Surge protection can keep expensive electronics and appliances safe from Kauai’s common power surges.  During our storms, voltage spikes can be harmful to appliances and electrical devices in your home. An increase in voltage above an appliance’s normal operating voltage can cause an arc or high surge of electrical current within the appliance.  The heat created in the arc and/or the power pulse causes damage to the electronic circuit boards and other electrical components.

Example:

A customer’s  washing machine stopped working properly,  after having purchased it fourteen months ago from a major retailer on our island.  Were they covered under product’s warranty?  No.  That lasted for one year with no added extended service protection (which can cost about $400 more on top of the appliance floor price).  They called the retail store’s service man to come out and repair it.  Seven days and $230 dollars later, the small electronic part was replaced, back and running for the time being.  What caused the broken part?  Most likely a large power surge or a series of smaller surges that can break down the inner electronics–an appliance only fourteen months old!

What about your appliances or electronic equipment?    Are they protected from the next storm or outage?

Solution:

A surge protector…..Installing a whole building surge protector connected to your electric panel gives you that needed protection. It absorbs the spiked energy caused by these surges from our power lines or lightning strikes.  The surge suppressor Blue Sky provides, protects electronic devices from higher than needed voltage levels. It protects electronic devices (televisions and computers) and  appliances (washing machines and dryers) with electronic parts from surges that originate from within the home, from the utility service and from other wires that connect the devices to the outside, such as telephone and cable television connections.

Call us so you can protect your appliances and electronics from costly electrical surges.  Let’s not get too acquainted with the appliance repairman. Call: (808) 647-0599

We can’t understate the importance of properly-functioning main electrical panels. If this is one aspect of your electrical system you haven’t got checked recently, it’s crucial you do so without delay. When the cooler/extremely hot season rolls in, people tend to spend more time indoors and that results in higher energy usage as the HVAC systems are operated for longer periods of time. At this time, the last thing you want is a malfunction in the main electrical panel; that can prove to be a hazard for you and your family members.

Today, most homes have a large number of electrical installations and the electrical panel plays a key role in connecting and powering all of these. This means, if the latter either malfunctions or stops working altogether, that can impact all the electrical systems on your property; they may be rendered unsafe or may fail to work. When you ensure that the electrical panel is in working order, it ensures these systems are able to keep up with the electrical usage patterns on your property.

It’s not uncommon for homeowners to keep on adding electrical appliances to their home; but this isn’t something you can do unendingly. Your home’s maximum electrical output is limited, as well as determined by the electrical panel installed on your property. In simple terms this means if you are planning on making some additions/extensions to your home or are considering adding some heavy-duty electrical appliances, it’s vital that you consult a reliable local electrician before you do so.

They will inspect the system, test its output and assess whether the existing panel would be able to bear the load of the new, potential output. Even if the former is below the maximum potential output, it might be a better idea to get the main electrical panel upgraded anyway.

It will ensure you are able to enjoy an uninterrupted power supply even if you have multiple heavy load electrical appliances operating simultaneously on your premises. If you are doubtful about whether your electrical panel needs to be upgraded, contact your electrician and get their advice on what the best plan of action would be.

While having an older main electrical panel isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there are certain aspects you should watch out for, such as:

Even the semi-modern panels that have the flappable circuit-breakers are able to keep your appliances as well as your home protected from high electrical surges. When it comes to electrical systems, it’s never a good idea to compromise on the safety aspect and keeping the main electrical panel upgraded is the one way to maintain that.

If you are considering adding any extensions to your home, growing your home’s living space in any other way, are concerned about the safety of your existing electrical panel or are adding any electrical appliances or installations on your property, call us at AllRound Electrical for a consultation today.

We will discuss all your requirements in detail and ensure the work is done in an expert manner, using the best quality materials. For more information, contact our friendly team at this number – 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.

Thanks for reading,1300 169 263

If your job involves you working in an office every day, have you considered working from home either on a full time or part time basis? With gas prices rising, more people are choosing to work from home and telecommute rather than pay the money for gas and deal with the frustration of sitting in traffic. There are plenty of other benefits from working out of your own home along with a few tax breaks. You will need an electrician in Los Angeles to help you make the transition from driving to work every day to walking across the hall to your office. The team at The Electric Connection is ready to help you make that happen.

If you already have a spare room you can transfer into your workspace, you are already halfway there. Your initial investment will be fairly low. If you need to add on an additional room to your home or build a separate structure, your initial investment will be a little higher, but in the end you can rest easy knowing you have made an investment in your home.

Part of the renovation process will include adding additional outlets, phone lines and installing a light fixture that is suitable for office work. This will all need to be handled by an electrician. Los Angeles residents will have the ability to decide where the outlets will be placed. Sometimes, it is convenient to have outlets placed higher up on the wall rather than common placement near the floor. You will also have the ability to decide where the data lines will be located. Your electrician will complete the install and leave your new work space looking like a professional office that you will feel comfortable working out of. Give The Electric Connection a call today and get started on your home office.

By: Sarah Trocolli

Father of electricity Nikola Tesla was known for being brilliant, quirky and driven in his pursuits to understand electricity, and after many experiments, Tesla eventually laid the ground work for the modern day Alternating Current electric supply system. As a tribute to Tesla and all the dads around the world, Mr. Electric® presents a few kid-friendly experiments exploring the basics of electricity for a fun Father’s Day activity. The kids can explore electrons, static electricity, voltaic batteries and other simple components of electricity – all under the safe supervision of their dads.

Level of difficulty: Easy

What you need: A dark room, fluorescent light bulb and a comb or woolen scarf.

What to do: Run the comb through your hair or through the wool scarf at least 20 times to let the electrons build on the comb. Then turn out the lights and hold the comb to the bottom of your florescent light bulb and watch the electrons charge the bulb. This is great for learning about electrons, and it can be a fun magic trick! For further explanation, click here.

Level of difficulty: Easy

What you need: Cornstarch, vegetable oil, mixing bowl, large spoon, balloon, and a measuring cup.

What to do: Blow up the balloon, tie it and then rub it on your hair. Mix a fourth cup of cornstarch and a fourth cup of vegetable oil into a mixing bowl, and then put the mixture on a spoon. Hold the spoon with the mixture on it near the balloon and watch the mixture gravitate towards the balloon. This experiment looks like a gooey monster stretching to touch the balloon, and it is a fun way to learn about static electricity! For further explanation, click here.  

Level of difficulty: Moderate

What you need: Distilled white vinegar, five pieces of copper wire, five galvanized nails, ice tray and one LED light

What to do: Wrap five nails with five pieces of copper wire and place them separately in the ice cube tray filled with vinegar. Create a circuit by placing the end of the copper wire not wrapped around the nail into the ice cube tray next to it until each section has one nail and one copper wire in it, and then place the LED light in the tray. You have just created a Voltaic battery! For further explanation, click here.

Level of difficulty: Challenging

What you need: Eight D-sized batteries, mason jar or other clear glass, electrical tape, pie pan, scissors, toilet paper tube, mechanical pencil refills and two sets of small alligator clips.

What to do: Connect the batteries positive to negative to create train of batteries. Place the toilet paper tube in the center of the pie pan and using electrical tape, attach the alligator clips and mechanical pencil refills to the tube. Place the mason jar/glass over the tube and connect the other end of the clips to the batteries. After the batteries have a few minutes to charge the circuit the mechanical refills will begin to glow and you will have a DIY light bulb. This is a great way to show that household items can be used in an innovative way. Exercise caution, as this experiment exerts heat and can cause the glass to become very warm. For further instruction, click here.

We hope these electrical experiments provide an enjoyable experience for dads and kids to spend quality time together while learning lots and having fun. Thank you to all the fathers who enlighten children and empower the thinkers of tomorrow. Happy Father’s Day from everyone at Mr. Electric!

Almost everything nowadays operates on electricity. The modern conveniences that drive our world depend on electricity. Without a constant supply, our world grinds to a halt, as massive blackouts have proven in the past. Electricity has two forms in modern electronics: AC and DC.

AC (alternating current), is most frequently used in devices that require high amounts of power to operate.

DC (direct current), is more commonly found in devices requiring smaller amounts of power to operate.

DC was the original electricity that was created by Thomas Edison. This style of electricity sends a current in only a single direction, from a power source and to the power source again in a loop. Today, DC is used to power electronics that require batteries. Any device in your home that uses batteries uses DC current. Interesting to note, if your battery is plugged into the power supply to recharge, it transforms AC current into DC.

Direct current is also used in manufacturing situations where electricity is generated on site for personal use. Factories and mills that require vast amounts of energy often create their own DC current to power their machinery. Most commonly, DC is found in steel mills, aluminum production, and is used to power mass transportation in large urban centers in the form of electric streetcars.

AC power is easier to generate, which is why we use it as our standard electricity nowadays. The alternating current design allows energy to flow in both directions, making electricity easier to create and use in society. Regardless of where the current is moving, it is always moving in both directions at once. This results in current being present at every point in the power grid at every time as long as the connection to the generation unit is intact. The power that comes from the power plants, down the lines to our homes, is always AC in nature, thanks to the way our modern power grid is set up.

The power grid operates by creating AC current and sending it down the power lines. This current can be at whatever intensity the power company chooses.

Frequently, the electricity coming from these lines is far too powerful to be used in our homes. The transformers that we see on power poles transform the electricity from its high-powered state into something that our homes can use. Without the transformers, we wouldn’t be able to use the power that our society depends on.

Regardless of the style that we use in our devices and our homes, electricity plays an important role in society. Without both AC and DC electricity, we wouldn’t have those things that make modern life as comfortable as it is.