The Electric Connection’s Blog

Signs and Symptoms of Damaged Wiring by Glendale Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

It can be difficult for a person who is absolutely unfamiliar with electrical wiring and all of the components that go with it to understand when something is wrong. Wiring is hidden away behind fixtures and walls so it isn’t like you can see any problems. You have to depend on some other basic warning signs and symptoms to help you determine whether or not you have a problem. Because electricity can be extremely dangerous, you should never try to fix the problem yourself. You will want to call an electrician. Glendale homeowners can count on the trained and certified team at The Electric Connection to handle any electrical problems—big or small.

Some of the most common signs of an electrical problem are as follow;

*An outlet only works some of the time
*An outlet is loose and wiggles around when plugging in or removing a plug
*There are black streaks up the wall behind the outlet or switch
*The outlet is hot to the touch
*You smell burning wires—this is a unique smell that is hard to miss explains a Glendale electrician
*Lights flicker with no apparent reason
*A light won’t work—even with a new bulb
*Melted wires in a breaker panel
*Getting a small shock when using an appliance that is plugged in or a shock when pulling or pushing in a plug
*Black marks around the holes in the outlet

These are the most obvious signs you will notice. If you have noticed or suspect any of these symptoms are the tip of a bigger problem, call your electrician in Glendale. When possible, shut off the breaker to the potential problem outlet or fixture. Do not use until it can be thoroughly inspected and cleared to use. Give The Electric Connection a call today to take a look at any electrical concerns in your home.

Troubleshooting Electrical Problems by Burbank Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins
Techician looking over a gas furnace with a flashlight before cleaning it.

Every day we deal with little problems around the house that are relatively simple fixes. Squeaky hinges, loose stair boards or maybe a leaking faucet. These are all common problems that are a part of home ownership. Most home owners keep a small tool chest on hand to take care of these things on their own. Quick fixes that can be taken care of with very little money out of pocket. It is kind of exciting to be able to fix something on your own. It can leave you feeling very accomplished. However, there are some perceived small problems, like flickering lights or electrical outlets that aren’t working correctly that should never be taken care on your own. These are big, dangerous problems in disguise. They should only be addressed by a trained electrician in Burbank. The Electric Connection has a group of individuals ready to inspect your home and determine exactly what the cause of your electrical problem is.

This is the key when it comes to diagnosing electrical issues. A Burbank electrician needs to inspect it and find the true problem instead of simply addressing the symptoms. Electrical wiring is no joke. It can be incredibly dangerous if not handled correctly. Even a relatively minor problem can turn into a serious situation. It only takes one spark to bring down your entire home.

If you are experiencing some odd symptoms with your home’s electrical system call an electrician. Burbank homeowners will want to have anything out of the ordinary checked out immediately. A flickering light or outlet that doesn’t work can be a sign of loose or damaged wiring that can create a serious fire hazard. The smell of burning wires is never to be ignored and is typically your first clue to a problem. Give The Electric Connection a call today if you have any electrical concerns.

Checking the Wiring by Los Angeles Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Do you ever like to feel safe and secure while you are at home with your family? Of course, you do! Your home is where you should feel the safest. When you leave your home, you want to feel relatively comfortable knowing everything inside is safe as well. Everything you own is in there along with precious family treasures that can never be replaced. Taking precautions like locking your doors and windows and maybe using a security system are typical for giving you that safety you are looking for. However, an electrician in Los Angeles suggests you make sure your home is not in jeopardy from some hidden danger lurking out of sight. The electrical wiring in your home needs to be inspected and the team at The Electric Connection has a staff of certified electricians who can do that for you.

It is important your home has regular checkups. Identifying a problem before it can lead to disaster can save you a great deal of money as well as the hassle of dealing with an electrical fire. There are many new safety features that have become the standard when it comes to wiring new houses. It would be a great idea for you to have some of these features added to your own home by a Los Angeles electrician. Adding minor upgrades like GFCI outlets or replacing an old outdated electric panel is one way to make your home safer.

Old homes are lovely. The architecture and character is undeniable. In some cases, the home may have been in the family for several generations. The key is to keeping that treasure in great shape by having it gone through by an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners will feel safer and more comfortable knowing their home’s electrical wiring is in good shape and doesn’t pose any major risks. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your wiring inspection.

Faulty Light Switches a Signal of Trouble by Santa Monica Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Light switches that aren’t working like they are supposed to are bad news. When you walk into a room and flip the switch to turn on the light and nothing happens, it is an issue. If you check the bulb and it works just fine, you will want to turn off the switch and turn off the breaker to the switch if possible. Then call an electrician in Santa Monica as soon as possible. The team at The Electric Connection has a staff ready, willing and fully trained that can help you get to the bottom of your lighting trouble.

There are some other key signs that can help you identify a faulty light switch. Think of these signs as a warning signal to get a professional Santa Monica electrician out to the house right away. If the light seems to flicker or maybe it goes off and on rapidly for several seconds or minutes, you have a problem. The light may appear to be much dimmer than it should be as well. This is because it isn’t getting the full electric current for one reason or another.

If your light switch is hot to the touch, melted or has black streaks on the wall, you have a major problem that requires the expertise of an electrician. Santa Monica homeowners will appreciate having the issue thoroughly investigated. In many cases, it is nothing more than a bad switch that can be easily replaced. In other situations, the wires are loose and just need tightening. In more problematic scenarios, the problem is the wire itself and the electrician will need to trace the wire to the circuit to find out where the problem lies. Don’t let those early warning signs be ignored. Call The Electric Connection as soon as you notice an issue.

When Outlets Don’t Work by Pasadena Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

It is not uncommon for a house to have an outlet that can be a little moody if you will. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t. Or maybe, you have an outlet that doesn’t work at all. You have searched everywhere for the magic switch that will send power to the outlet, but it just isn’t to be found. Many people don’t know this, but when an outlet doesn’t work when it had previously, it is a serious issue. It isn’t just an annoyance. It is a warning sign that you need to get an electrician. Pasadena homeowners who have one of these outlets in their home can call The Electric Connection to take a look.

An outlet that seems to have its own ideas about when it is a good time to function is a sign there is some wiring issues behind the wall. You can’t see it and you may not see any actual danger signs, but they are there. The most likely cause of an intermittently working outlet is the wires that bring the electricity to the box have become loose. Your electrician in Pasadena will need to pull the outlet from the wall to take a look. Despite how dangerous it is to have loose wires touching insulation or one another, it is a relatively easy fix.

In more serious situations, the outlet isn’t working all the time because the wiring in general is bad. If rodents have gotten their little teeth sunk into the plastic coating around the wires, it can cause serious problems, like an electrical fire. Your Pasadena electrician will have to do a little more investigating to look for the cause. It is better to know the problem than to continue to ignore it. If you have one of those outlets in your home, give The Electric Connection a call right away.

Reducing Energy Costs by Glendale Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

This is the time of year you can get by without running the heat or running the air conditioner all day. It is a great time to save a little cash by reducing your energy costs. As you enjoy this downtime, this is a good time to start thinking about other ways you could reduce your electricity usage in preparation for the hot summer weather. You know its coming, along with the high electric bills that can be staggering after such a lull. Your electrician in Glendale has some tips to help you reduce your energy usage. The team at The Electric Connection can provide you with helpful information as well.

1. Pull out your vacuum and give your vents and filters below the fridge and around your home a good cleaning. Change the filters on your furnace and AC as well.
2. Buy a roll of foam insulation, spray foam or caulking and seal up those drafty areas around your windows. This is going to keep your cool air in during the summer or warm air in during the winter.
3. Have an programmable thermostat installed by an electrician. Glendale homeowners can set the temperature to adjust throughout the day and night. Some of the newer models allow you to use your smart phone to adjust the temperature in your home. If you aren’t there, you don’t need to keep it as cool or warm when you are home.
4. Adjust your hot water heater temperature. You don’t need it to heat water more than 120 degrees. Scalding water is just asking for trouble and is a waste of energy.
5. Go with LEDs. Buy in bulk and change out your old lightbulbs for the energy-saving bulbs. They are just as bright or brighter than the CFLs or incandescent bulbs.

These are things you can get done in a matter of days. All it takes is a little time and effort. It is worth it when you see the savings on your electric bill. If you need new light fixtures to accommodate your new LED bulbs, just call your Glendale electrician. Give The Electric Connection a call today and start saving money.

Lighting Up the Front Door by Burbank Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

As you drive down the street, you notice other homes in the neighborhood for a couple of different reasons. Either the home and the yard are very attractive and you are drawn in or the home and the front entrance are a bit messy or disheveled. Curb appeal is something many homeowners strive for. They want a nice looking yard and they want their home to appear to be inviting as well as taken care of. There are plenty of things you do everyday to achieve that, like watering the lawn or planting pretty flowers. Another option that is often overlooked is the lighting around the front door area. An electrician in Burbank is here to tell you why you should think about upgrading your lighting. The team at The Electric Connection can help you make it happen.

The standard porch light that comes with every home is sometimes just not enough or it just isn’t all that attractive. Depending on how large your yard is, the design of your front entryway and the location to the nearest street light, you may need more light explains an electrician. Burbank homeowners that want to enhance their front door area, rather than just light it up, will love some of the attractive designs available. You can go classic or with some of the more modern styles.

You can choose to go with nice bright LEDs or something a little softer. Once you have made a decision about your outdoor lighting, give your Burbank electrician a call. Wiring in lights is something that should always be left to the professionals. This ensures the job is done right and you don’t have to worry about any bad wiring causing problems down the road. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your front door lighting revamp to improve your curb appeal.

Tripping Breakers Explained by Los Angeles Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

Have you ever started the dishwasher while trying to make a quick breakfast in the microwave or with the toaster only to have the entire kitchen go dark? Or maybe you are running a space heater and it shuts down with no warning. Tripping breakers can be a real annoyance. The frustration of having to reset clocks or reprogram your electronics is not cool, but a tripping breaker goes beyond being just an irritation. It can be a major warning sign that there is trouble brewing in your electrical system. Your Los Angeles electrician wants you to take your tripping breaker seriously. The team at The Electric Connection can help you get to the bottom of the problem.

To help you understand why a tripping breaker is a bad thing, your electrician in Los Angeles will explain a bit. When a breaker trips or shuts off, it is because it is likely on the verge of overheating. The tripping or cutting of power to the outlets that are in use on that circuit, is a safety mechanism. If the breaker didn’t trip, the breaker would overheat, spark and cause an electrical fire. Constantly resetting a breaker that is tripping is risky. The breaker is protecting you and by forcing it to stay on, you are putting your home at great risk of fire.

The reason the breaker trips may be something as simple as the circuit being overloaded explains an electrician. Los Angeles residents, you have too many appliances drawing too much electricity at the same time. A remedy would be to unplug items and do a little rearranging to lighten the load on one breaker. Another option would be to have another circuit breaker installed so you could distribute your power needs. If you have a tripping breaker, give The Electric Connection a call and have it checked out.

Funky Lighting Trends by Santa Monica Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

If you are one of those people who likes to try new things and stay on the cutting edge of fashion and the latest trends, you have to see your lighting options. You are no longer relegated to the standard white globe lights in the center of a bedroom or the standard overhead lights in the entryways or dining rooms. You can add a great deal of style, personality and flair with some really exciting, funky light fixtures. Your electrician in Santa Monica encourages you to check out the latest styles at your local home improvement store and then call The Electric Connection once you have made a decision.

With many of the fixtures, you will have the flexibility to change out the shades or globes on the light, which means you can change your lighting with your mood. If you love the look of pendant lamps, you have a lot of options explains an electrician. Santa Monica homeowners can go bold with a brightly colored shade that contrasts everything else in the room or go with some funky designs that really dazzle. You will find the shades come in a variety of shapes as well so you don’t have to settle for anything classic or traditional if that isn’t your thing.

Your home’s lighting can really make a statement in a room. In the past, lighting was more of a necessity and more functional than an intricate piece of the room’s décor. Your Santa Monica electrician can help make the lighting in an area more of a statement that provides needed light, but also shows off your personal style. Save yourself some money and choose fixtures that use LED lights for some cost savings. Have fun and choose styles that appeal to you and then call The Electric Connection to have the light fixtures installed.

Dangers of One Bad Wire Explains Pasadena Electrician

Posted on | by Kim Hopkins

We always like to minimize things in our lives to make them just a little easier to deal with. It is easy to think it is something minor and isn’t really a big deal. Out of sight, out of mind. Unfortunately, it isn’t such a good idea when you are dealing with something as serious as bad wiring. It doesn’t even have to be bad wiring, but a loose wire in a single outlet can cause a serious problem. If you have an outlet that isn’t working all the time, it is serious. You need to call an electrician in Pasadena, like those at The Electric Connection.

You probably can’t tell by looking at an outlet that something is wrong behind it. There are some clues that will help alert you to a potential problem. If the outlet doesn’t work all the time, it is a sign of trouble. If you feel the wall around the outlet and it is hot, unplug whatever is in the outlet. You have a major fire hazard. Another clue, says a Pasadena electrician, is sparking or a jolt when you plug things in or unplug. If this happens, don’t use the outlet. If you can, turn off the breaker to the outlet until you can get it looked at. Black marks around the holes or shooting up the wall are definite warning signs.

Outlets are at a high risk for having loose wiring just because of the usage. Every time you plug and unplug something, you are jarring the wires behind the outlet. Yanking plugs out is definitely not a good idea says an electrician. Pasadena homeowners who suspect there is any kind of problem need to act fast. Wires that are touching will eventually start a fire. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your wiring inspection to identify any serious problems.