What better way to celebrate Independence Day than to do so in Virginia, one of the first colonies to create talks of revolution against the British? Virginia had a huge rule in the American Revolution. In fact, our first president of the United States, George Washington, was from Virginia! Thomas Jefferson helped expressed reason for colonial independence from Great Britain by writing the Declaration of Independence. The last major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought in Yorktown, Virginia and that victory led to the end of the war.

Virginians have a lot to be proud about for their involvement in the American Revolution, so you know we love to celebrate July 4th big! Our fireworks are always over-the-top and our parades are the best in the country. If you’re planning to celebrate big this Independence Day, consider these activities to do the weekend of July 4th. Make this Independence Day a day to remember!

Radiant heating is a popular heating choice with homeowners. There are a few types of radiant heating available, giving you some options as to how you heat your home using a radiant system. Both types offer benefits for your home, as we’ll discuss below, but you won’t gain any benefit from poor installation of your system. This is one of the reasons why it’s important to hire professionals to install your radiant system in Watertown. The experts at FB Electrical Services can handle every kind of heating installation, including radiant systems, so call us today!

Types of Radiant Heating

The types of radiant heating can be categorized by how they heat and their placement. Let’s start with flooring:

Hydronic Radiant Floor Heating

With a hydronic radiant floor system, flexible PEX tubing is placed underneath your flooring. Hot water or steam flows through the tubing, so you must have a boiler to install hydronic radiant floor heating.

Electric Radiant Floor Heating

There are 3 ways to install electric Contact us today!

Ensuring Your Residential Wiring and Fuse Box are Up to Code Homes can encounter a variety of electrical issues. Makings sure your home’s electrical wiring is up to par is extremely important. If you believe your home is experiencing problems with its electrical wiring, you should call a professional residential electrician to take care of the problem for you.

Using Modern Technology Many houses are older, so they have electrical wiring is out of date. As technology has advanced, so have our gadgets, devices and appliances. Older electrical wiring was not designed with such advanced technology in mind, so it is important to make sure your home’s wiring is updated and capable of handling your newer appliances, technology, lighting and electronics.

Fuse Boxes and Circuit Breakers While some older homes have fuse boxes, newer homes have circuit breaker panels. Fuse boxes work just fine, unless fuses with amperages too high for the wiring are installed. If the inappropriate fuses are installed, and insulation has been damaged, the old circuit needs immediate attention by being rewired.

When to Rewire Wiring problems can be serious in nature and can cause major risks to your home. You don’t want any safety concerns. If your home is older than 50 years old or you are buying an older home, you should hire a professional residential electrician to go over the wiring and ensure it is safe.

Older homes may require rewiring or need some repairs. It may be wise to get follow-up inspections for your home’s wiring regularly, about every 5 years. You don’t want to risk damaging your home or the safety of your family.

When you think about homes that rely on solar energy, you may think of rustic cabins that live in a very primitive fashion. That may have been the case 20 years ago, but today, some of the most luxurious homes are run off of solar power. There have been plenty of innovations and upgrades made to the world of solar energy and homeowners across the country are taking advantage. You don’t have to go all in if you don’t want. That is the beauty of solar energy. Your electrician in California can answer questions you may have about how you can make solar energy a part of your home. The team at The Electric Connection is well versed in the latest technology and can provide you with the information you need.

You have several options. The first and probably the most popular is to remain connected to the power grid. Basically, you use the solar energy you have and when it is depleted, your home relies on the main power grid or the electricity from the electric company. Even this small change can result in a great deal of energy savings in California homes and businesses. Every little bit matters and using solar power to run your home during the day and relying on the power grid when there is very little demand at night is an excellent choice.

You can choose to rely completely on solar power if you want. This will require the installation of a solar panel system that can run you upwards of $20,000 depending on the size of your home and your electric demands. Even though it is a big initial investment, there are tax breaks and you won’t be paying a monthly electric bill so it kind of balances out.

If you would just like to dabble a bit in alternative energy, consider starting with a solar powered water heater. This one change can save you a great deal of money on your electric bill. Again, every little bit helps. Give The Electric Connection a call today to take your first step into the world of solar power.

The concept of fuel cells as an energy source is credited to a chemist, William Grove. He demonstrated in 1839 that electric current could be produced by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen over a platinum catalyst. Thereafter, many alternate forms of the technology emerged for producing electricity from various materials and catalysts.

The main reason why fuel cell companies have not been profitable is due to startup and operational costs. Although fuel cells provide clean, inexpensive energy, it is much simpler to use coal or natural gas. These industries have been around for a long time, so their processes are now streamlined.  Unless legislative action requires the use of clean energy, the adoption of fuel cells will remain slow.

Fuel cells are attractive for energy production because they provide clean energy, with no harmful byproducts. Although commercial adoption of fuel cells remains slow, it is possible that the technology could become disruptive and make a significant impact on the energy industry. That could happen if environmental pollution due to the burning of fossil fuels becomes a global concern. So far, large countries that account for a great deal of pollution, such and China, have been indifferent about the pollution they cause.