If you have ever lived in a home with a chandelier in the dining room, you may have had a dimmer switch. The switch probably seemed functional and rather standard. You never thought twice about it. However, if you live in a home that doesn’t have a dimmer switch, you can quickly see the benefits to having one. In fact, your electrician in Santa Monica, like those at The Electric Connection, can explain why a dimmer switch is more than just a convenience.

Energy Savings

There are many times you don’t need full light, but you have to turn on the switch to avoid being in complete darkness. It is a waste of electricity and you know it, but you may feel trapped. You don’t have to! Dimmer switches can be installed by a Santa Monica electrician where light needs are likely to fluctuate like the living room, dining room and your bedroom. By only turning the light on as bright as you need, you are reducing the amount of electricity you use.

Save on Light Bulbs

By reducing how much you use your light bulbs, you are going to prolong their life, which will save you money. You can add years to your bulb’s life simply by adjusting the dimmer.

Freedom to Control Ambiance of the Room

Light plays a huge role in the overall ambiance of a room. When you are enjoying an intimate dinner, low light is appropriate. When you have lots of kids and a more lively dinner, you want plenty of light to see what is happening. A dimmer switch gives you complete control of the light setting.

If you would like to have a dimmer switch installed, call your electrician. Santa Monica homeowners may need to upgrade their older light fixtures to accommodate light bulbs that are suitable for dimmers. Not all CFLs or LEDs can be connected to a dimmer switch. Give The Electric Connection a call today to learn more about what you need to have a dimmer switch installed in your home.

In recent years, homeowners throughout the country have becoming increasingly reliant on appliances and electronic devices. Many don’t realize this, but that means that the electrical demands we are placing on our homes are much higher than they used to be, and our homes may not be well-equipped to handle it.

You may use small, portable surge protectors or power strips in your home to plug in things like your TV, or computer equipment. However, this is typically not sufficient enough to really protect your home and electronics against the dangers of power surges. Fortunately, there is a solution—whole-house surge protection.

As we mentioned above, you may utilize power strips to plug electronics such as your laptop or entertainment equipment into. This isn’t necessarily a bad idea, as it does serve a purpose. However, the more demand you place on these, the higher risk there is for your electronic equipment.

Whole-house surge protection helps guard your electronics and appliances against a large power surge. Remember, a power surge can do more than just cause your lighting to go out or kill the battery in your laptop. It can damage your HVAC system and any other large appliance that’s hooked up to your home’s electrical system. Systems do not even have to be operating or turned on at the time for a power surge to damage them.

If you want full protection for your home and electrical system, then you need the right type of surge protector. No matter what type you choose, it’s important to have it professionally installed to ensure that it works properly and really does protect your electrical system when needed.

Must-see landscape lighting designs include top-quality LED, Energy SMART and ENERGY STAR-rated products, as well as solar-powered specialty lighting and fashion-forward spot and flood lights.

1.  Professional Series transformers and Design Pro LED lighting from Kichler Lighting

12-volt LED path, spread, deck and patio lighting, water lights and wall washers are now available in a flattering warm white 2700K and 3000K from Kichler Lighting.

2.  LED “Luna” deck lights from Hinkley Lighting

Dimmable to 25% and available in attractive finish options:  Bronze, Light Almond, Satin White and Titanium, “Luna” deck lights from Hinkley Lighting provide a tailored, energy-efficient elegance to your landscape lighting design.

3.  “Telsa” Energy SMART flood and spot lights from WAC Lighting

“Telsa” Energy Smart LED and ENERGY STAR-rated outdoor floodlights provide superb illumination that goes the extra mile!

4. “Alumilux”  path lighting from ET2 Lighting

“Alumilux” path lighting from ET2 Lighting comes in a variety of style options to present your home or office exterior with Energy Smart LED illumination.

5.  Solar landscape lighting from Kenroy Home

“Seriously Solar” landscape lighting from Kenroy Home is the go-anywhere and go-everywhere option for highlighting outdoor areas from pathway to pond.

* “Seriously Solar” lanterns from Kenroy Home are versatile outdoor decor accents by day and instant table top or outdoor hanging lamps by night. Available in Blue (shown) or Red, these ceramic lanterns contain removable LED solar discs that will constantly store a charge when placed in optimal sunlight.

See all new landscape lighting designs at 1800lighting.com.  Send in a picture of your outdoor areas for a free consultation and novel landscape lighting ideas from the lighting professionals at Capitol Lighting.

Protecting your homes electronics with whole house surge protection is dramatically more important today then just ten years ago.  Your home becomes more and more filled with electronics and appliances that need protection from power surges.  A lighting storm can wreak havoc on the utility grid and your homes electronics.  A good lighting storm will generate 12-18 calls in one day just for our local business Custom Electrical Services.  Sometimes it even seems you can almost track the storms path as it moves across the Des Moines Metro based on the incoming calls.  Customers who experienced power surges have received thousands of dollars and in some cases tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage from one major power surge.  A surge is most commonly known for taking out electronics such as computers, TV’s and stereo equipment.  But did you know many of your homes appliances now have sophisticated electronics built into them?  We see garage door openers, refrigerators, dishwashers, and even the homes hot water heater, air conditioner and furnace all taken out by power surges.

You should know that nothing will fully protect your home from a direct lighting strike.  However in most cases the damage is caused by the power surge rather than a direct lighting strike.  We are all familiar with the power strips that offer surge protection you can purchase from the big box stores.  Even if you have a whole house surge protection system we still recommend point of use surge protection.  When purchasing surge protection you want to look at the joule rating.  The joule rating is the amount of energy absorption / dissipation a surge protector can handle before the surge protector fails.  The higher the number the better the surge protection device is at protecting the electronics plugged into it.  But what about the items not plugged into the power surge strip?  Well unfortunately anything not plugged into the power surge strip is not getting any protection.  So that $1200 dishwasher, $600 garage door opener, or $4,000 air conditioner is not getting any protection from your point of use power strip.  But don’t worry you now have options.

We have installed hundreds of whole house power protection devices in peoples homes across the Des Moines Metro.  One customer in West Des Moines received frequent issues from power surges.  After we installed a SPD (surge protection device) in each of his electrical panels he has not lost any electronics since.  A whole house surge protection device like a power surge strip is only capable of absorbing or dissipating so much power.  This particular customer received a significant power surge which he said would of normally damaged his very expensive home theater equipment and whole house automation system in the past.  A SPD when properly installed in your electrical panel can protect your entire home from power surges.  Not just electronics plugged directly into a surge protector.

There are several types of whole house surge protectors on the market.  Many are good while others are not.  Even the best whole house surge protectors are not as effect if they are not properly installed.  Manufacture specs are specific when it comes to the required installation so the device can properly perform the way it was engineered.  A good quality whole house surge protection device will come with several thousand dollars worth of manufacture insurance covering your homes electronics if the device were to fail when properly installed.

We have a variety of whole house surge protections devices capable of providing safe and reliable protection for your home.  We offer Siemens devices as well as Eaton products we can install in your home or business today.  Stop procrastinating and call us before the next big storm moves across the Des Moines metro.  From Adel to Altoona, from Norwalk to Ankeny and all the surrounding communities we are here and ready to serve your 24/7.

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