Customers are always inquiring about the cost of solar panels. Here, we’ll break down the answer to that question.

First of all, the panels themselves can cost anywhere between $3,000 and $10,000 depending on your demands and the size of the array. This is easily the most quantifiable part of the equation. This is often somewhere around half of the full cost of a solar installation.

The panels don’t do much good without the power inverter that allows you to connect to the power grid and they can cost anywhere between $1,000 and $3,000.

There are also a variety of related connecting pieces to make the whole thing work properly.

Then we move on to the “soft” goods that are part of the installation. Namely, the installation itself. The cost of installation often hovers somewhere around 25 percent of solar panels cost. Installation isn’t just the act of putting panels on your roof. Preparing the roof to accept the mounting system can take time.

And once the array is installed, you have to pay for permits and inspections for the array to be part of your home. These can run you a few thousand dollars. All in all, solar installation can cost anywhere between $10,000 and $40,000.

And the cost doesn’t stop there. Regular maintenance is recommended to keep your array running at optimal performance.

But you can compare these costs to the greater cost of using traditional power from the municipal grid, which continues to rise every year. Solar power grows cheaper all the time and is an incredible way to reduce your long-term expenses.

If you look at these numbers and wonder how you can make any of this a reality, give us a call so we can discuss financing options. Some customers are eligible for quite generous agreements that let them get started with a solar array almost immediately. That could be you, so don’t hesitate to give us a call.

It may not officially be winter yet, however temperatures have declined to the point that we can no longer deny it is on its way. Over the years, we’ve seen the news about homes and families—even locally—who have been stranded for days with no heat or power because of a widespread outage in relation to winter storms.

Crews work as fast as they can when these scenarios occur to get your home back on track. However, they can only work so quickly, and many times the weather doesn’t cooperate as we hope it will so they can get the power back up quickly. Therefore, homeowners are sometimes left without heat, refrigeration, or the use of any important appliances. That is, at least, if they don’t have an effective and efficient whole-house generator.

Have you ever been stuck in the middle of winter with no working heater? Hopefully, the answer to this is no, and also hopefully you’ll never have to deal with this. A generator is the leading way to reduce the risk of this happening. Remember, a power outage can very easily take out your heating system, leaving you will chilly weather and no defense against it.

Do any members of your household rely on electrically-powered devices for medical conditions? Perhaps it’s an oxygen breather or some other type of machinery. If so, then a generator can literally be a life-saver for them. There’s no reason to wait on a generator installation if you rely on medical equipment.

As intangible a benefit as this is, it’s still an important advantage. Even if you never face a significant power outage this winter or next, you’ll know that you are well-prepared in case one does happen.

Spring is here and that means those wild and loud thunderstorms are here as well. Lightning can be nice to look at, but as we all know, it can be dangerous. While you are probably safe in your home during a lightning storm, your appliances and electronics are not. One lightning strike can wipe out anything that is currently plugged in, in your home.

If you are not interested in spending thousands of dollars replacing computers, televisions and any other appliance in your home, you will probably want to invest in a whole house surge protector. An electrician in Los Angeles is exactly what you need to save you a great deal of money in replacement costs.

Surge Protectors

You probably have your computer plugged into one of those strips that offers a layer of protection against an electrical surge. But what about your expensive gaming console, refrigerator and television. With just those three items, you are taking well over a $1000. It isn’t feasible or attractive to plug in every electronic device to a surge protector strip.

However, whole home surge protectors are available. And what is even better is the fact they are a fraction of the amount of the cost it would take you to replace your electronics. They are fairly simple to install by an electrician. Los Angeles residents who are interested in protecting their electronic investments can call the Electric Connection to discuss their surge protection options.

It is important to note that not all electrical surges come from lightning strikes. Large appliances like the refrigerator or air conditioning unit cycling off and on can also cause spikes in power, especially if they are not in good working condition. You never know when a surge will strike. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Across the world, many cultures have specific traditions to celebrate the transition from the old year to the new. In the U.S. and Canada, we associate New Year’s with the ball in Times Square, kissing at the stroke of midnight, resolutions, and singing “Old Lang Syne.” But for many Spanish-speaking countries, one of the key traditions has to do with eating grapes as fast as possible.

The “twelve grapes” tradition comes from Spain, where it is called las doce uvas de la suerte (“The Twelve Lucky Grapes”). To ensure good luck for the next year, people eat one green grape for each of the upcoming twelve months. However, you cannot just eat the grapes during the first day of the new year any time you feel like it. You must eat the twelve grapes starting at the first stroke of midnight on Nochevieja (“Old Night,” New Year’s Eve) as one year changes to another. And you have to keep eating: with each toll of midnight, you must eat another grape, giving you about twelve seconds to consume all of them. If you can finish all dozen grapes—you can’t still be chewing on them!—before the last bell toll fades, you will have a luck-filled new year.

Where did this tradition come from? No one is certain, although it appears to be more than a century old. One story about the Twelve Lucky Grapes is that a large crop of grapes in 1909 in Alicante, Spain led to the growers seeking out a creative way to eliminate their surplus. But recent research through old newspapers shows that perhaps the tradition goes back almost thirty years earlier to the 1880s, where eating grapes was meant to mock the upper classes who were imitating the French tradition of dining on grapes and drinking champagne on New Year’s Eve.

It can be difficult to consume grapes this fast, and the lucky grapes of New Year’s Eve have seeds in them, making the job even trickier. (Seedless grapes are not common in Spain the way they are over here.) For people to manage eating all the grapes before the last stroke of midnight requires swallowing the seeds as well and only taking a single bite of each grape.

Oh, there is one more twist to the tradition: you have to be wearing red undergarments, and they have to be given to you as a gift. The origins of this part of the tradition are even more mysterious, and it’s anybody’s guess why this started.