Tag Archives: electrician Los Angeles

Electric Car Charging Stations—Electrician Los Angeles Residents Trust Explains the Differences

Posted on by
Reply

You have made a big step in purchasing an electric car and are probably loving how much money you are saving on gas every month. Thankfully, Los Angeles is doing what is can to promote cleaner fuel and has established several electric car charging stations. However, this is not always convenient for you and can sometimes be more hassle than what it is worth to try and find an available station that is close to where you work or plan on spending several hours. For this reason, you need the services of an electrician. Los Angeles residents can call H Electric to discuss what it will take to have your own electric car charging station at your home.

First, you will need to purchase a charging station. When you purchased your car, you probably were offered the option of a Level 1 or Level 2 station. The first is much cheaper and probably seemed like a good idea at the time. If you do not do a lot of driving, this station is perfect for you. You can typically plug these in anywhere in your garage. However, the charging station should be the only thing plugged into an outlet. If this is not possible with your current setup, this can be remedied with the help of an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners likely have other uses for the one or two garage outlets and will not want to give it up. You electrician can install additional outlets for you.

For the Level 2 chargers, you will need a 240-volt outlet. This is the kind you would normally have for you air conditioner or hot tub. It is not a standard fixture in most garages or carports and would need to be added. This is something you can certainly call H Electric to take care of for you. Give us a call today and we can set up an appointment.

Tips for Picking the Right Electrician in Los Angeles

Posted on by
Reply

New home construction is an exciting adventure, but it can be a little intimidating. A contractor will take care of most of the technical aspects of the home building, but you will likely have your own ideas about choosing the right electrician for the job. After all, this is a huge investment for you and your family’s safety relies on you picking an electrician in Los Angeles who has the experience necessary to complete the job the right way and in a timely manner.

Experience
You want an electrician who has plenty of training, knowledge and experience. Companies that have been in business for years or even decades are clearly doing something right and make good candidates. H Electric has been in business for more than 20 years and prides themselves on their work and offer a guarantee on anything they do.

Licensed
It is imperative you make sure any company you are considering for the job is licensed to work in California. The company will need to be bonded and insured as well to protect your interests. It is imperative you do your research before hiring an electrician. Los Angeles home and business owners should always check the license to be sure it is active. This is done with a simple search of a California database.

Reputation
Ask friends, co-workers or neighbors about a company before you do business with them. It is also a good idea to check the company’s rating with the Better Business Bureau. Customers who have had bad dealings with a company will often file a complaint with the BBB. Check the history and see how well the company has done.

Whether you are having a new home built or are planning a remodeling project, you will want to take the time to do your homework before hiring an electrician.

Ask An Electrician in Los Angeles – What Size Generator Do I Need?

Posted on by
Reply

It can be very handy to have an electric generator at your home or business. They can be used for a variety of purposes, including lighting outdoor facilities, providing power during outages and helping to run power tools in areas that do not have ready access to electricity. Whenever you are deciding on a generator, one of the main concerns that you must have is the size of the generator. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when picking out the right sized generator.

Emergency Power

It is fairly easy to estimate the amount of electricity that you will need when choosing a generator for emergency power purposes. This type of generator is typically installed by an electrician Los Angeles. Start by listing out all of the appliances and lights that you want to power during an outage. Next to each device, write down the electrical requirements of each device. For light bulbs, you should be writing down the wattage. After you have this baseline amount, add some to it so that you have a little wiggle room. This will help you deal with any miscalculations and additional devices that you may decide to power.

Portable Generators

Portable generators follow the same rules as emergency backup generators. Simply determine which devices you will be using the portable generator for and make sure that you choose a generator that is a little bigger than the maximum amount that you will need for your devices. This may require you to add up the requirements of tools, lights, televisions or whatever else you plan to power.

After you have determined how much you need to power with your generator, you can begin the installation process. For assistance in determining the right sized generator, and for installation from start to finish, give us a call at H Electric today.

Electrician Los Angeles – Lighting Retrofits

Posted on by
Reply

For many commercial outdoor and indoor operations, there are much better options when it comes to lighting. Making a better choice can positively contribute to many different aspects of our personal and national economic condition. One benefit, which almost no one would deny, is the ability to reduce your monthly electrical bill by 30% – 50%. Some businesses get so caught up in increasing profits that they forget that some simple changes can greatly reduce operating costs.

Replacing or retrofitting your commercial indoor and outdoor light fixtures can make a profound difference on your overall energy costs. In some case, this type of job performed by your electrician in Los Angeles can pay for itself within 24 months. This means that you will start reaping the full benefits of that savings at 100% within just a couple years. In many cases, the amount that you save each month will cover the financing expenses associated with financing a project such as this.

In addition to saving money, many businesses choose to embark on a lighting retrofit project in order to go green. Regardless of the size of your business, there are a number of different opportunities when it comes to using more energy efficient light technologies. The following are some of these:

  • Replacing all incandescent light bulbs with CFL or LED bulbs
  • Replacing HID fixtures in parking garages with more efficient LEDs or Fluorescents
  • Retrofitting or replacing outdated fluorescent fixtures with more energy efficient alternatives
  • Using Outdoor Pole-mounted Fluorescents rather than parking-lot HID pole-mounted fixtures
  • Replace standard light switches with smart occupancy sensors and dimmer switches
  • Use ceiling-mounted occupancy sensors in places such as gyms, cafeterias, meeting rooms and hallways

Simply put, the best place to start when it comes to lowering the electricity usage of your lighting is to replace higher consumption bulbs with lower consumption alternatives. If you want more information on lighting retrofits or the best energy-efficient option for you, contact our team at H Electric.

Electrician Los Angeles – Why Choose Hardwired Smoke Detectors?

Posted on by
Reply

The smoke detector is one of the most important, but frequently overlooked home safety devices. This important safety element is engineered to detect smoke from fire in your home and alert you with a very high pitched alarm whenever smoke has been detected. If you are sleeping, a properly installed and working smoke detector can be the difference between life and death. By making sure that your smoke alarms are properly installed, maintained and placed in all of the right places in your home, you can improve your chances of avoiding this type of event.

Hardwired Smoke Detectors

The most common type of smoke detectors that people have in their homes are the inexpensive, battery powered smoke detector that you can easily find at almost any store. Slightly more advanced, hardwired smoke detectors offer several benefits over this type of smoke detector. Although a battery powered detector will still detect smoke and sound the alarm whenever it has been detected in or around that particular area, you receive more reliability and coverage with a hardwired smoke detection system. Another bonus is that you do not have to replace the batteries nearly as often. Whenever a hardwired system that has been installed by an electrician in Los Angeles detects smoke, it will trigger not only the alarm that detected the smoke, but all others in your home. Under normal conditions, these smoke alarms are powered by your electrical system. Whenever the power is lost, each detector has its own battery backup so that you can rest assured that you are always covered.

Regular maintenance is just as important as installation. At H Electric, it is our recommendation that you test your smoke detectors regularly, or about once a month. You should also replace the batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions. With the installation and maintenance of your smoke detectors, you take a large step toward keeping your home and family safe.

Electrician Los Angeles – Aluminum Wiring Presents Serious Fire Dangers

Posted on by
Reply

Although using aluminum wiring in homes and other buildings is long out of practice, there are still many homes across the United States that are still equipped with this unsafe wiring technology. According to many specialists, this means that any light switch, outlet and junction box connected to a circuit using aluminum wiring is a fire waiting to happen. Aluminum wiring in your home presents a very unique and real danger, and has significant potential for starting a fire if you do not take the proper precautions.

Aluminum wiring was used from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s in many new homes and remodels. It was installed to feed branch circuits coming from the electrical panel and out to light fixtures, outlets and switches. Because of frequent electrical failures in buildings that used aluminum wiring, it quickly became apparent that although the aluminum wiring itself is not dangerous, any place that the wiring makes a connection, whether it be an outlet, a light switch or a junction box, can deteriorate. Whenever these connections deteriorate, they become a significant fire hazard. Many homes have upwards of 200 connections, meaning that there are many potential electrical emergencies in these homes.

Even if your home hasn’t had any electrical issues for the last 30 or 40 years, you should consult with an electrician in Los Angeles if you believe your home may have aluminum wiring installed. If your home still has aluminum wiring used, then there are two main options for your electrician Los Angeles. They can either replace your entire wiring system, or replace every single connection in your home with a specially designed piece of copper wiring. The partial replacement option is by far the most popular, because it is just as safe as a complete rewire, but much less expensive.

If you think that your home may have aluminum wiring, contact our team at H Electric right away. We also have several other resources regarding electrical safety, home rewiring and more at our main site www.electricianlosangeles.com.

Los Angeles Electrician – Calling an Electrician for an Emergency

Posted on by
Reply

If you are faced with an electrical situation that just can’t wait a day or so to be repaired, then it may be necessary to call an emergency electrician in Los Angeles. Whenever you find yourself with this type of problem, do not hesitate to call right away. Waiting to have these issues addressed can often lead to further problems, dangerous situations and even injury. Luckily, most electricians offer emergency after-hours service just for this reason. Our electrical systems are both important for our everyday lives, and powerful enough to need round-the-clock attention.

Is Your Emergency Real?

Keep in mind that after hours rates are higher than an electrician’s standard rates. Before calling an electrician to come take a look at an electrical problem outside of their normal hours, consider whether or not if it is an actual emergency. A great example of an electrical emergency would be losing power at a restaurant that you own. Because an extended outage could lead to the loss of thousands of dollars worth of food and inventory, it can be much more cost effective to pay someone to come fix the problem immediately. Other situations would include any electrical issues that pose an immediate threat to your safety.

After you have called your Los Angeles electrician and know that someone is on the way, all you have to do now is wait. While you are doing so, don’t tinker around with the electricity on your own, especially if there is a dangerous area. The best thing for you to do is wait in a comfortable area until the electrician from H Electric arrives to take a look at your problem. This way you will be ready when they get there, while avoiding any injuries that could make the problem even worse.

Electrician In Los Angeles – Backup Power Generator Installations

Posted on by
Reply

While the Los Angeles area doesn’t get a lot of the extreme weather that is prevalent in many other parts of the country, summer heat, thunderstorms and those Santa Ana Winds can be the source of brownouts and power outages. Power outages that last an hour or two may not be a big deal for most, but prolonged blackouts can be quite troublesome, especially for people who must use specialized medical equipment. And, as our electrical grid ages and power demand continues to increase, the risk for such outages is rising. For this reason, many homeowners are asking their Los Angeles electrician to install backup generators.

During times of peak power usage, such as the height of the summer cooling season, there’s always a possibility that brownouts could occur in the LA basin. During a brownout, voltage transmitted through the power grid is decreased. This can cause lights to dim and can damage certain household items. Appliances with compressors, such as air conditioners, refrigerators and freezers can malfunction during brownout conditions, causing damage or failure. Medical equipment can also be adversely affected by fluctuations in voltage levels, as can sensitive electronic equipment. With a backup generator installed by an experienced electrician, home owners can have a steady source of power during brownout conditions.

Power outages that last more than a few hours can get expensive, as refrigerated and frozen foods are lost. People with breathing difficulties can get in trouble quickly without power to run air conditioning or oxygen machines. Parents of newborns with health issues often rely on electronic monitors to alert them to breathing or heart rate changes. An electrical contractor can install a backup power system that switches on automatically when the grid goes down, a necessary precaution for people who cannot do without power for medical reasons.

If you’re looking for a licensed electrician, Los Angeles is the home of H Electric. We’re a dependable, professional electrical contractor that can answer any questions you have about backup power systems, and we have installed a good number of these generators to help our customers be prepared for an outage.

Choosing a Los Angeles Electrician for New Construction

Posted on by
Reply

Building a new home or commercial building is a major undertaking. As an electrician in Los Angeles CA since 1991, we have had a number of opportunities to work with contractors and builders on new construction and we can tell you first hand – it is not the same as doing basic residential repair work. Building from scratch requires a more comprehensive knowledge of electrical systems. Our people here at H Electric have that knowledge, and the experience to back it up.

How do you know that you’ve found the electrician in Los Angeles that can handle the large scale new construction project you’re planning? Anyone can build a website that looks good and put up a few testimonials. The proof comes from checking references and talking to us in person. You will know from the very beginning of the conversation that our people know what needs to be done. Your contractor may have worked with us in the past. If not, set up a meeting and make sure they are satisfied with our level of expertise. We’re happy to provide references from others we’ve worked for in the past.

The modern electrical systems installed in homes today need to be designed to accommodate more powerful home appliances and electronics, computers, and home automation systems. They also need to offer enough capacity to expand and install new devices without having to do wiring or circuit breaker upgrades. Most electronic devices are more efficient now, but that doesn’t mean we should build for lower electrical outputs. The electrician Los Angeles contractors want working on their job sites is one who understands that and is able to implement it in the electrical system design.

Is H Electric the electrician Los Angeles CA builders hire most often? We honestly don’t know, but we get a lot of phone calls. Some companies will tell you they’re the best and make claims using words like “premiere” and “number one”. Stay away from guys like that. Here at H Electric we’re very good at what we do and we’ve been doing it for over twenty years. We have references who can tell you how good we are. Our Los Angeles electricians prefer to simply prove it to you, whether you need simple residential electrical repair or an electrician for your new construction project.