Christmas has come and gone, and the New Year has arrived. Mr. Electric wishes all of our customers a happy and healthy 2015! In efforts to promote safety and peace of mind for you and your family, we have a few tips to keep in mind when you’re taking down all your holiday décor this weekend.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), hospital emergency rooms treat about 12,500 people for injuries, such as falls, cuts and shocks, related to holiday lights, decorations and Christmas trees. Around 5,800 people per year were treated in hospital emergency rooms for falls associated with holiday decorations, according to Electrical Safety Foundation International. Falls from ladders or roofs account for more than half of these injuries.

When using ladders, CSPSC tells us to keep these things in mind:

Be aware of where all the electrical cords are and make sure children know not to touch them. The CPSC estimates that each year, about 4,000 injuries associated with electric extension cords are treated in hospital emergency rooms. Of those injuries, 13 percent involve children less than five years of age, and electrical burns to the mouth accounted for 50 percent of the injuries to young children.

When taking down your lights, always be cautious and unplug them the correct way. Never tug or pull the lights, as they could unravel and unintentionally wrap around power lines. Let the lights cool off before packing. It’s also important to never leave lights unattended with children around.

There are many products available to help keep your Christmas décor in tip-top shape for next year. To ensure your strings of lights don’t tangle, you can purchase a Christmas lights storage reel or a light cord wrap online or at the nearest hardware store. For a DIY approach, empty coffee cans are also able to the trick.

Take special care to always keep smaller or breakable ornaments and display pieces out of reach of children. When dealing with spun glass “angel hair,” wear gloves to avoid eye and skin irritation.

Reusing containers such as an empty egg carton or wine box is a great way to store ornaments and reduce waste and extra cost. There are also numerous ornament storage boxes available as well. Group and pack displays together to prevent lost pieces and for easy access next year. For artificial Christmas tree storage, you can use a Christmas tree duffle bag to neatly store your tree. Using the box it came in is always a good idea, too.

A power surge is something you never expect, but can have drastic consequences for your home or place of business. A surge can be so small you do not notice it all, it can cause a flicker in your lights or it can cause damages as great as that from a lightning strike. An average claim from a surge-damaged house costs thousands of dollars. However, there is a solution. An electrician in Beverly Hills, like one of the experts from The Electric Connection, can install a whole house surge protector. Understanding these surges, and how a surge protector works, can save you thousands in damages and possibly save your life.

Causes of a Power Surge

The main thing people think about when they hear the term power surge is a lightning strike. Oddly enough, this is far from the most common. According the Surge Protection Institute, an estimated 80% of power surges start inside the house—often from a major appliance as it cycles on and off. These small surges can affect other sensitive electronics such as Plasma TVs and computer equipment. A Beverly Hills electrician can help you identify which of your devices may be susceptible to such damage.

Surge Protectors

You may be familiar with a small surge protector in which you plug a computer or other item to protect them from surges. This is a great solution as it is affordable and something you can do on your own. However, there is an even easier way to protect all your equipment. Contact a Beverly Hills electrical contractor and ask about the possibility of installing a whole house surge protector. A whole home surge protector will protect against up to 50,000 amps of current. It diverts the excess current and diverts it via the house’s grounding.

If you think a whole home surge protector may be the right choice for your house, search for electrician Beverly Hills and visit The Electric Connection’s website today.

Regardless of bends, twists, or turns, Example of a cut line on LED strip lights

2. You will now have two LED strip lights. Carefully peel back the end portion of the paper strip covering the strip’s adhesive backing, and then remove the 3M VHB adhesive from the solder pads on the bottom side of one of the strips. The strip with its adhesive peeled back will be the top strip when soldered.

5. Align the non-tinned strip segment (strip with adhesive removed) directly over the newly tinned pads, and apply heat. Hold the soldering iron in place until the solder remelts and begins to flow. To strengthen the bond and improve visual appeal, a small portion of solder can be added to the top pad.

The LED strip lights are now connected, and power should flow through the entire length of the strip.

The following steps demonstrate how to split and solder a run of non-weatherproof two-conductor or connecting wires. Peel away the blue wire so that only the positive (red), negative (black), and control (green) wires are left.

*No wires should be peeled away if you’re joining single-color or standard RGB light strips.

3. Properly heat your soldering iron. For best results, clean and tin the tip of the iron immediately before soldering. To tin the iron, touch solder to both sides of the iron’s tip.

4. Next you will need to tin the solder pads on both ends of the split strip light. When soldering, always apply heat to the target area on the strip and not directly to the solder. Once sufficient heat has been applied to the area, start introducing solder.

The LED strip lights are now connected, and power should flow through the entire length of the strip.

The following steps demonstrate how to split, solder, and reseal a

3. Follow steps two through five located at the top of this post for soldering a standard RGB strip light.

4. To reseal the strip light, apply

The LED strip lights are now connected, and power should flow through the entire length of the weatherproof strip.