If you have an older home, you may not know about the new electrical upgrades you can implement in your home. In our technology-rich world today, homeowners now have the option to enjoy dozens of upgrades that add to their comfort, convenience, safety.
Learn about a few of these popular upgrades so you can decide if it’s time to give your home an electrical revamp.
Remote-Controlled Features
With the rise of smartphones, you can now have dozens of home-controlling options right at your fingertips. And upgrades that many homeowners have adopted into their home include remote-controlled features.
Lights
With this upgrade, you can turn your lights on or off from just about anywhere. So if you’re out longer than you expected or on a vacation, you don’t have to worry about your home appearing unoccupied. You can simply use your phone to turn on the porch light and a lamp or two inside.
This feature also adds a higher level of convenience while you’re at home. For example, your hallway may only have one light switch, or you might be nervous to go into your basement without the light on. With a remote-controlled light switch, you’ll be able to always light your way.
This feature is also useful if you tend to forget to turn the lights off. You will only have to remember to periodically check your phone and turn off any lights you accidentally left on.
Blinds and Drapes
If your home has blinds or drapes, you likely have a routine to open and close them each day. But this process can get tricky if you have a hard-to-reach window. Instead, you can open all the blinds and drapes from wherever is comfortable with a remote-controlled upgrade.
This electrical upgrade can also increase the safety and security of your home. With remote-controlled blinds or drapes, you can quickly and easily hinder the view from people outside — whether you’re home or not.
Strategically Placed Outlets
Many homeowners may feel like the outlets in their home are in short supply. And if you’ve decided to add a couple more, consider these unique placements.
Under the Cabinets
From electric mixers to your toaster, your kitchen may have a number of helpful, small appliances. But, unfortunately, many of these appliances have short cords — and they often have to compete for an outlet with an appliance you use more often, like a microwave or coffee maker.
But if you upgrade your kitchen with a couple outlets under the cabinets, you can easily keep your favorite small appliances in their normal place and still use your more specialized appliances whenever you need.
Behind Your Wall-Mounted TV
If you’ve decided to mount your TV on the wall, you probably love the additional space but dislike the cords hanging down. This is an eyesore many homeowners choose to deal with for the convenience a wall-mounted TV adds, but you don’t have to make this compromise.
Instead, you can hire a professional electrician to add an outlet on the wall directly behind the TV. With this upgrade, you’ll avoid the hanging cords, and you won’t be forced to place your TV near an available outlet — which isn’t always the best place for maximum viewing.
Light-Sensitive Nightlights
Many homeowners find themselves in need of nightlights; you might have young children or elderly parents living at home, or you may want the extra light at night for yourself. But you have to plug in traditional nightlights into an outlet, which can get in the way of your electrical needs — particularly if you want a nightlight in your bathroom or kitchen. And you have to turn on many of these nightlights manually.
Instead, you can upgrade to nightlights that automatically turn on in the dark and are built directly into your baseboards or outlet cover. This will provide the light you need, where you need it, without using a valuable outlet.
If you’re ready to add some electrical upgrades to your home, contact Oak Electric.
