When you are looking to improve your home, some upgrades immediately come to mind. Perhaps your porch needs to be power washed and restained, or the tile in the bathroom is in sore need of replacement. Electrical upgrades other than tightening a loose switch or updating a fixture may go unconsidered, so we’re here to tell you about seven upgrades that electricians recommend to improve your home’s function and appeal.
- Baseboard outlets: When placed randomly in the middle of a wall, outlets can ruin the seamless look of the paint or wallpaper. Instead, you can have them placed on the baseboard, so they are better hidden and so that the cords from your electronics aren’t dangling down from the wall.
- Energy consumption monitoring: Having an app that you can reference to keep track of where your family is using energy can give you excellent insight. You will be able to figure out where your family is doing well and where you can strive to be more efficient. These systems are sometimes available through your energy provider. If yours isn’t able to do that, then you can have them separately installed.
- Smart light switches: Leaving a light on in the home while you’re gone is a waste of energy; and sometimes, it feels like it will take too much energy to get out of bed and turn on the porch light at night. With smart light switches, you can turn them on and off from anywhere. Many types even allow you to set timers to give the appearance of being home even when you aren’t to deter burglars.
- Remote-controlled fans: It’s much easier – and feels much more luxurious – to be able to hit a button on a remote to turn on the fan when you get hot at night or to turn the lights off at night once you’re ready to put down your book. Many even come with a button to reverse the direction so that you don’t have to get on a stool to flip the switch on the top of the fan.
- Outlets behind the TV: When you mount your TV to the wall, it eliminates the need for a bulky entertainment center and creates a sleeker look. However, some of that appearance is ruined when you have a bunch of wires snaking down from the TV to the nearest outlet. You can have an electrician add an outlet directly behind the TV to have no unruly wires in sight.
- Backup generators: Having a generator of any kind is helpful during a hurricane or other loss of power, but a backup generator is already connected to your system and will kick on automatically when the power goes out. This way, there is no delay in regaining the power to your fridge or lights, and you don’t need to go out in a storm to set up the portable generator.
- Remote-controlled shades: Shades are often behind couches or hard to reach with high-up windows. A remote-controlled shade eliminated the need to climb on furniture and wrestle with an uneven shade.
Electrical upgrades – even if they seem simple – require skill and knowledge to be implemented correctly and safely.
Promise Electric provides residential and commercial electrical services to Sarasota area homes and businesses. Call today to learn more about how we can help with your home improvement projects.
