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.

Expert Electric offers many different types of electrical services for both residential and commercial properties. From ceiling fan installation to smoke detectors and electrical water heaters, our team of licensed electricians can tackle it all! Another area that our team of electricians specializes in is electrical motors. Since electrical motors convert electricity into mechanical or kinetic energy, they have many different applications. Keep reading to learn more about the basics of electrical motors, common applications and repairs.

Electrical motors are commonplace in many personal, household and industrial products such as power tools, watches, disk drives and batteries. Essentially these motors are machines that come in all different sizes and are used to transmit electricity into mechanical or kinetic energy. We often take electricity for granted when we switch on our lights or our television. In fact, it is the behind-the-scenes work of electrical motors that causes the instant conversion of electricity into energy which immediately powers our devices.

As previously mentioned, electrical motors are used in so many of our personal and household items. We rely on them to track time, grind coffee, wash clothes and keep us warm. Our world would be much different without electrical motors. Outside of our homes and personal lives, electrical motors play a much larger role. Electrical motors are used in all types of commercial industrial equipment including pumps, mills, refineries and more. The significant impact of electrical motors extends all throughout the oil & gas, energy, mining and water industries.

Like most electrical items, electrical motors require regular maintenance and repairs. Although electrical motor repairs may seem intimidating to some, a licensed electrician can handle the repair and maintenance of most motors in personal and household items. For electrical motor repairs in Greater Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, contact the licensed electricians at Expert Electric. Our team is easy to reach and will respond fast to any of your electrical motor repair needs.

If you have any questions about electrical motors or any of our other electrical services, please contact the licensed electricians at Expert Electric. We are pleased to answer any questions that you may have. Call us today at 604-681-8338 or visit our website.

If you’re considering buying an electric car (“electric vehicle” or “EV”), you might have questions. Many of the answers given here apply to anywhere in the U.S. But when it comes to rebates and the electricity rates for charging EVs, the info applies to Los Angeles, where I install electric car chargers. I’ve also included a link so that if you live outside of L.A., you can check which rebates or other financial incentives are available in your area.

Do I need an electrician to install a charger for my new electric car? The most common electric car is still the Toyota Prius, which an electrician can’t help you with. You don’t plug it into an outlet to recharge. The battery is recharged by a mechanism that’s triggered when you put on the brakes. With a Prius, there isn’t a worry about running out of electricity. It’s a hybrid, meaning that until the brakes recharge its battery, the car burns gas in its internal combustion engine.

While at this time, you can’t plug a standard Prius into an electric outlet to re-charge the battery, Toyota has announced that its 2014 model will have this capability. The 2011 Chevy Volt (a hybrid) and Nissan Leaf (all-electric) are “plug-ins.”

Level 1 Electric Car Charger. Plug-in electric cars come equipped with a “Level 1 charger.” This is a special extension cord that you can plug into an electrical outlet which carries ordinary house current (110 volts). You may have a suitable electrical outlet right where you need it in your garage or carport. It can charge a Nissan Leaf, empty to full, in about 20 hours. For a Chevy Volt, it takes about 10 hours. Don’t worry, there’s also a faster alternative, a Level 2 charger.

Even if you’re all set up with an outlet in your garage for your Level 1 charger, if you’re not knowledgeable about wiring, have an electrician check things over. The electrician should make sure that the charging outlet in your garage is on a “dedicated circuit,” meaning it serves no other outlets or switches. The outlet should be a GFI (safety) outlet in working order. And the electrical panel should have enough capacity to deal with the added load of charging your car.

Level 2 Electric Car Charger. Most drivers will want the speed of a Level 2 charger. It’s housed in a container about 18 inches around and hangs on the garage wall, sticking out about a foot. It takes a Nissan Leaf from empty to full in about eight hours and a Chevy Volt in about four. This will allow you to charge your car overnight even if the battery starts from empty. Nissan and Chevy have both partnered with manufacturers and installers of Level 2 chargers. Your car dealer can arrange for purchase and installation of the charger, or you can do it on your own.

What does installation of a Level 2 charger involve? Let’s say you decide to go ahead with a Level 2 charger. The electrical contractor will select a location in your garage or carport where a charging cord won’t get in the way. He will consider the location and size of your electrical panel, existing circuits, and where and how your electricity is metered.

He will give you a bid for installing the charger and, if needed, upgrading your electrical panel for the additional load. An electrician who specializes in charger installations can also tell you about tax credits and rebates. Actual installation of the charger along with any needed upgrade of your electrical panel and/or electric meter will take a few hours to a day or so.

Do chargers require an electrical permit and inspection? If you already have a dedicated circuit for a GFI outlet (no other appliance is served by the circuit) in your garage, it can be used for Level 1 charging and no additional permit or inspection is required.

If you need to install a new circuit or new electric meter or upgrade your electrical panel for either a Level 1 or Level 2 charger, you’ll need a permit and an electrical inspection.

How much does installation of a Level 2 charger cost? Without any rebates, installation of a Level 2 charger averages around $2,000. The price for your installation will depend on the distance of your charger from your electrical panel, whether your panel needs an upgrade, and whether you will be installing a special electric meter. Rebates and tax credits can reduce this price if you install before December 31, 2011. We don’t know yet about financial incentives for 2012.

INCENTIVES FOR ELECTRIC CARS The information below on incentives for electric car buyers focuses on L.A. and California. Here’s a link where you can find out more detail about L.A. and also check out incentives for electric cars in other zip codes.

What financial incentives are available for purchase of electric cars? If you purchase an electric car in 2011, you may be able to reduce your federal tax bill by $2,500 to $7,500 with a tax credit. Converting your Prius or other non-plug-in hybrid to a plug-in can reduce your federal tax bill by 10% of the cost of the conversion. Purchase of an electric motorcycle or low-speed “around the neighborhood” electric cart can reduce your federal tax bill by up to $2,500.

Californians who buy an EV and act quickly enough can qualify for a rebate from the State of up to $5,000 on an electric car and up to $20,000 on a commercial vehicle. These rebates apply to many kinds of electric vehicles, including all-electric, hybrid, motorcycles, and low-speed “around the neighborhood” carts.

What rebates are available for installing an electric charger? A homeowner who installs a Level 2 electric charger can cut their 2011 federal tax bill by 30% of the cost of purchase and installation, with a cap of $1,000 (as a tax credit).

If you are customer of the L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP), you may qualify for a $2,000 rebate on installation of your electric charger. To qualify, you need to also install a separate electric meter for your new car. Ask your electrician to see if you will save money with this approach.

Are there any other incentives for electric car owners? Some states, like California, provide a sticker to qualifying electric car owners so that they can drive in freeway carpool lanes regardless of the number of occupants.

Does EV charging receive any special break in electric rates? In Los Angeles and many areas of the country, yes. In L.A., both Southern California Edison (SCE) and the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) offer special reduced rate plans for charging EVs at night, during off-peak hours.

Both power companies encourage people thinking of buying an EV or installing a charger to contact them. Call (800) DIAL-DWP or call SCE at (800) 4EV-INFO. SCE has extensive information on its website at www.sce.com. Both companies are particularly interested in customer plans regarding EVs because they need information for planning power demand.

Are electric car chargers safe? At this time, all the evidence points to extreme safety. At Level 1, the EV charging cord is plugged into a GFI outlet carrying ordinary house current (110 volts), very much like outlets in newer bathrooms and kitchens. GFIs are specially designed to protect people against shocks. Should something go wrong, like the outlet gets wet while charging your car, the GFI immediately shuts off power. Homeowners and businesses have many years of safe experience with GFIs.

Level 2 chargers carry more current, 240 volts. Manufacturers have designed Level 2 chargers for every eventuality and advertise that Level 2 chargers are 100% safe. Of course, nothing is 100% safe. But, so far there have been no reports of someone figuring out how to injure themselves with one.

Do all chargers serve all electric vehicles? Your new electric car will come with a Level 1 charger that is compatible with any ordinary electrical outlet.

The manufacturers of Level 2 chargers have worked out universal standards. Regardless of the make of your electric car, any Level 2 charger will be compatible with it.

Where can you charge an electric car in Los Angeles? Level 2 chargers are currently available for a fee in Los Angeles train stations, LAX, the Bob Hope Burbank airport, the L.A. Convention Center, and other public places. Click here for an on-line map of electric car chargers. You can type in your zip code to find publicly-accessible chargers near you.

Click for more information about charging EVs in L.A. For more about my company, The Electric Connection — all the stuff you wanted to know but were afraid to ask — click here. If you’re interested coupons for electrical work, for example $50 off installation of a Whole House Surge Protector in the L.A. area, click on our coupon page.

We all know that switching off the lights when not in use is a good thing; but we often leave the lights on even when we leave a room or aren’t using a particular space. This can result in an increase in our utility bills in the long term.

In many urban houses, electricity is wasted more than it is used. There are a number of devices on the market today that save a considerable amount of energy. Installing these controls would help in decreasing your bill in a significant way. Here are some of the devices that help save energy in your home:

These devices are largely used for security lighting installation. They detect movement and will switch on the lights connected to the system. They can be installed on the porch as well as the indoor spaces of your home. Installing different types of security lights in the outdoor and indoor areas of your home can be expensive.

However, installing motion detectors on your lawn or on floodlights directed towards your porch will add to the security of your property and help save electricity as well. The lights won’t consume an excess amount of energy and will be switched on only when any motion is detected. They can be customized to be turned off during the daytime.

LED lights are up to 80% more energy-efficient when compared to traditional lighting. The latter generate heat which results in energy-loss. However, in the case of LED lights, only around 5% of the energy gets converted into heat and more than 95% is converted into light. They are environment-friendly and an 84 watt fluorescent bulb can be replaced with a 34 watt LED and will emit the same amount of light. While the upfront cost of LED bulbs is higher than that of halogen or fluorescent bulbs, they can last for up to 50,000 hours and provide value in the long term.

This is a more technologically sophisticated version of motion detectors. These sensors are specially designed for indoor spaces. They turn on the lights automatically when someone enters the room, and turn them off when they leave. Ultrasonic sensors can pick up sounds and detect if someone is in the room; they trigger the lighting system in the room. But these sensors aren’t of much use in quiet environments. Infrared sensors are useful in these settings as they detect both – body heat as well as movement.

These devices are installed in areas such as basements, where artificial light is needed and there is less of ambient light. These sensors turn off the lights when they detect daylight and automatically turn them on when it gets dark; this saves a lot of energy. Many of these products can be customized to your needs. You can change the level of brightness at which the lights get switched off and on. These technologically advanced devices add to the energy-efficiency of your property.

You can help keep your electrical system in safe working order by being mindful and following some simple precautions. Check out Direct Energy's infographic for some basic electrical home maintenance tips that will keep you a step ahead. It's also a good idea to call in a professional electrician once a year to make a check of your system.

We're always here to help at local Mister Sparky.® Give us a call for advice or to schedule a check on your home's electrical system.