Whether you have a scheduled lighting project or an emergency on your hands, there are plenty of situations when it’s appropriate to call in a local electrician for the job.

Repairing a Wire Damaged from Drilling a Hole in the WallWhether you’re hanging pictures, shelves or a TV mounting bracket—or any other reason you might be drilling into a wall—there’s always the possibility that you’ll hit and damage a wire. This is definitely a fix you want to leave in the capable hands of a certified electrician.

To prevent the problem from happening again, use a stud finder and aim for the center of the stud. Before drilling, use a small tipped screw driver to verify you are hitting the stud and not the side. Once you have verified, feel free to drill away.

At first glance, you might not notice much of a difference between your current electrical meter and your new Smart Meter. But inside, your Smart Meter is hard at work using advanced technology to identify and analyze data about your home’s energy consumption. These meters then communicate this data between your home and BGE via a secured network.

BGE began installing these advanced meters back in 2012, and they’re slated to finish rolling them out to every home and small business in their service area by 2015. Smart Meters can do some pretty amazing things, including:

You may already be used to your home’s existing electrical meter, which keeps an ongoing record of your home’s energy use and must be read by the power company each month so you can be billed appropriately. A Smart Meter, on the other hand, allows for two-way communication between the meter and BGE via a wireless network—a crucial point for building a reliable smart grid.

When you first get your new Smart Meter, you may notice that it seems to function just like your old one, without any of the supposed benefits of installation. This will be true at first, but over time, you’ll be able to experience everything the Smart Meter has to offer.

Best of all, Smart Meters have been thoroughly tested for safety and reliability. These meters are already in use across the country, and they have undergone extensive testing by other utility companies. Smart Meters operate at a level that is much lower (1.4%) than the maximum permissible exposure limits for radio frequency, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission. Smart Meters transmit for an average of about two minutes a day.

BGE will be installing Smart Meters throughout 2014. During that time, every BGE electric customer will receive one for their home. The utility provider will upgrade existing gas meters during this time period as well.

Several weeks before BGE begins installing Smart Meters in your community, you will begin seeing notifications in various forms, including ads in your local paper, materials at your neighborhood library or grocery store and booths at community festivals. A few weeks prior to installation, you will receive a letter in the mail informing you of when your new meter will be installed, or, if your meter is inside your home, providing you with instructions on how to schedule an appointment. For outdoor meters, you do not need to be present for installation. We’ll leave behind a door hanger to confirm that a new meter was installed.

Once your meter is installed, you’ll be granted access to BGE Smart Energy Manager, which will provide you with the tools necessary to better understand how you use your energy, and how to better save energy and reduce your bills.

Today, appliance timers are useful to turn on and off many items automatically around the home today. The timers control lights, coffee pots, sprinklers systems, and other small appliances. This can save on power costs, electricity, and water. The timers also make life more convenient for you. Let’s look at the various types of timers you can buy today to provide you with Energy Savings.

Savings

You can well imagine the savings in power, water or money you can have using these timers. Of course, the savings will vary from person to person depending on the habits practiced prior to using the timers.

Cost of Timers

The Appliance Timers range from just under $10 to over $100 depending on their functions. You buy the timer that best suits the job you need it for to get the right Energy Savings, do not buy a wall-mounted timer if you want to control your sprinklers for example. Do your research for the type of timer you need and then make your purchase accordingly.