This summer is the time to plan plenty of outdoor events including backyard barbecues. If you have been thinking about having that new outdoor kitchen installed, now is the time to do it. Being able to stay outside with your guests as you prepare a fantastic feast is a luxury you can only get when you have an outdoor kitchen. Your outdoor kitchen would not be complete without electricity and lighting. You will need an electrician in Pasadena to help fulfill your dreams of cooking outdoors with all the modern conveniences of your kitchen. The team at The Electric Connection can help you achieve that dream.

One of the most important factors of your outdoor kitchen is the lighting. Many cookouts are held in the evening hours when things are a bit cooler because the sun is setting. With the setting sun, you will have less natural light. You don’t want to burn your meal and will definitely want adequate lighting for the cook. This can be installed by a Pasadena electrician. LEDs are an excellent choice and can be installed over the grill area to ensure the cook can see clearly.

Your counters, seating area and the walkway will also need to be adequately lit. You can choose to have lights installed along the pathway or have several large fixtures installed by an electrician. Pasadena homeowners have a number of different outdoor lighting options. You can choose soft lighting for the dining area or make it fun and festive with brightly colored lantern lights hanging over the seating area. Your first step is visiting your local home improvement store to check out what you can do or give your friendly electrician a call. The team at The Electric Connection can help you come up with the perfect lighting scheme for your outdoor kitchen.

When the day comes for you to retire from work, you might find yourself with a lot more free time and a lot less money. Hopefully, you've planned your savings so you don't have to live your golden years on a shoestring budget, but in any scenario, it’s wise to rein in your spending once you're no longer receiving a regular paycheck. Read on for some advice on how to cut back on your energy usage after you retire and keep your monthly bills under control.

Combat Rising Utility Costs

Unfortunately, most people's energy bills actually go up after they retire. What's the difference? Now that you're home all day, you're paying to heat and cool the house and to power electronic devices during the hours you used to spend at the workplace. Essentially, you lost a little-recognized fringe benefit, since your employer used to pick up the tab for electricity and climate control eight hours a day.

To compound the issue, many retirees are recent empty-nesters as well. With the kids out of the house, you probably experienced a sharp downturn in your utility bills. Now, you'll be all the more likely to notice when they spike back up once you stop going to work.

You Have the Power to Save

You don't have to give in to sky-high utility bills, however. Check out these suggestions on how to save:

For a more thorough analysis of your individual circumstances, don't hesitate to contact an expert to conduct an energy audit on your house. You could see significant savings and enjoy your retirement all the more.

Lights are one of the greatest things about the holidays. You’ll find them in trees, colorfully decorating home exteriors; you’ll even find them on vehicles. And honestly, we love it. Lighting is one of the keys to the spirit of the season and an integral part to this time of the year. But, as we’re all well aware, they aren’t exactly the easiest thing in the world on your energy bills.

Looking for ways to keep your holiday lighting costs at a minimum this year? With more than 25 years of experience and knowledge, we can give you a hand! Sit back, relax, and let the certified electricians at Hoffman Electrical show you some quick and simple ways to lower holiday lighting costs!

Holiday lighting products have evolved into a much safer product over the years.  With the development of properly sized wires and fuses and LED lighting to reduce the consumption load and the heat the lamps produce, holiday lighting has never been more safe.  In the past people would take the old C style lamps and hook one string of lights into the other.  Often overloading one the strings or the weakest link.  This overload would often melt wires, create sparks, and in some cases even cause a fire.  The manufactures and improved safety standards and testing, help reduce to the chance of an overload by installing a fuse at the starter end or male end of the light string.  This fuse would blow or trip when the load became greater than the fuse capacity, which would then project the wire from the overload.  It is always recommended to install lights that are interconnected (one light string plugged into the other) to manufacture specifications as listed by there instructions.

LED or light emitting diodes have not only made holiday lighting more efficient but even safer.  The old style C7 and C9 lamps could reach temperatures of up to 350 degrees.  The hot lamp if rested against wood or dry Christmas tree, has the potential to ignite the material from the heat the lamp produces and cause a fire.  With LED’s to replace the old style incandescent lamps the chance of fire from heat is almost non existing.  However, it is still possible to cause a fire from electrical spark or short.  These sparks or shorts produce heat much greater and can easily ignite flammable material.  Sparks or shorts are often caused by frayed or damaged insulation on the electrical wires and also loose connections.  It is important to inspect your holiday lighting for damaged or loose components and replace when needed.  Be sure not to use any damaged equipment and immediately discard them to eliminate the chance of future use.

A common mistake made people make with holiday lighting is to plug to many holiday lights into each other.  UL listed holiday lighting and cord splitters are tested to specific tolerances and should only be installed to manufactures specifications.  The easiest location to find the manufactures is specifications is to look at the tag on the cord most commonly found near the male end of the cord or light string.

If enough standard wall sockets are not present and you must plug in multiple cords, it is highly recommended to install a plug switch with a built in overload device to reduce the risk of overload.  The built in overload should not be mistaken for a surge protection device.  A surge protector reduces or eliminates the excess voltage going to the device plugged into itself.  Where an overload device will shut off power at the point of installation if to much power is being drawn through it.

On many new homes we will install plug ins located in the soffit or eve to reduce or eliminate drop cords for holiday lighting.  These soffit plugs are installed on a special heavier 20 amp circuit and often include a convenience switch located inside the home to shut the lights on / off as needed.  The special circuit makes sure your holiday lighting is not installed on regular interior circuits so the chance of variable loads and overloads are dramatically reduced.

Permanent holiday lighting can be installed by a licensed electrician.  The most common type of permanent holiday lighting is LED strip lighting.  These are can be installed on the under side of eves or soffits for a permanent installation.  Depending on the type of LED holiday lighting you choose you may even have the option to change the colors of the lights with a push of a button.  This allows the holiday lighting to be used for many occasions throughout the year.  You can call today or schedule online to have a lighting specialist come to your home or business and provide you with a written no obligation quote.