This winter, Mr. Electric® wants to help you power your tomorrow by choosing the best holiday lighting gadgets. We searched all around to find you the top four lights and tools for your home displays!

This is a great way to light your outdoors without using energy and without using an outlet. The sun will charge the lights during the day and will turn on automatically when the sun sets. Each package contains 50 lights over 23 feet, making this an affordable alternative to outdoor lighting.

Source: Solar Powered Light Strings

This is a durable and heavy duty timer that helps you control your holiday lights.  It has one grounded outlet and a manual ON/OFF switch. This comes with an 18-inch cord and grounded plug to make it a durable timer that’s a safe choice to use on Christmas lights, landscape lighting or fountains.

Source: Outdoor Timer

These LED light strips are designed to be versatile. You can cut or bend them to fit your custom displays. The hue app allows you to change your light colors and turn ON/OFF all from your mobile device or tablet. We also love the efficiency of these lights and have a good feeling more and more people will began using these, instead of the traditional lights, in the future.

Source: LED Light Strips

The Light Keeper Pro is a small hand-held tool capable of fixing mini light sets, icicle and net light sets, yard decorations, pre-lit trees and wreaths. Simply plug in your light set and press the trigger to repair most of your lighting problems.

Source: Light Keeper Pro

Show off your holiday light displays by tagging us in them on our Facebook page. Don’t forget – if you need some holiday lighting help, you can give us a call and we will set up and take down for you!

Electric motors power everything from tiny electronics to massive industrial pumps. Yet, they all work on the same basic principles. Though AC motors seem ordinary, there are complex activities going on behind the scenes.

The simplest types of motors are three-phase AC motors. They convert a rotating magnetic field into mechanical rotation. The basic parts of an AC motor are the stator, rotor, bearings, drive shaft, and frame. The supply power is connected to coils of wire that are wrapped around laminated iron cores in the stator; the stationary part of the motor. When the coils of wire receive current, they generate a magnetic field known as poles. Each phase of power has the same number of poles; the poles are spaced evenly around the stator.

Historically, speed control of three-phase induction motors was very difficult. The only way to change the operational speed is to change the frequency of electricity supplied. Today, this task is accomplished by use of a variable frequency drive or VFD. This device is made of three main components: a rectifier, a DC-Link, and an inverter. The rectifier takes the incoming AC voltage and converts it to DC voltage that can be used by the electronics in the VFD. The DC-Link then uses capacitors to help smooth out the DC voltage from the rectifier and feeds it to the inverter.

The inverter then converts the DC voltage back to AC voltage. The inverter also controls the output frequency of the AC power by sending precisely timed pulses of DC power at specific voltages to rebuild the AC sine wave.

With a VFD, not only can the output frequency be controlled, but it can be slowly ramped up. This allows for smoother starting and can be adjusted to keep a motor spinning at a specific frequency. VFDs can produce three-phase power from a single-phase source, or even a DC source, to power highly efficient three-phase motors in locations without a three-phase supply. VFDs can also be incorporated into a PLC system to allow for automatic or remote control.

The combination of a VFD and AC motors offers a wide variety of functions and increased efficiency. Basic understanding of these technologies is essential for any electrician.

There are so many things to love about the coming holiday season. Great food, great company, family, festive decorations; we couldn’t be more excited! But there’s a not so great factor attached to it all, too. That hefty electric bill you’ll be seeing. Looking for ways to keep your costs at a minimum this holiday? The expert electricians at Hoffman Electrical can provide some easy fixes!

Our professionals have been proudly serving Tampa and Clearwater, Florida for years now. When it comes to quality and top-tier service, we’re the name to know in electrical! And as  apart of our great service, we’re always looking for ways to help out. If you want to reduce your energy costs this season, we’ve got the solutions you’ll be happy to know.