For a professional electrician, Austin presents its own set of challenges. During summer months, electricians in Austin are often working outside without the AC many Texas residents enjoy. Extreme summer heat like the record summer temperatures we all saw in 2011 becomes compounded when working in an attic, where temperatures can quickly reach lethal levels. Fortunately, the extreme heat is almost behind us; although this year, it often seems as if Summer just doesn’t want to end. Fortunately, Austin is blessed with fairly mild winter months. There can be exceptions, however, as we saw earlier in the year. And when winter ice storms down trees and power lines, the electricians who are working to restore power are outside in the cold.

If temperature extremes aren’t enough, electricians have to deal with other hostile elements like wasp nests inside electrical boxes, and we’re not even going to discuss what might be living in the crawl spaces beneath homes, where electricians often go to work on wiring. Needless to say, electrical work is not for the weak or faint of heart. And besides toughness and courage, electricians need to be smart, because they’re working with lethal quantities of electrical current every day, and one wrong move can be the last thing an electrician ever does. Besides being tough and smart, the professional licensed electricians at Bryant Electric Service have the knowledge and skill to inspect your home or building for potential hazards, correctly install life-saving equipment like ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) and arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI). They can also install automatic backup generators to keep your electricity running smoothly despite the brown outs, rolling blackouts, wildfires, and ice storms which have left many other Texans without power for hours, and sometimes for weeks.

The next time you need electrical work or a safety inspection, give Bryant Electric Service a call. We work hard to deliver the quality of service you expect, and we’re proud of our tough, smart, and highly skilled electricians.

While it might seem surprising, lighting for commercial buildings commonly accounts for as much as 35 percent of business overhead. The good news for business owners trying to cut costs is that commercial lighting technology is moving forward every day and modern lighting can provide the same or better quality lighting for less while improving energy efficiency. Upgrading your building’s lighting can take some of the strain off your building’s electrical system, but in order to get the most benefit from your new lights, you have to plan carefully!

It’s one thing to say “we want new lights for our building.” But it’s another thing entirely to say “we want new lights because we believe they will improve employee morale and productivity!” Before you implement a new lighting plan, consider the specific goals you have in mind for your new lights. These could range from the aforementioned productivity and morale improvements to reducing your carbon footprint and reducing your overhead costs.

If possible, try to find lighting schemes you like in other buildings that you think would work well for your building—this can give you a better idea of the lighting design you’re after. And of course, feel free to talk to the lighting design experts at Kolb Electric—we can help create the perfect lighting design for your building!

There are three specific categories of lighting, each of which serves a different purpose in your building:

A good lighting design will layer these three types of lighting, starting with ambient lighting, then task and accent lighting. Each type will require a different fixture.

The type of light fixture you use for a certain type of lighting can make a big difference when it comes to the efficiency and effectiveness of your lighting. Light fixtures are generally broken down into three categories:

These days, computers exist in our homes in one form or another. In most instances, these complex devices are expensive and if they get damaged in any way that can make you feel frustrated and getting them fixed can be an expensive proposition. Computers require electricity to function and even devices such as laptops, iPads and other tablets that operate on batteries have to be charged at one or the other time. Improper function and use can result in major electrical-related damage to your expensive equipment. Here are a few tips to maintain computer electrical safety in your home:

In one of our past blogs we have discussed in a detailed manner about the GFCI outlet, it helps protect your electrical devices like computers from power surges. In case of an electrical storm, or an electrical surge due to a problem in the electrical system, you can rest easy knowing that it won’t affect your devices.

The national electric code was designed and implemented to create a national standard for electrical wiring, equipment and related practices. This document creates a basic set of guidelines that must be followed by electrical contractors to make sure that electrical systems are safe, secure and standardized nationwide. This allows your electrician in Beverly Hills to work on nearly any electrical system in the country without having to learn new techniques and technologies. When it comes to troubleshooting, maintenance and general care, having this set of standard rules makes an electrician’s job much easier and safer.

The National Electric Code that is used in the United States was first published by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Although the code is not mandated on a federal level, most state and local authorities require that it be followed in all electrical installations.  Every three years, the NFPA publishes a revision of this document in order for it to remain current with modern information and changing field practices. Within the document, you can find recommendations and guidelines for everything ranging from installing bedroom outlets, to properly positioning an electrical transformer. The National Electric Code strives to give detailed guidelines for any wiring task that you can imagine.

Electrical safety is by far the top priority of the NFPA in publishing and maintaining the National Electric Code. It is for this reason that so many local officials choose to mandate this code by law, thereby keeping the residents in their region safe and reducing their liability in regards to electrical wiring issues. By adhering to these standards, The Electric Connection and any other electrician Beverly Hills can safely and efficiently install, repair and maintain the electrical systems in their area to ensure that power is provided in a consistent, safe and standardized manner. To learn more about the different types of electrical tasks that we do, Click here to visit our website.