It is inevitable, no matter where you live; you are likely to experience a power outage from time to time. The outage may last anywhere from a few minutes or a few hours and in some extreme cases, they can last for days. You never realize how much you depend on power until it is gone. Every task you do is somehow connected to power. Although you know you can always rely on the power coming back on, what do you do in the meantime? Your electrician in Glendale has some tips for you to follow when the power does go out. The Electric Connection’s reliable staff is always here to help you during power outages and the aftermath.

Unplug all of your computers, gaming consoles, televisions and other electronic devices. This is important to

At the Super Bowl this Sunday, almost a third of the nation watched as a power surge caused the big game to come to a halt at the beginning of the third quarter. While the Mercedes Benz Super Dome sat only half lit for almost 40 minutes of what would be one of the most exhilarating Super Bowls of all time, millions wondered how the organizers of the game could allow such a mishap to occur.

A power surge is when a burst of electricity floods a circuit or electrical system, bringing with it the potential to seriously harm appliances, computers, lighting fixtures and any other kind of electronic. You'll usually notice one occurring when the lights in your home suddenly get much brighter for a period of time. Since the electronics in your home are only designed to handle the flow of electricity that regularly passes through the property, their wiring can be overwhelmed.

Sometimes these surges only occur for a short period, causing your lights to increase their brightness for what seems like just a few seconds. These instances are called power spikes and are less harmful to your electronics than a full-on surge, as the amount of time that your appliances are overwhelmed is generally brief.

Just a few years ago, an energy efficient LED bulb might have cost you $20 or more. But today, you may be able to get as many as six bulbs for that price, and consumers are taking notice.

LEDs were always extremely energy efficient and long lasting -- the high upfront cost was the last thing holding them back from being the obvious choice for most household lamps and fixtures. But while we waited for those prices to drop, many consumers turned to CFL bulbs -- the curly ones -- as a more affordable way to reduce their energy consumption.

Now that LEDs are so accessible, some homeowners are upgrading and wondering what to do with their collection of CFLs, some of which may have thousands of hours of light left in them.

Managing the Mercury

The primary reason why CFLs need to be handled and disposed of carefully is because each bulb contains a small amount of mercury. The mercury content is so low that you don’t need to worry excessively about health risks in the event of a broken bulb, but if thousands of CFLs pile up together in the same landfill, the combined mercury content could prove hazardous. Even in trace amounts per bulb, the risk of soil and water contamination is real.

To avoid this problem, every CFL bulb should be disposed of at a recycling facility, whether it’s broken, whole, burned out or still good.

Recycle Right

Not every recycling facility accepts CFLs. If you have curbside recycling, check the service provider’s website for information specific to CFLs. It may be that they’re able to collect and recycle these bulbs, but only if they’re packaged separately for disposal. Some facilities may require you to deliver CFLs yourself.

In addition to municipal recycling centers, CFL recycling is offered by many business, including hardware and electronics stores. If you’re looking for your nearest CFL recycling location, use Earth911’s recycling search tool.

Accidents Happen

CFLs are made of breakable glass -- a fragile barrier containing the mercury vapor within. Because of the low mercury content, you don’t need to call out the hazmat team if you accidentally break a bulb. But as a precaution, you should still treat cleanup more seriously than you would with an ordinary incandescent bulb.

If a CFL bulb breaks, immediately clear the area of people and pets. If possible, open a window or door to ventilate the room. Turn off the HVAC system so that the mercury isn’t circulated throughout the home.

When it’s time to clean up the mess, leave the vacuum behind. Like your HVAC system, it can blow the mercury vapor around your home. Instead, sweep up all the glass and bulb components into a dustpan and deposit them into a plastic bag.

Use a damp paper towel to wipe down the area, and if necessary, use sticky tape to collect small glass shards. Place all cleaning materials into the bag and seal it up. Afterward, take the bag to your nearest CFL recycling location for safe disposal.

And if you need help with more substantial lighting issues, don’t take the risk of playing with electricity alone -- call up your local, licensed electricians.

If you’re in the midst of a renovation or simply rearranging your floor plan, then you’ve likely come across the need to add or relocate a light fixture. Maybe your new dining room table is a little wider than the old one, you’re adding a kitchen island with pendant lights, or you’ve finally convinced your significant other to let you get that pool table you’ve always wanted. In any case, you need to move or add a light fixture – but how and when?

First, it should be noted that, contrary to how it may seem, most light fixtures are not connected to a joist or even drilled into wood. Instead, hanging light fixtures and ceiling lights alike are located between joists and supported by electrical boxes that grip a wide surface area of the sheetrock that makes up your ceiling to support the weight of the fixture below; for heavier fixtures, like large chandeliers or ceiling fans, there are larger, even joist-secured boxes that will need to be used.

If you’re moving a light fixture, it is important to note that there are certain limitations as to where the fixture itself can go. If you wish to relocate the fixture to a place where a joist exists just above, then you’re likely going to have to use a swag hook and chain to anchor the fixture in place, as a box under a joist is not an option. That said, if you’re moving the housing for the fixture itself, you’ll need to know which direction the joists above run, then choose to move it either through the same joist cavity or drill through a joist to run the current wiring to the new housing. Other things to consider include which switch controls the light and where it is located, as it is a safe bet that a wire will have already crossed all joists above (at some point). This can prevent your electrician from drilling needlessly by allowing them to fish the wire back to the earlier point. If your switch is further away than the destination, you can bet they’ll have to do some drilling. Jumping through, between, and around the joists in the ceiling represents the largest obstacle your electrician (and light fixture) will face.

Once your location is set, all that is left is to get your electrician out to assess and perform the work for moving your box. If you’re planning on doing one large fixture over a pool table, island, or entire room, then you’ll want to take into account the power output of the fixture compared to what that circuit can safely allow for as well as the weight of the fixture. A typical rule of thumb is that anything under about 35 pounds can be handled by a standard drywall box, but something more (or with a fan) will need extra stabilization. Surprisingly, if you’re running numerous small pendant lights, the electrician may have an even easier time running the circuit and ensuring that your lights are up and running in no time. Just be sure to discuss the fixtures you have in mind with your electrician before you purchase them to know what they believe your limitations are!

Whenever you need electrical work done around your Des Moines home, contact the experienced professionals at Electrical Gurus. We are proud to offer the finest licensed local electricians in the area and are always more than happy to help out on your household projects.