call The Electric Connection today to schedule your landscaping project.

Save Money with Surge Protection Installed by Electrician in Los Angeles

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Spring is here and that means those wild and loud thunderstorms are here as well. Lightning can be nice to look at, but as we all know, it can be dangerous. While you are probably safe in your home during a lightning storm, your appliances and electronics are not. One lightning strike can wipe out anything that is currently plugged in, in your home.

If you are not interested in spending thousands of dollars replacing computers, televisions and any other appliance in your home, you will probably want to invest in a whole house surge protector. An electrician in Los Angeles is exactly what you need to save you a great deal of money in replacement costs.

Surge Protectors

You probably have your computer plugged into one of those strips that offers a layer of protection against an electrical surge. But what about your expensive gaming console, refrigerator and television. With just those three items, you are taking well over a $1000. It isn’t feasible or attractive to plug in every electronic device to a surge protector strip.

However, whole home surge protectors are available. And what is even better is the fact they are a fraction of the amount of the cost it would take you to replace your electronics. They are fairly simple to install by an electrician. Los Angeles residents who are interested in protecting their electronic investments can call the Electric Connection to discuss their surge protection options.

It is important to note that not all electrical surges come from lightning strikes. Large appliances like the refrigerator or air conditioning unit cycling off and on can also cause spikes in power, especially if they are not in good working condition. You never know when a surge will strike. It is better to be safe than sorry.

An Electrician in Los Angeles Can Test Your Circuit Breaker for Damage

Posted on | by K Hopkins | 2 Comments on An Electrician in Los Angeles Can Test Your Circuit Breaker for Damage

Under normal circumstances, a circuit breaker lasts for years without ever needing repair or replacement. However, from time to time a circuit breaker will actually “break.” Diagnosing a circuit breaker problem is not a project that an amateur should attempt on his or her own. Only the most skilled do-it-yourselfers can handle this project. Unless you are skilled in electrical safety practices and the proper use of electrical test equipment, contacting an electrician in Los Angeles just makes sense.

If you have a breaker that is tripping regularly, more than likely the breaker is doing its job—the circuit is just overloaded. A skilled electrician Los Angeles can test this by using an ammeter—a tool that is used for testing the amount of electricity going through the circuit. Another problem that occurs regularly is that the breaker will not reset after tripping. In this case, the problem is more likely in the line of electricity rather than the breaker. In most cases the line has a fault and the breaker will (purposely) not reset until the fault is cleared.

When an electrician comes to test your breaker, he will likely first test the voltage at the breaker terminal. Generally, the reading should show 120 VAC. If this appears correctly, he will load the circuit and test again. If voltage drops at this point, there is a good chance the breaker is bad.

Since this is a job that is so in-depth and difficult, calling an electrician from The Electric Connection is highly recommended. These experts have years of experience and training, so they are able to review your problem and determine the best way to proceed. There is no use in taking risks when it comes to your safety and the safety of your home; an experienced electrician is just a phone call away.

Electrician Los Angeles – Powering Your RV from Your Home’s Electrical System

Posted on | by K Hopkins

If you own an RV, you are probably always looking for ways to make life easier. One of the areas you may struggle with is providing consistent electricity to an RV. When you are staying in an RV park, there is often a power source—however, if you want to use your RV’s power system at home (to utilize it as a guest house, for instance) you may feel at loss as to what you need to do. Follow this advice from an electrician in Los Angeles and see what you need to do to “borrow” electricity from your home for your RV.

First, you must realize it is not as simple as just plugging your RV into your home’s electrical system. This will overload your power system, trip the circuit breaker and leave you scratching your head. If you see this as something you may do very often, you want to get in touch with Electric Connection—the electrician Los Angeles residents turn to—and let these experts set you up with an RV to home connection.

There are adaptors available but they will not provide enough electricity to do much other than operate the lighting in your home. You will need to install a long term solution. This is a project that can be done yourself; however, it is strongly recommended that you turn to a professional. It requires extensive wiring work that is not recommended for those not skilled in working with electricity. Essentially, you need a specific circuit that is dedicated to powering your RV.

If you are interested in powering your RV from the electricity in your home, contact Electric Connection today and let us work with you on this project. You will appreciate the experience, expertise and top-notch customer service you receive every time you call Electric Connection.