Electrical demands increase during the summer when people combat the heat by running their home air conditioners. Along with homeowners, businesses are also running their heavy-duty air conditioners to protect their equipment and to provide safe working conditions for their employees. This mean, the power grid is put under a great deal of strain. In fact, blackouts are not all that uncommon during peak hours when air conditioners all over the area are working hard to keep us cool.

You can keep cool, even during a blackout by having a generator installed by an electrician in Los Angeles. The Electric Connection has the staff needed to complete a generator installation in a timely, professional manner.

Generators vary in size. You can discuss what size of generator you will need with your electrician. The size you choose will depend greatly on what appliances in your home you want to keep operational. Larger, more powerful generators can easily power your air conditioning unit along with some other key things like your refrigerator and a few lights.

If you are not willing to have your life interrupted in any way during a blackout, you can buy a generator that is large enough to power your entire home as if nothing had changed. Your Los Angeles electrician will complete the install for you and show you the basics of operating the generator.

Fortunately, there is very little you will need to do in the event of a power outage. If it happens while you are at work, you will still get to come home to a cool house. A device measures the power going into the home. As soon as there is an interruption in the power supply, the generator will automatically kick on. A transfer switch automatically switches your home to backup power. This is a required element.

If you are interested in keeping cool this summer with a generator installation, give The Electric Connection a call.

Home lighting serves two major purposes: functionality and aesthetics. When walking into a dark room, the last thing you want is to have to navigate to the other side to turn on the lights. This can be unsafe and highly impractical. When it comes to aesthetics, the right lighting can change an entire room and its atmosphere. With dimmer and three way switches, you can bring functionality and aesthetics to any room in your home.

Standard switches control a light fixture or set of lights from one location. For larger sized rooms or long hallways it isn’t practical to have one light switch placed at only one end or in the middle of the room. This is where three way switches come in handy. With a three way switch, you can have two separate switches to a single fixture or set of lights. In this way you can strategically place light switches around your home to ensure there is always easy access to light.

Three way switches can be complex and difficult to install. When replacing standard switch it can be easy to mix up the wiring and your light switch will no longer work. This is where a professional electrician helps you out the most. Plan out where you feel more light switches are needed and contact one of our electricians to install the switch correctly the first time and help you avoid a headache and potential safety risk.

When it comes to dimmer switches, not only can they help you accomplish beautiful lighting in your room, but it can also be a practical decision. With a dimmer switch you can adjust the voltage going to your light rather than simply having an “on” or “off” setting. With either a slider or a knob you can adjust your light so it is perfect for reading, movies, or a romantic evening.

Dimmer switches can also help you save money by lowering your electrical bill. By having the ability to lower the voltage to your lights, you can use only the electricity you need and lower the lights to the perfect level. Remember, if you are planning to use LED lights on a dimmer switch, make sure you purchase LED bulbs that support dimming. If you choose the wrong type of bulbs, your dimmer switch will not leave you with the desired effect.

When facility managers or building owners first start the search for new replacement lighting fixtures in their facility, it can seem like a long road ahead.

From all of the read this post where we talk all about what it is. From there, you can come back to this post and continue, it will really help you keep up! Now, let’s get into when high bay lighting is practical in both broad terms and specific applications it is best used in.

In broader terms, the most appropriate time to use a high bay lighting fixture is for ceiling heights that are between 20 to 40 feet high. For heights between 15 to 20, you typically are going to go with a low bay fixture, but that’s for an entirely different post. For anything lower, you will typically be dealing with tubes and panels lights, most often found in offices, hallways, and other similar type environments.

So for commercial and industrial type environments in which the ceiling height is 20 to 40 feet tall, a high bay lighting fixture is commonly the most chosen lighting fixture to install. That is the broad definition of when high bay fixtures are going to be used at the most optimal rates.

So, what types of high bays are often used and fit the purpose perfectly. Although these applications are highly relevant, there are some we have not listed and may have missed, but these are just a few of many very practical applications that high bays work perfectly in:

Gymnasiums

Think about your school gym, or even your warehouses often have tall ceilings due to storage space requirements, this need for space vertically makes their ceilings the perfect height for high bay fixtures.

Factories

Similarly to a warehouse, factories and production facilities need proper lighting to keep things safe and consistent. With proper lighting through installation of high quality high bays (such as with LED technology), you opt-in for better safety standards and higher consistency in your production efforts.

Airplane Hangars

Large airplanes call for large ceilings in the hangars and a proper lighting system is a must for this environment. When maintenance is required, you need clear and proper light to contact one of our professionals.

38 million people in the U.S. that has migraines or study published in a 2016 issue of Brain shows that green LED lighting reduced pain intensity by 20 percent. In the study, “Migraine photophobia originating in cone-driven retinal pathways,” researchers at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center set out to test whether or not colors can affect photophobia and migraine intensity. Photophobia is sensitivity to light and can be associated with pain and migraine exacerbation. Findings in a previous study fueled the motivation for this study. In the earlier study, the researchers found that blind participants experienced increased migraine pain when exposed to blue light.

Sixty-nine participants with migraines were part of the most recent study. Researchers studied the effects that exposure to white, blue, green, amber, and red low-intensity light had on their pain. Blue and red light were the worst—increasing pain by 18-19 percent. White and amber increased pain by 15 percent. Green was the only color that reduced pain.

Another green-light study found that exposure to low-intensity light from green LEDs reduced chronic pain and migraine severity. In this study, eight participants with fibromyalgia or migraines were given a green LED strip light, and five were given a white strip. Participants were asked to use their strips nightly for one to two hours for 10 weeks. Participants with green LEDs reported a 40-50 percent drop in pain.

The study was so successful for some that they asked to keep their green LED strip lights; they continue to use them in addition to or in place of medicine. In a study was published in a 2017 issue of Pain. The University of Arizona study, “Long-lasting antinociceptive (pain blocking) effects of green light in acute and chronic pain in rats,” found that rats experienced an increased tolerance for thermal and tactile testing methods. These tests measured how long it took for the rats to withdraw their paw when exposed to heat or pricked with a filament. Testing was completed under green or white light. The researchers found that after eight hours of green LED light exposure for five days it took much longer for rats to withdraw their paws. Effects of the green LEDs lasted for four days.

Rajesh Khanna, UA associate professor of pharmacology and senior author of the study, reports that, “While the pain-relieving qualities of green LED are clear, exactly how it works remains a puzzle. Early studies show that green light is increasing the levels of circulating endogenous opioids, which may explain the pain-relieving effects.”  In a UA article, “(Exogenous) Opioids, while having many benefits for managing pain, come with serious side effects.” These medications can also be addictive.

Researchers in this study are not advising people to stop their medications without speaking with a professional. However, it is possible, as in Lesneski’s case, that green LED lighting could eliminate the need for them in the future. “We need safer, effective and affordable approaches, used in conjunction with our current tools, to manage chronic pain,” Ibrahim said.

Have you decided to take the plunge—pun intended, and buy a hot tub? Coming home after a long day and climbing into a hot tub can be extremely satisfying. The hot water bubbling and washing over sore muscles can soothe all those aches and pains that tend to build up over the day.

Your first step is to head to the specialty store that sells the hot tubs. Pick the tub that is the right size for your family’s needs. There are a lot of choices and this may be a process that takes you several weeks. Once you have chosen the perfect tub, you need to decide exactly where it is it will go in your yard. Remember to consider the power needed to operate the tub when you are thinking of placement. Then, you will need to call your electrician. Beverly Hills homeowners can give The Electric Connection a call to discuss installation.

Because of the amount of electricity needed to power a hot tub, it requires a dedicated breaker. The luxury appliance will also need to be hard-wired into your home’s main power. This is a big job that requires the experience and knowledge of a certified electrician. In most cases, county and city codes require a licensed electrician completes the hook up.

If your home is older, you may need to have an electric panel upgrade to accommodate the new hot tub. If you are unsure of what you have, call your electrician. Beverly Hills homeowners will need to ensure their home has the additional power needed to power the hot tub. This is typically not something the average person would be able to tell by simply looking at the electric panel.

Give The Electric Connection a call and we will be happy to inspect your electrical panel and complete the hot tub installation for you.