Are you sporting the latest in mobile technology? Smartphones, tablets, and various mobile devices are all the rage these days, going out of date faster than the milk souring in your fridge. And while you’re likely spending a lot of money keeping up with them, it’s a good bet you haven’t bothered keeping up with the outlets that keep them powered for your convenience.

Besides preventing you from plugging in 3-prong appliances, ungrounded 2-prong outlets present a substantial safety risk: a risk of electrical shock to you, and a risk of frying your expensive electronics.

Simply replacing that old 2-pronger for a 3-prong outlet will NOT solve the problem, but instead create an electrocution and appliance hazard. Rewiring the panel with a 3-wire circuit is crucial to providing the necessary ground. You may also consider upgrading to a GFCI , which is less expensive and prevents shock-related issues, but this solution will not provide the necessary ground to protect sensitive electronics.

Without properly grounded outlets, surge protection is a no-go. Whether you buy a $10 surge protector or a $200 one, it offers no protection whatsoever to your appliances without adequate ground.

GFCIs protect you from electrical shock in rooms with increased risks, such as those that could be exposed to water. GFCIs are identified by the “test” and “reset” buttons on receptacles. These devices save lives by immediately stopping the flow of current when it travels along an unintended path - such as into you. They are currently required for use with dishwashers, in baths, kitchens, laundries, garages/utility rooms, crawl spaces, unfinished basements, spa/pool areas, and home exteriors.

Upgrade to GFCI outlets. It’s not worth putting your family at risk to postpone this upgrade. Fear not if your home is older. GFCIs work with or without grounding, and are easy and inexpensive to install.

The CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) estimates the installation of GFCIs in household branch circuits could prevent more than 200 electrocutions and thousands of electrical shocks and burns in and around the home annually.

It’s not the mess, the whining, or the drooling, it’s those childproof outlets your home is missing. In older outlets, all a child has to do is stick an object in a single prong to suffer electrical injury. Whether children live with you or only come for the occasional visit, childproof outlets offer inexpensive, effective protection against dangerous electrical shocks and burns resulting from tampering.

Adding childproof outlets is a simple and inexpensive child protection solution. Childproof outlets require the use of equal pressure in all prongs of the outlet simultaneously in order to allow for the flow of electricity. They are just as easy to use as traditional plugs for adults, yet still provide essential protection for children. Upgrading to childproof outlets is simple, permanent, and inexpensive, mere pennies more than traditional receptacles. They are so effective that they are now required in all newly built homes.

Of the over 2,400 electrical shocks and burns resulting from children toying with outlets annually, 70 percent occur in the presence of adults.

These outlet types are mandated in new homes today because unlike their predecessors, whose main function is merely to deliver electricity, these outlets save lives. Still not convinced? Consider the small cost of upgrading the outlets in your home to the enormous cost of dealing with any of the situations above. You might think your home safe, but is it?

Upgrade your outlets – not your smartphone. They’ve been patient long enough. Contact Mr. Electric® today.

High temperatures cause conductors to expand and hence increase in length. The converse is true for low temperature conditions. The change in length varies from one conductor to another depending on its thermal expansivity. The length of copper conductors, for instance, changes by 5 feet per 1000 feet of length when the conductor temperature changes from 100 – 0°, while aluminum changes by about 7 feet. The length increases with increase in temperature and reduces with reduction in temperature.

This increase or decrease in length is of great concern when installing power transmission lines between poles and towers, or when installing other power connectors. There must be an allowance for this change in length since it can cause catastrophes if it’s not there.

Weather changes are associated with increase and decrease in temperature and thus affect power transmission lines and other conductors. However, change in temperature is only one factor that affects power lines. Below are the changes that occur to power lines and other conductors as a result of weather changes:

The amount of heat dissipated from power conductors is reduced during hot and calm weather conditions. Basically, if the temperature of air around the cable is low, more heat is lost from the cable to the air. If the air is already hot, the exchange of heat is lesser. This low heat dissipation causes the lines to overheat. However, the rise in conductor temperature (overheating) worsens when cables are transmitting too much power than required. The first effect of this increased conductor temperature is snagging, which is the downward bulging of the cable between two poles, caused by the increase in the length of cables.

Snagging is largest during extreme hot weather (largest increase in temperature) conditions experienced in summer. The increase in length results to downward bulging of the cable due to the effect of gravity. Excessive sagging is dangerous if it goes below the accepted height clearance – cables could come into contact with trees, buildings and other structures underneath, causing electrocution and fires.

Excessive sagging represent an added weight on the power line and this increase may cause the line to fail or to pull down weak poles and towers. The effects can be small but gradual and so the poles and towers will finally come down or require some adjustment/replacement after some time, which is costly. This sagging can also cause the lines to short out. Excessive sagging is also costly since it leads to increased electrical resistance. This means that a sagged power line transmits lesser current than it normally does, thus causing under-feeding of electrical equipment and industries. It is also costly and time consuming to rectify a sag.

Often times people put off having their electrical work done because they assume that it is going to be a very expensive process. They run extension cords here and there, and try to make the best of things, hoping eventually to have the cash to revamp the system, have a system upgrade or two done and some electrical rewiring, maybe even whole house rewiring. However, it really isn’t necessary to take that inconvenient, perhaps even hazardous, approach. You can consult with a professional electrician in Glendale CA and find a better way to restore your electrical system to maximum functionality and safety.

Choose a reputable electrical contracting company, one that’s been around a while and has lots of experience, like the Electric Connection. They’ve been working in the area for more than three decades, and have a solid reputation built on the successful completion of a broad range of commercial and residential electrical projects. Invest a little bit in scheduling a consultation visit, and get a good grasp of exactly what is going on with your residential electrical system and make a full list of what the problems are. Your electrician Glendale CA Electric Connection technician will be happy to help you organize that list by which repairs should be considered high priority and which can wait a little while.

Then, you and your Glendale electrician can devise a service plan that works with your budget, breaking down that list into manageable pieces, such as specific electrical upgrade projects, panel upgrades, and electrical rewiring projects. The Electric Connection offers a variety of specials and discount coupons, so when making your electrical system maintenance and repair plans, be sure to factor those in, planning tasks at times that will allow you to take advantage of those savings. Then, piece by piece, project by project, you’ll improve the safety and function of your electrical system, and soon be able to put away those extension cords and other makeshift implements.

The Electric Connection places a high priority on superior customer service. They want to help you get the electrical system you need for your home to be as safe as possible. They offer a free home electrical safety assessment with every job they do. They offer a wealth of troubleshooting, maintenance and repair tips on their web site. They even offer free electrical help over the telephone, as well as free over the phone estimates based upon your description of the electrical symptoms you are seeing or the work that you are seeking a Glendale Electrician for.

Furthermore, the offer a lifetime guarantee on all of their work. They expect that an electrician in Glendale CA that comes from the Electric Connection will behave in a professional manner at all times, working efficiently for the benefit of their customers. If you schedule an electrical service call with one of their electricians, if your technician arrive even just one short minute late, that electrical call is yours for free. This demanding standard is a clear demonstration of the high standards the company has for their employees, and you can trust that they hire the best.

Don’t take chances with something as potentially dangerous as electrical problems. Broken wires behind walls can cause fires. Shorts in electrical wiring can damage expensive electronics. It is possible to restore your electrical system to full function and safety, and even to make the improvements that you’ve been wishfully thinking about in an affordable manner. It just takes a little planning and prioritizing, which is exactly the type of quality customer service that a Glendale electrician from the Electric Connection specializes in.

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Anyone here in little old Burbank like great customer service? If you raised your hand, that probably means you like being appreciated and understood. There has been a lot to read lately about large companies forking out huge amounts of money to improve there customer relations. And yet, I just read another article that reported the results of a recent survey, revealing that overall most of us are unhappy with a general decline in customer service.

One power company on the East Coast had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supposedly improving its customer service, only to be criticized heavily when a major storm caused more outages then ever before and they were unable to get electricity back to many customer in reasonable time. It makes me wonder what it means when a company announces spending a lot to remodel its customer service.

I have my own criteria, a shortened version of the 10 commandments for good customer service. I look for a business that:

When I needed an electrician in Burbank a while back, I started with your basic internet search for Electrician Burbank CA – or something like that. I did my research, read all about various electricians in Burbank, their companies and a lot of testimonials. I chose an established company called The Electric Connection. Sometimes you just have to dive in and keep your fingers crossed.

The next day, I was pleased to greet a professional looking Burbank electrician, equipped with his electrical tools, at my front door, right on time. That is always a good sign. He presented me a bit later with a very reasonable electrical bid that included a whole house surge protector, an electrical panel upgrade, some new outlets, an attic fan installation and new custom lighting in my kitchen. I could tell through our interaction he was my kind of electrical service person, the kind that uses common sense. Check off #3.

All the electrical work was done by the end of the day. I love my new kitchen lights and I now have the peace of mind that comes with having a total power surge protection, not to mention all of other great electrical installations he did for me. Next month I will have my sensible Burbank electrician return to have some of our electrical outlets replaced and a ceiling fan installed. I can truly say they deliver more than they promise. You can check off # 1 and 2.

Oh, and yes you can check off #4. The day following the work being completed, I received a call from the office to make sure I was pleased with the work, and to tell me how much my business was appreciated. Give another check for # 3 as well. Sometimes I think really big electrical contracting companies would benefit by observing those common sense activities performed by smaller dedicated electrical services businesses in order to witness just how simple good customer service is. Something tells me they are making it way too complex. No more looking for “electrician, Burbank” at my house now that I’ve found The Electric Connection. Four or five well deserved check marks makes me loyal for life!

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