Anytime you find yourself wanting an electrical safety inspection, it’s important to know what kinds of questions you need to ask. A lot of the time people are stuck with hidden fees or things that they are unaware of due to the lack of curiosity. Even if it seems so simple, it’s always best to ask the right questions to an electrician especially when it comes down to your home’s safety and your family’s well-being. When you see the lights start to flicker or your outdated electrical system giving you trouble, it’s time to call for a repair or maintenance check. Having an electrical safety inspection by a professional contractor will help flag any warning signs that might arise in the future. So here are some questions that can prepare you so you know what to ask when it’s time to conduct an electrical safety inspection.

Usually, when we want to hire somebody we always like to know that who we’re hiring has had an education within that field. However, when it comes to hiring an electrician to conduct an electrical safety inspection, experience and how much of it is especially important. Experienced professionals not only have seen a lot and can provide effective solutions, but they also recognize the importance of high-quality performance and customer service. By asking about their experience, you’ll be able to determine how qualified that contractor is to handle your electrical safety inspection.

When it comes time for an electrical safety inspection, you want to make sure hire an electrician that has a valid electrical contractor’s license. This will make you feel more comfortable knowing that the person you’re hiring is educated and trained to perform a high-quality electrical safety inspection since they are being held to a high standard as a licensed professional.

During an electrical safety inspection, things may come up where the electrician might either want to fix or restore a certain business. So, asking about an estimate and whether additional work is covered is always a great question to ask.

One of the most integral parts of our daily lives is the electrical system that powers our home. We use it every day to provide power to our televisions, appliances, heating and cooling systems, lights and all other electrical devices that we have become accustomed to. For this reason, it is very important that our electrical systems remain both safe and in proper working order. Any damage, big or small, to your electrical system could pose potentially serious safety hazards, resulting in electrical shock, fire or even death. If you have an older home, or have been having doubts about your electrical system for one reason or another, it may be time to have an electrical safety inspection.

When should you have an inspection?

Older Homes

One of the biggest electrical issues with older homes is that they just were not built with today’s electrical usage in mind. Because of this, they have undersized electrical systems that can result in frequently tripped breakers or blown fuses. Although tripped breakers are sometimes easy to ignore, it can represent a serious problem if it happens frequently. If you are having this issue, then you will want to get in touch with The Electric Connection right away. We can send an electrician in Los Angeles out to your home to perform an electrical safety assessment and determine whether or not any electrical upgrades are necessary. In some cases, older homes can even have outdated equipment or ungrounded outlets that can result in unsafe situations. In this type of situation, you may require a whole house rewire.

If you are experiencing any regular electrical problems, whether your home is old or new, don’t wait to call your Los Angeles electrician. Leaving these issues unchecked will often only make them worse, ultimately resulting in more extensive repairs than if you had addressed the issue quickly. For more information about inspections and other electrical services, browse our website at theelectricconnection.com.

constant-current LED driver or constant-current driver is used to regulate the amount of current that is supplied to an LED or LED array to maximize LED lifetime. If current is not regulated, LED brightness can fluctuate and life span can be shortened. The constant-current driver is used for LEDs or light fixtures that require a stable output current and operate within a range of voltages. Most finished LED products already have a constant-current driver or resistors to regulate current. If you’re building an LED fixture or replacing a constant-current driver, it’s important to verify that the output current and voltage of the driver is compatible with the LEDs’ current and voltage. If your LED product already has a constant-current driver or uses resistors in the LED array, you might need a constant-voltage power supply.

If your LEDs are dimmable and you want to change their brightness, choose a Magnitude Dimmable Power Supplies. These dimmable power supplies work by varying the power on the AC input side of the power supply by means of a TRIAC dimmer. This change in power on the AC input side will vary the voltage on the DC output side and control the intensity of the LEDs. TRIAC dimmers are common hardware store and household dimmers, which include brand names such as Lutron and Leviton.

Pulse-Width Modulation Dimming: Pulse-width modulation (PWM) dimming can be used to control dimmable power supplies such as Mean Well LPF Series. This type of dimming control adjusts the output current based on the duty cycle. As the duty cycle increases, current will increase and the LEDs will be brighter. Conversely, if the duty cycle decreases, the current will decrease and the LEDs will be dimmer. Pulse-width modulation for these drivers is based on a 10-volt signal level with a frequency between 100Hz-3KHz. The MLD-5A are compatible for this application.

Resistive Dimming: Resistive dimming can be used to control dimmable power supplies such as 12-Volt Mean Well HLG-40-240 Series or 12-Volt Mean Well HLG-600 Series or here.

The efficiency of a power supply or driver indicates the percentage of power that goes toward making your LED product function. An efficiency of 80 percent or higher is recommended for operating LEDs. 

When choosing a driver or power supply, the size of an LED product’s housing or area of installation is important. If you wish to put a constant-current LED driver inside of a product, the driver must be small enough to fit in the product’s housing. Similarly, if the driver or power supply is used outside of the product’s housing, it should fit the area of installation. Drivers and power supplies are available in a variety of sizes to suit your needs.

A Class 2 driver or power supply is in accordance with limited power levels defined by the National Electric Code (NEC) and fulfills the requirements of Standard UL 1310. Output is limited to 60 volts DC and 100 watts. Because power sources with this rating have limited output, it might not be possible to power as many LEDs or lights as those that don’t have a Class 2 rating. However, these power supplies and drivers provide protection from fire and electric shock.

A Class II rating refers to a double insulation layer between AC input and DC output wires. These drivers and power supplies do not require a ground connection.

Spring brings plenty of wild storms to the area and hopefully with those thunderstorms, there will be lots of rain. When the dark clouds form, you can prepare for thunder and lightning and the possibility of a power outage. During a thunderstorm, there are some things you need to do to stay safe. Although lightning striking a person is rare, it does happen more often than you would think. Lightning can also come through phone and data lines into your house. An electrician in Burbank has some tips for you when it comes to staying safe in the next thunderstorm. You can always call The Electric Connection if you have any more questions.

If you are at home, take the following steps.

*Unplug any electrical appliances you won’t need *Do not take a shower or bath during a thunderstorm

You can have a whole home surge protector installed by a Burbank electrician to prevent the need to unplug appliances. The surge protector will prevent power surges from damaging appliances.

If you are outside, seek shelter if possible. Sitting in a car is safer than standing in the open. If you are in a boat or at the lake, get away from the water. Do not take shelter in anything that could be damaged by high winds. Do not go back outside for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last boom of thunder.

Teach the entire family what to do should a thunderstorm roll in and you are not home. Consider having a surge protector or back up generator installed by an electrician. Burbank residents can count on the team at The Electric Connection to answer any questions and complete a professional installation.

Is your utility company planning on installing a smart meter on your home? You're not alone. These meters have been implemented in a number of regions across the United States, as well as in other countries in North America, Europe and Oceania. Read on to find out more about why these smart devices are growing in popularity and what you need to know about them.

Three Advantages for You

Smart meters have several big advantages over your traditional electricity meter. For one thing, they send their data to the utility company automatically, so there's no need for a meter reader to come by once a month. That also means they can turn your service on and off remotely, so you don't have to sit around and wait all day to get the power switched on after you move into a new home.

To take advantage of the remote reading capability, smart meters calculate your usage frequently, between every fifteen minutes and one hour, so you get a much better idea of when you use the most electricity. Additionally, most smart meters let you access a granular breakdown of all the data they collect about your energy usage, so you can make informed decisions about how and when to use your appliances. If you notice a big spike during the daytime, for example, you can turn the air conditioner down a notch or two, or cut down on the number of televisions you have on. It's easy to save electricity if you break down your consumption device by device, and a smart meter gives you the ability to get started.

Real Time Feedback

The smart meter also helps your utility company respond quickly to any outages and fine-tune its production. Since the company gets feedback about your consumption within an hour, it will know automatically if your power goes out and can see what other houses are having problems. That way, the company can get a jump-start on addressing the outage and act quickly to alleviate any accompanying safety concerns, like a downed wire.

What's more, the meter tells the company exactly when people are using power, so it can adjust its supply accordingly. From there, utilities have the option of instituting time-of-day pricing, selling electricity at cheaper rates during nights and weekends. This allows utilities to balance out their production schedules and use fewer auxiliary plants during the day, which reduces fossil fuel consumption and helps keep prices lower overall.

Spreading Across the Country

As more people discover the benefits of smart meters, their adoption is poised to increase across the country. Next time your utility provider upgrades its equipment, chances are you will get a smart meter installed if you don't have one already. If you have further questions about smart meters, how they work and what information they collect, contact your local electrician today.