The Internet of Things is arriving in a big way. Smart thermostats, smart refrigerators, smart home security systems and more are all moving toward one integrated home system. One day soon, all your HVAC equipment, electrical work and appliances will be connected and in communication with each other. The next leap forward in smart homes is coming to your kitchen – the smart stove. Before you know it, your range top and oven will be sending you text messages when it's time to pull out the roast. Really.

Texting and Tweeting from the Oven

Smart stoves are quickly on their way to the marketplace. General Electric recently announced an initiative to bulk up the internet integration capabilities of its appliances. Stoves, for example, will soon be able to send you a text message once they've preheated, or cooked a meal for a specified amount of time. Not paying attention to your phone? The stove will also be able to flash the lights of whatever room you're in to give you the alert, if your other electrical work is hooked into the smart system.

The benefits don't stop there. If you leave the house and forget to turn the stove off, it can shut down automatically. It can also do this if the smoke detector goes off, potentially saving you from catastrophe. The smart stoves will also be able to interact with social media applications like Facebook, Twitter and Dropbox. That's right – soon your oven will be able to tweet out a photo of your perfect apple pie and you won't even have to lift a finger.

A New Way to Interact

Smart stoves are just the start. "Owners can create recipes that suit their lifestyle and integrate GE's connected appliances into the rest of their Internet-connected lives," Logan Garrett, a member of the Wi-Fi connected appliances team at GE Appliances, said to the Motley Fool. "We think this is the beginning of a new way for consumers to interact with their home appliances."

One day, smart kitchens could even come up with suggested recipes based on the ingredients you have on hand, which it would already know via inventory software. All you'd have to do is gather the items and mix them together. Technology already exists to determine when a dish is cooked properly, so the oven could handle the temperature and time settings all on its own.

If you need advice on how to get cutting edge technology into your kitchen to take the guesswork out of cooking, or need any other help with your electrical work, call an expert electrician today.

For those of you with little ones running around the house, you know how difficult it can be to try to keep an eye on them at all times. Sometimes they can put themselves in the most peculiar situations that you just can’t control. To keep them safe you need to implement security measures, this is especially true when it comes to electricity. Here are some steps you can take to child proof your home from electrical hazards.

This is one of the number one ways to keep your child safe in the home. Their little fingers can fit just about anywhere and electrical outlets always seem to be the most enticing place to put them! Electrical covers fit over top of the outlet so nothing can be put into them. Place electrical covers around your home in all the electrical outlets that are low to the ground and places where children can reach. There are number of different covers you can put on electrical outlets. Make sure you purchase electrical covers that are tamper-resistant so you don’t have to worry about your child removing the cover.

When giving your child a bath it can definitely get messy. When the splashing starts water begins to fly and if it hits an electronic this can be dangerous. As we know, water and electricity do not go well together. Even appliances and devices that are turned off or unplugged can still cause electrical shocks if water contact is made. When you are about to bathe your child, make sure you clear the bathroom of any electronics that are near by. This goes for the sink to. If you bathe your child in the sink you can sometimes forget about the hairdryer or shaver that was left near by. Make sure you clear the countertop before you start running the water.

All our homes are full of electronics which each require their own cord. Especially behind the television and entertainment area there can be many extensions cords and power bars. Make sure that you keep these out of your child’s reach. If they start to pull on the cords and get access to the outlets and cables there are a number of dangers. Put barriers around these areas or tie up the cables out of your child’s reach.

These are just a few ways that you can protect your child from electricity in the home. Spend some time today to review your home and the potential hazards. Electrical hazards can be a hidden danger, if you need help protecting your children, have an expert electrician review your home. We can help to identify dangers and protect against them.

Location, location, location. Many factors in your quality of life are affected by where you choose to live, including your energy costs. Wallet Hub recently released a report that surveyed the average energy costs, including electricity, in all 50 states. Read on to learn more about where your state falls in the rankings.

What Affects Electricity Rates?

A number of factors play into the price of electricity in a given state or region – the proximity of energy production and fuel sources, federal or state incentives, taxes, and the local competition in the energy market can all affect the final price.

The gap between the cheapest and most expensive states can be surprisingly large – electricity in Hawaii, the most expensive state, costs four times as much per unit as it does in Washington D.C., an electrician's paradise with the lowest price for power. Joining Washington D.C. among the cheapest electricity states are North Dakota, Idaho, Louisiana and West Virginia, while Vermont, Connecticut, Alaska and New York round out the most expensive five after Hawaii.

Adding Consumption to the Mix

Of course, there's more to your utility costs than just the base sticker price. How much electricity you consume plays a role as well. Those homeowners paying sky-high prices in Hawaii, for example, also use the least electricity per household in the entire United States. Residents in Louisiana, on the other hand, use the most electricity per household, thanks to sweltering hot weather that goes hand-in-hand with significant reliance on electric air conditioning.

Given the combination of price and consumption, people living in Washington, D.C. spend the least amount on electricity, forking over an average of $79 per month, followed by residents of Illinois, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Despite their low consumption levels, people in Hawaii still get the highest bills, at an average of $179 per month. Residents of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Florida join them in the top five for overall electricity spending.

Let the Electricians Guide You to Lower Bills

The report also includes interviews with energy experts on how to save money on utility bills, as well as the impact of tax deductions, credits and energy assistance for low-income households in the utility market.

“Consider calling your utility company and asking if they offer any services to help you identify ways to be more efficient in your home,” Sanya Carley, associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, suggests. “Many utilities offer such services for free, and will send someone to your house to prepare a formal or informal audit for you.”

To see the full list and find out where your state ranks when it comes to electricity and other household energy costs, check out the WalletHub report here. If you need tips on how to conserve electricity to reduce your utility bills no matter what the sticker price of energy is in your state, contact an expert electrician today.

Sometimes the bad news about energy and the environment in the media can be overwhelming. Good news tends to get pushed aside in favor of spectacular disasters. Yet, every day in towns and cities across America, people are working on green energy projects that both help the environment and save money. This shouldn’t be a surprise — survey after survey has found that most Americans are concerned about the environment, and most cities today are scrambling to save money.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs in Street Lights. Replacing conventional incandescent electric bulbs with LED bulbs in street lights is one popular green energy project. In the largest such project in the world, Los Angeles is replacing the bulbs of 140,000 street lights. The LED bulbs use considerably less electricity, creating not only money savings but also savings in the oil and coal needed to generate electricity. When complete, the project will save the City $10 million each year. Of that, $2.5 million will be saved on maintenance costs and $7.5 million in electrical usage. The project will also reduce carbon emissions from electric generation by 40,500 tons per year. That’s like taking 6,700 cars off L.A. streets for the life of the bulbs – every year for 10 or so years.

L.A. City engineers originally hoped that the LED bulbs would save 40% on electric bills. When they measured the savings of switching over the first 20,000 bulbs, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the savings on electricity was more like 55%. The City has also found that the LED lights create brighter and more uniform visibility, reducing pockets of dark shadow that conventional street lights tend to leave.

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa commented proudly, “We’re seeing L.A. lead the way.” The project is being funded, in part, by Federal stimulus dollars as well as the Clinton Foundation. Sarah Potts of the Clinton Foundation said, “The Clinton Climate Initiative was excited to work on this project mainly because L.A. was willing to be a mover on this. They were willing to set the bar for where energy efficiency street lighting could and should go.”

However, L.A. is not alone. This type of green street lighting project is being undertaken from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to towns in Northern California, where PG&E, the electric utility, gives rate breaks and rebates to its street light customers who switch over to LED bulbs.

Green Energy Projects at Home. We don’t have to wait for government projects before we can start saving money by helping the environment. If you want to go greener in your own home or business, you can take steps that range from quick and simple to more ambitious:

1) Replace the bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Today’s fluorescents fit into regular lamps and fixtures, come in a range of warm colors, and save electricity. While CFL bulbs cost more at the supermarket, they last longer than old-fashioned incandescents, and so cost less over their lifetimes. You can start by buying a four-pack on your next trip for groceries. Unscrew the bulbs in the light fixtures you use most often and screw in the new bulbs. It’s that simple. If you have any questions, you can call The Electric Connection, your Los Angeles electrician.

2) Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans are very efficient when it comes to cooling a room. Set your thermostat for the air conditioner 2 degrees higher than usual, turn on your ceiling fan, and you’re achieving the usual cooling effect while saving money and electricity.

3) Here’s a more ambitious green step. Make your next car an electric hybrid or all-electric. Electric vehicles reduce our dependence on foreign oil — 60% of our oil imports are burned in our vehicles. Electric vehicles are available today that are competitively priced, convenient, and also give you the benefit of freeing you from the ups and downs of gas prices while enjoying the satisfaction of helping the environment. When you’re ready to make the move, keep in mind that The Electric Connection, a fully licensed and bonded electrician in Los Angeles CA, installs electric vehicle chargers.

If you see solar panels on some of the buildings in your town or if you’ve purchased an Energy Star appliance or installed compact fluorescents in your light fixtures, you and your town are part of the green energy movement that is quietly growing throughout our country. To find out more, call The Electric Connection, a knowledgeable green Los Angeles electrician. To visit their website, simply type in electrician Los Angeles CA on a web search, and you’ll very easily find their site near the top of the first page.

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