It's Groundhog Day! 01/31/2012
Every February the country celebrates one of my favorite holidays. No, it’s not Valentine’s Day. But this day has inspired generations of weather watchers and even a movie starring Bill Murray. That’s right, folks, I’m talking about February 2, Groundhog Day. The American tradition of Groundhog Day dates back to when the Germans first settled in the Pennsylvania area. A European custom called for a hedgehog to predict the remaining length of winter. With no hedgehogs handy, the Germans settled on the groundhog. The legend was born in what today is Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Each February 2, celebrity groundhog Punxsutawney Phil emerges from his hole after a long winter’s sleep. If Phil sees his shadow, we’re told there will be six more weeks of winter, and Phil heads back inside. If it’s a cloudy day and Phil can’t see his shadow, we take it as a sign that spring has sprung, and Phil stays above ground to party with thousands of revelers. In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s self-centered TV weather forecaster character arrives in Punxsutawney to report on the festivities. Through a strange twist, though, he’s forced to relive this particular Groundhog Day over and over again. I’m curious. If you could relive any one day, which day would you choose, and why? Your wedding day? Your high school prom? The first day you discovered the incredible power of a TV remote control? Drop me a brief note (100 words or less) by February 28 describing your answer, and our esteemed panel of judges will select our five favorite responses. The five winners will receive Family Video gift certificates, so you can purchase your own copies of Groundhog Day. Send all entries to: “Groundhog Day” Contest Via e-mail to Info@ElectricalDetectives.com Yours in creativity, Jason Shadowen P.S. Be watching our website and social feeds throughout the month for some awesome updates! You will not want to miss these updates! They could literally save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Add Comment New Year's Resolution: SAVE MONEY! 01/04/2012
Money isn't everything, but my experience has been that it does help pay the bills. If you're looking for ways to save, one of your New Year's resolutions should be to take these small steps, which could add up to big savings. 1. A home power/energy audit can identify ways to save on energy costs. Call us to have one scheduled for only $54. 2. To save money on gas, keep your vehicle's engine tuned and the tires inflated to their proper pressure. 3. Shop around for the best credit card deals. To avoid making high interest payments, pay off your entire bill each month or, better yet, use cash for purchases. 4. Switch off the lights in any room you're not using. 5. Change your light bulbs around the house to fluorescent or L.E.D. light bulbs. A good rule of thumb to use; if the light is on longer than 15 minutes use fluorescent or L.E.D. bulbs. If they are on less than 15 minutes use regular incandescent bulbs. 6. Planting deciduous trees can reduce heating and cooling cost. When selectively placed around a house, they provide protection from the summer sun while allowing winter sunlight to warm your house. Visit Plantscape Nursery (www.PlantscapeNursery.com) for some great winter time deals. 7. You can save tens of thousands of dollars in interest charges by shopping for the shortest-term mortgage you can afford. Visit a local bank like Southern Illinois Credit Union (www.SIUCU.org) or a company that specializes in mortgages like Mid-America Mortgage Services (www.mams.net). 8. If your company matches your 401(k) or other retirment plan contributions, participate in the program, and give as much as you can - it's free money for you. 9. Brown bag your lunch. 10. Try clipping coupons. The Sunday Southern Illinoisan and the Sunday St. Louis Post Dispatch both have a plethora of coupons and can be delivered straight to your door. In addition to offering money-saving advice, I run an electrical service and repair company here in Southern Illinois. I'll add to your savings by taking $25.00 off your next service call if you mention this blog when you call to book and appointment. Enjoy your savings! Jason Shadowen. Did you know...
Since 1986, when interconnected smoke detectors that can talk to each other were invented, the fire safety codes have come a long way in saving lives. Today's home standards is to have a smoke detector on every floor plus one in each bedroom. These should all be hard wired and interconnected. Hard wired means that there are physical wires connecting the smoke detectors together. If an interconnected smoke detector registers a fire in one room, all the alarms in the house will ring immediately - giving you and your family the most amount of time possible to get safely out of the house. We do have wirelessly interconnected smoke detectors that can be installed very easily in your home. We would not have to tear open any ceilings or walls to install these devices and still they would talk to each other, giving you the piece of mind you and your family deserve. To learn more about fire safety or any other products or services, you can visit us at www.ElectricalDetectives.com To encourage you to help make your home safer, we are running a special on smoke detectors through the end of October: 18% off each hard wired smoke alarm installed! To schedule an appointment, call the fast, professional electricians at Electrical Detectives. This offer expires on 10-31-11 so Don't Delay Call or Click Today! PS: In the meantime, if you have just battery powered detectors please check your batteries to ensure that they are working and have an escape plan ready. Crazy 8\'s Birthday Bash! 03/24/2011
Today Only, get 8% off your total invoice! Call us today (618) 988-8731 or click here and book a call for next month, next week, or today and get 8% off your total invoice. Need your home rewired? Fuse panel upgraded? Electrical code issues? CALL or Click TODAY! ALSO... Get $80 for a referral fee!!! If someone you referred to us calls today and books a call to have one of the following: home rewired, electrical panel replacement, main electrical service replacement, or a whole house smoke alarm system, WE WILL GIVE YOU $80!!! They have to tell us that you referred them so we will know who to thank for the referral. Don't Delay, Call or Click Today! (618) 988-8731 or click here to schedule your appointment and save 8% off your total invoice. MONEY SAVING TIP #4? 2001 HOME EXPO 03/08/2011
Come visit us at the 2011 Home Builders Association Spring Home Expo! Saturday March 12 from 9 am to 6 pm and Sunday March 13 from 10 am to 6 pm at the Williamson County Pavilion. That's located right behind the Illinois Centre Mall in Marion IL. There will be many of the best contractors from around our area. So if you have spring projects coming up, this will be a great opportunity to meet with them in person. Get questions answered, set up an appointment to get a quote. There will also be many prizes and giveaways this weekend! Fun stuff for the kids. They can build and keep a wooden toolbox. Something for the whole family! Come to our booth and learn what money saving tip #4 is. Be one of the first 350 people to visit our booth, and receive a special opportunity! The first 100 kids that visit our booth will get something really cool! Don't miss this weekend! Check out this video for more information. SAVE MONEY ON YOUR ELECTRIC BILL TIP #3 OF 4 02/01/2011
Install Ceiling Fans! Moving air tends to help you feel warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, allowing for lower wintertime and higher summertime thermostat settings. The effect is equivalent to about 4 Degrees Fahrenheit, and using less energy than air conditioners and furnaces in doing so. Call Electrical Detectives today to save 15% on any new ceiling fan install or replacement of an old ceiling fan. 618.988.8731 OR Click here to schedule service online! Use Task Lighting. Why pay to brightly light an entire room if you're working in just a portion of it? Instead, try focusing light only where you need it. On your desk when paying bills in your home office. Under the kitchen cabinets when chopping ingredients for dinner. Or, on a side table when reading in bed. Take 15% OFF Under Cabinet Installation if you respond to this blog by 1-28-11. Don't Delay, Schedule Service Today! 618.988.8731 Visit www.ElectricalDetectives.com for more money saving tips and a FREE $20 gift card for future services. To Your Savings! LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON! You may already know that compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent light bulbs and can last up to ten times longer. What you may not know: Turning off CFLs when exiting a room for less than 15 minutes costs more than leaving them on. So if you are likely to be back in that part of your house within 15 minutes, leave the lights on to save! Some good places to have CFLs are in lamps, in your living room, outside soffit, coach or security lights. Just remember this good rule of thumb. If it's on more than 15 minutes use CFLs. Check out our website http://www.electricaldetectives.com/ for more money saving tips and offers or to schedule work online. SAVE 10% on new ceiling light fixture installations by mentioning this blog! Don't Delay Call Today! 618.988.8731 Learn About Different Types of Lighting 09/21/2010
Lighting Ideas - There are three or four basic types of lighting that should work together to light any room, including a bathroom. They are task lighting, general lighting, accent lighting and lighting that is sometimes called decorative lighting or sparkle lighting. A good lighting plan combines at least the first three, and sometimes all four types of lighting. This article, however, will focus only on the task lighting in a bathroom. In the bathroom, especially around the vanity mirrors, task lighting is critical. Task lighting can assist in performing specific tasks such applying makeup, shaving, dressing a wound, or performing a manicure. Tip #1: It is strongly recommended that good task lighting be installed either above the vanity mirror located near the sink or on both sides of the mirror. This is absolutely critical for providing good bathroom task lighting. Tip #2: It is recommended that the vanity light fixtures installed around the vanity mirror be incandescent or halogen fixtures because this will allow you to easily control the brightness of these fixtures with a dimmer. Tip #3: Make certain that the vanity light fixtures you select provide more than enough light. One of the simplest techniques that you can use to ensure that you will always have enough light is to over light the space, and then use dimmers to control the amount of light that you want or need at any given moment. Tip #4: It is recommended that special neodymium light bulbs be used in the vanity fixtures, since they provide excellent light that very closely simulates sunlight. A neodymium light bulb is an incandescent light bulb that has a slight bluish tint to it. The bluish tint, created by a thin coating of neodymium inside the glass envelope will cause the light bulb to provide less yellowish light that a standard incandescent light bulb emits, and therefore be more like the sun. Tip #5: Recessed downlights should not be used to light your face while standing at a mirror, because the light coming from these fixtures will cause too many shadows on your face. Recessed downlights can be used in other parts of the bathroom for general lighting but not for task lighting at the vanity mirror. Tip #6: Consider installing a small lit concave mirror near the main vanity mirror. The concave curvature of the mirror will magnify what you see in the mirror, and the additional light will help improve the lighting for special tasks such as shaving or applying makeup. Tip #7: An area of bathroom lighting that is often overlooked is the shower, tub or Jacuzzi. It is suggested that one or two recessed downlights with special shower trims be used to illuminate each of these areas. If the bathroom is already finished, a remodel, recessed housing can be used for this purpose. A shower trim, with a glass diffuser and a special gasket, should be used in these areas. You may want to consider selecting a shower trim with a domed glass diffuser because this shape often gives the most uniform distribution of light. Always remember that light is the first element of design; without it there is no color, form, or texture. Check out our monthly specials, which includes lighting at www.ElectricalDetectives.com and click on the big billboard! Check out RSP... 09/03/2010
Recently many of you may have noticed that our friends at RSP updated their look. While their look has changed a little bit, their customer service has not changed at all. They still have some of the best service technician's around in the heating and cooling industry. When you call our friends at RSP Heating and Cooling, you will receive the same great customer service that you have grown accustomed to with Electrical Detectives! Call RSP today to schedule an appointment at 942-2424. Their yearly Cozy/Comfy Club program can actually pay for itself and then some. They will help you get your heating and cooling system running at peak energy efficiency. They'll inspect and clean the coils, check and charge the refrigerant, clean or replace the filters and get everything running like new! Check them out online at www.RSPhvac.com or call them today at 942-2424. | Welcome To Our BlogCheck out www.ElectricalDetectives.com for more information and a Free Gift Card CategoriesAll ArchivesJanuary 2012 |
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