Do you have working smoke alarms? It could mean the difference between life and death. Smoke alarms are the first line of defense in a house fire. They act as an early warning sign, allowing you enough time to evacuate the premise. While these devices are small and often unnoticed, they could save your life. If you can’t recall the locations of your smoke alarms or when they were last tested, now is the time to act.

AC driven LEDs are rare but popular in certain applications. Designers focus on LEDs because of their advantages like direct, brilliant light, strong color saturation, slim measurements, dynamic lighting scenes and in total all the design possibilities that are thinkable. The only restrictions are made by the heat that needs to be dissipated by surface, natural or forced ventilation and the driver’s measurements. The driver is mostly not slim at all. That is why AC driven LEDs can be a smart consideration.

Conventional LEDs, Modules and Light Engines are driven by DC (direct current) power supplies. The LED characteristics are highly dependent on these components as they control the inrush current, convert the alternate current down to DC voltage and stabilize the current the LEDs are driven with. The efficiency of the system is dependent on the driver too as the power factor is one part in the total sum. Most conventional DC power supplies support LED systems with power factors (PFC) of 0.9 and higher.

The lifetime of LED lighting systems is defined by electronic devises. The LED can last up to 100,000h but if the driver needs a replacement after 50,000h the system is only half worth the maintenance. Without any driver at all the problem is solved completely. Power supplies need space, no matter how small, the driver is mostly bigger than the LED modules and electronic component’s wiring needs space too. Without this item there are not restrictions in design any more than heat dissipation. Designers can release their full creativity.

AC driven LEDs are of advantage concerning design and lifetime options. The more complex the circuit, the higher the possibility of system failure and electrical noise. On the other side, the efficiency of AC driven LED modules is not that high like DC driven ones. The performance achieves 110 lm/W these days which is good compared to other light sources but behind DC driven LEDs with up to 140 lm/W and more. AC driven LEDs are a thinkable substitute in applications like bulb lights, downlights, ceiling lights and industrial lighting systems.

Now that winter is around the corner and the temperature is already dropping, the heating bills will start to increase. Here are a few ways you can keep down your expenses this season.

Using electrical space heaters will also help you control the heating expenses. Electrical space heaters are a cheap way to heat only the rooms that you are using. They will be more efficient then turning up the thermostat for the whole house, but don’t leave them running all day. Just make sure that you keep your heaters away from curtains and furniture, and keep any children or pets from burning themselves.

For more information or any questions contact your local Expert Electric.

Your home is constantly changing and evolving. It is one of the things that makes home ownership fun. It is exciting to sit down at night and look around your home and your yard and think of the different things you could do to make it a little better. The definition of the perfect home is always a little different and it can change from year to year. If you have some big plans that you would like to see happen in and around your home, you need an electrician in Pasadena. The Electric Connection has been around for years; helping homeowners just like yourself turn their home into their dream home with various projects and upgrades.

It doesn’t matter if your dreams are big or small, your electrician can help. It may be something as simple as adding a few outlets to your kitchen or installing a beautiful center island to make your meal prep easier and more efficient. Sometimes, you may have no idea where to start or what is actually needed to make one of your dreams a reality. This is why you need the help of somebody familiar with the ins and out of Pasadena electrical work.

Your job will be to communicate what it is you want to achieve and then an electrician will give you a free electrical estimate to let you know what kind of costs you can expect to incur. Keep in mind, the electrician will be providing the electrical portion of the job. You will need to do any actual renovating and construction yourself or hire a carpenter to take care of that part. You will want to choose an electrician who will work with your contractor while ensuring your electrical needs and desires are taken care of. You can count on The Electric Connection to provide you with an experienced electrician. Give us a call today.