Some electrical repairs just can't wait. If you discover loose wiring, a faulty circuit or other problem in your home electrical system, it is essential to call an electrician immediately. At best, electrical problems can be annoying. At worst, they can damage your appliances or even start a fire in your home. That's why it's so important to have savings on hand so you don't feel compelled to delay emergency electrical repairs. Unfortunately, far too many families are not prepared financially to cover this type of emergency.

Emergency Savings Not Cutting the Mustard

The savings profile of the average American family leaves a lot to be desired. A recent report pointed out that 25 percent of homeowners in the United States don't have any money at all saved to protect themselves in case they need an emergency electrical repair or other home service. What's more, about half of the families that do have savings have less than $1,000, which might not be enough to cover a major bill.

And you never know when you might need help. In fact, nine percent of households said they had a problem with a circuit, switch or outlet in the past year, according to the report. Unless you are already an accomplished electrician, these are not problems you can address by yourself – you need to hire a professional in order to protect the safety of your home and your family. If you don't have any savings, that means borrowing money or putting off a repair – a dangerous prospect.

Make Sure You Have Money When You Need it

Follow these tips to increase the odds that you have cash on hand when you need it:

Expert Electricians Keep You in Safe Hands

Maintenance and repairs on your wiring and circuits are tasks you simply cannot put off. Whether the electrical work you need is routine or a true emergency, call upon a professional electrician to get the job done safely and promptly.

LED cove lighting is a great way to add accent lighting or color to any room, and LED strip lights are the perfect product for the job. LED strip lights can be used for any type of RGB LED strip lights, you can choose from a ton of dynamic color-changing and single-color modes with adjustable brightness and speed control. variable color temperature strips are also available and can be used with a compatible controller and remote. Installing LED cove lighting is easy, and we’ve provided basic instructions for a standard L cove, recessed ceiling/tray ceiling cove, or crown molding cove in a 16-by-16-foot room. We recommend that you have a certified electrician wire your strip lights to power.

Tools and Optional Materials:

The way you install the strips or even the number of strips used might vary depending on the room size or the style, shape, and size of your cove. The steps and materials needed for this particular installation could be used in a room with a standard L cove, crown molding cove, or recessed ceiling/tray ceiling cove. The photos below show several different cove types.

DIY “L” Cove

Valence Cove

Crown Molding Cove

8) If desired, use a double-sided 3M foam pad to mount the amplifier in the middle of strips 1 and 3. Cut the foam pad, and use it for both amplifiers.

9) Repeat steps 6-8 for strips 2 and 4.

10) If you are experienced, connect your power supply to power. Otherwise, hire a certified electrician to set up power for your new LED cove lighting.

If you are planning on renovating or sprucing-up your kitchen, it’s probably a good idea to map out a detailed lighting plan as well. Most people find this a little strange as they feel that lighting in a kitchen isn’t something that needs too much of consideration or planning. It’s just a place where you cook and probably where you have an informal meal after all.

However, the fact is that it’s important to plan kitchen illumination well if you want to make optimal use of your kitchen spaces. Here, we would like to share some basic lighting ideas to create the right balance of functionality and aesthetics.

If you want to get a better idea about what type of lighting would work best for your kitchen, it’s vital to understand how your kitchen spaces relate to the different type of lighting. Let’s start off with understanding what type of bulbs you can use for the best effects:

These bulbs emit a yellowish light and you will now find many artistic versions of these on the market today.

These bulbs throw off a flat, cold light that has a bluish tinge, which lends a very harsh effect to the room.

These have a warm light that makes the place look very inviting and comfortable

These are the latest in light bulb technology and are available in a range of effects including white, cool daylight, warm light, yellow and a range of other colours and hues. Aside from this, LED bulbs are also 80% more energy-efficient than standard bulbs; and most property owners are now opting for these fixtures.

In addition to the types of bulbs used, the style of lighting or the lighting effects are what impact the ambience and appearance of a room. With this in view, here we discuss the different lighting effects that can be used in your kitchen:

This is one of the simplest ways to create the right lighting effect in your kitchen. This type of lighting is designed to help you move comfortably around the room. In most instances this type of lighting comes from grid-style can lighting, widely-spaced, wall and ceiling lamps, semi-translucent skylights or even the natural light that streams in through glass windows and doors. This is the base layer of any lighting plan.

In your kitchen, task lighting would be required to illuminate kitchen counters and food preparation spaces. Since you will be cooking in your kitchen every day, it’s important that the task lighting be planned and installed well. If you have only recessed lighting fixtures in your kitchen, you will feel the lack of focused light when you are cleaning, cooking or prepping in that space.

If you install one-dimensional lighting in the kitchen, it creates unsightly shadows in different areas of the room, while ceiling lighting is ineffective in illuminating spaces like sinks, under counter or cabinet areas etc. On the other hand, if you add special pendant lamps over the counters or even your kitchen island it can prove to be a more practical solution. Under-cabinet lighting can also help in illuminating the cabinets that are positioned there.

This effect doesn’t seem as necessary as ambient or task lighting does in a kitchen space, as the illumination it provides isn’t as functional as the first two. However, it can have a significant impact on the way your kitchen spaces look. If you want to enhance the appeal of your kitchen (regardless of whether you are getting it entirely renovated or are opting for a lighting upgrade), it’s important that you plan your accent lighting well.

We love to decorate our landscaping with various ornamental trees, gorgeous flower beds, fountains and various statues. Unfortunately, with the daylight hours already getting shorter, it isn’t always easy to showcase your hard work without adequate outdoor lighting. Homeowners have several choices when it comes to finding the perfect way to highlight various areas in the landscaping. An electrician in Santa Monica has some tips for you to use when choosing the right lighting for your yard. You can call The Electric Connection to learn more about outdoor lighting options.

Solar Lighting

Solar lights are great for those areas of your yard that need soft lighting and get at least 8 hours of full sunlight a day. They are easy to place and are free of wires. Outlining a flower garden or pathway through the backyard or from the driveway to the front door are great ways to use solar lights. However, this particular type of light is not a good idea for areas that are shady or close to the house where they will not get full sun exposure.

Electric Lighting

Electric lights come in a variety of styles and sizes. They can be placed throughout the landscaping, but it will be necessary for you to pay close attention to the Santa Monica electrical requirements. Electric lights in the landscaping are perfect for shady areas that the solar lights are not ideal in. You will need to bury the wiring and have it wired into your home’s main power. A switch can be installed that allows you to turn the lights off and on manually or you can opt to have a timer installed that will take care of everything.

If you would like to have electric landscape lighting installed around your home, give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your installation.