Luxurious lighting styles are in the eye of the beholder. It can be an over-the-top glamorous chandelier with ornate details to a simple and clean glass globe lighting pendant with a singular, classic antique bulb. Whatever luxury lighting means to you, it can be attained without breaking the bank if you carefully shop and compare.

Traditional Luxury

The foyer might be a best place to start your luxury lighting quest, as it’s where you greet your guests. Consider large-in-scale pendants, which make a statement in what could otherwise be a plain space.

The Socorro lighting collection by Sea Gull Lighting is influenced by a classic, barbed Quatrefoil shape. Its rustic look is created by both Cerused Oak and Stardust finishes. Pictured here is the six-light foyer pendant.

Modern Luxury

As many homeowners use their kitchen as a central gathering place, here, too, presents an opportunity to showcase your idea of luxury lighting. Imagine family and friends clustered around a kitchen island, where a carefully placed pendant—or two or three—could become a conversation piece. Here, these stunning, modern Lexi three-light pendants from Feiss draw the eye upward to its textured crystals floating within a laser cut frame. A White Shantung silk shade sits within the crystal drum while a glass diffuser softens the light.

Contemporary Luxury

You might think an opulent chandelier or a cluster of colorful pendants are expensive, but there are many affordable versions that will still add a “wow” factor.  If your dining room is used for special occasions, you might consider something bold. The Carondelet four-light chandelier from Sea Gull Lighting features a cascade of faceted, linear glass crystals delivering the ultimate sparkle. Hanging them in a pair is an affordable way to make a luxurious and indelible impact.

Glamorous Luxury

With the eggplant color paint, plush silver rug and other modern furnishings, this living room is the perfect backdrop for the Marquise Collection by Feiss. Designed to follow the cut of a marquise diamond, the lighting collection has a delicate, exposed metal frame adorned with a silver leaf application—then it’s finished with a string of hand-applied beading to capture the light. Shown here are the Marquise three-light pendant and one-light wall sconce.

Hollywood Regency Luxury

The Hollywood Regency style is very popular, as it harkens back to era when heroes such as Greta Garbo and Douglas Fairbanks graced the Silver Screen, and the nation’s total wealth more than doubled. Note how the Burdeen sconces by Feiss flanking the window and soaking tub enhance this spa-like look with their glass etched backplates and three candelabra lights. There’s also a one-light Burdeen sconce that’s even more affordable.

Mountain Luxe

Mountain Luxe design could be easily defined as mountain lodge meets high rise penthouse—creating a perfect place to nestle by the fireplace while sipping a hot toddy. The unusual coupling of dark and light fashioned into a lovely round silhouette in this six-light Colorado Springs semi-flush ceiling fixture by Feiss embodies Mountain Luxe with its clear glass crystals floating in metal rings, which are then threaded onto a chain and strung into its drum shade.

PRO TIP: Be it traditional to transitional or contemporary to modern, to achieve the luxury look you want in your home seek out affordably-priced, high quality looks that emulate more expensive designs. Think “Get the Look” feature stories that run in magazines such as Glamour where high priced clothing is compared to low priced clothing with the same aesthetic. It works!

When you plug something into an outlet in your home, you probably don’t really take the time to think about where the electricity to power your appliance comes from. You plug it in, it works. But, what do you do when it doesn’t work?

Homeowners are constantly making improvements to their home. This may include upgrading or installing a new air conditioning unit, replacing the old fridge with a newer, more family-friendly model or adding a hot tub to the backyard. If you have already made these investments or are considering making them, you should contact your electrician. Beverly Hills residents can rely on the professionals at The Electric Connection to provide fast, friendly and knowledgeable service.

An electrical inspection will be needed to determine whether or not your existing electrical panel can handle these much larger items. Hot tubs, AC units and larger power tools will need more power than the typical appliance. If you have a newer home, it is a fairly simple process for an electrician to install the outlet needed to power the new item.

Older homes may need an electrical panel upgrade to support the electricity demands. An additional breaker may need to be added. In fact, this is may apply to newer homes as well, depending on the service that was put in during construction of the home.

If you have already hooked up a new refrigerator or stove and notice you seem to be tripping breakers, it is likely you need an upgrade. This is a sign there is too much draw on a breaker or that a breaker is weak. An electrician in Beverly Hills will be able to determine what the problem is during the inspection. If you are ready to take care of those tripping breakers or have more questions about what it takes to get your new appliance properly wired, give The Electric Connection a call.

Depending on the size of your warehouse, as a manager (or owner) of that facility; you probably know that your building consumes a considerable amount of energy.

From your lighting system to your heating and cooling, to make such large buildings meet “workable” conditions can be tough and expensive. Although, this post is here to gather 5 critical ways on how you can meet green initiatives for your companies warehouse operations, all while maintaining those workable conditions your employees require.

By implementing the following ways, you will be able to realize a great reduction in not only energy waste, but also overhead costs associated with powering that wasted energy month to month. So there are two major benefits from all of this; one being you will create a more sustainable warehouse all while secondly reducing month to month expenses associated with operating your warehouse.

Without further ado, here is the first of many on this list of ways to save energy in your warehouse facility…

Imagine how great it would be to have the same amount of light that is outside, inside. Best part? It won’t be coming from artificial lights which cost money to run, but rather a natural light source that costs nothing other than installing skylights for that light to come in. This will easily and greatly reduce the amount of time that you need any type of light on in your warehouse.

Allow sun to illuminate your facility by installing skylights throughout your building!

These days HVAC is nearly installed in every building, including warehouses. Multiple things could be messing up your efficiency when it comes to heating, ventilating, and cooling your warehouse, and they all go back to that HVAC system.

For starters, ensuring that your professional building commissioning company to run a full audit of your warehouse, and they will tell you exactly what you need to work on for your building to be running exactly how it was built to run.

Conclusion

The process of addressing (let alone fixing) these issues and areas of concern may seem overwhelming, but keeping the end goal in mind will make the efforts to make these changes in your warehouse much easier. Taking it one at a time will make all the difference, but ensuring you are working on them overtime will be all that is needed. Just remember, all of these critical ways to reduce energy are going to not only make your company more sustainable, but it will also save you tons in overhead.

Have any other ways to save energy specifically in warehouses? Comment them down below to help out other warehouse managers / owners alike!

Low-energy LED lighting technology is the wave of the future. Are you still in the dark? Let us help you separate the facts from the hype surrounding this increasingly popular lighting option.

LEDs Last Forever

Like all light sources, LEDs will fade slowly over time. Depending on operating conditions, well-designed fixtures can retain 70 percent of their initial light output for 6 years, or 50,000 hours or more. If you run them 24/7, they'll last you twice as long as fluorescents and many times longer than incandescents.

The total cost of LED lighting over time can be significantly lower than conventional systems. Though initial fixture costs may be higher, LED fixtures have a longer useful life, are more durable and reliable requiring less maintenance and material costs, and use far less energy than their fluorescent and incandescent cousins. Annual lighting costs can be reduced by up to 80 percent, and payback on your investment can often be achieved in less than three years.

Waiting will cost you more in the long run. Lighting is often one of the greatest energy expenses of a business. Incremental price declines in LED technology will be more than offset by paybacks in energy savings. It does not pay to wait.

LEDs have been in widespread use for over a decade. LEDs have earned their place as a reliable lighting technology, having been used in critical safety applications and rapidly gaining popularity for industrial use thanks to their cost effective, efficient, sustainable, high quality light. Their impressive durability makes them a top choice for high intensity industrial applications such as manufacturing operations, warehousing, maintenance, and more.

LED lighting does not contain mercury. However, fluorescents and compact fluorescents (CFLs) contain hazardous mercury.

Thanks to advancements in technology, LEDs are ideal for these applications. A wide range of fixtures – from low to high lumen outputs – are available today, allowing for the selection of lighting perfectly matched to suit your specific business needs. Placement is essential to proper optics, so be sure to consult a professional to plan effective light placement.

LED lighting is “cooler” than other lighting colors.The blue hue of LEDs does vary from the yellow tones of traditional lighting. However, customers frequently cite an improvement in lighting quality and effectiveness following upgrades. If you have concerns, consider another hue in the ever-expanding variety of LED colors now available.

Well-designed LEDs offer convenient, targeted dimming settings. Quality matters. Well-designed LEDs can provide gradual dimming across many more increment than their competitors, offering targeted settings for the perfect combination of convenience, ambiance and energy savings.

LEDs don’t use magnetic ballasts – they use electronic drivers. Well-designed drivers don’t require replacement. Light bulbs, like incandescents, fluorescents, and halides, use magnetic ballasts that wear out over time, particularly with frequent on and off switching. LEDs do not share these characteristics because LEDs are semiconductors, not light bulbs. They require electronic drivers for managing power delivery. Look for electronic drivers with well-designed, integrated control features for the maximum in efficiency and functionalities - like dimming, sensing, and auto on and off capability.

Well-designed LEDs function beautifully in a wide range of temperatures. LEDs performed at least as well as fluorescents and HIDs in temperature tests conducted by independent labs, particularly in cold environments where other lighting technology suffers. However, quality matters. Opt for lighting that is carefully designed to manage heat dissipation – regardless of the climate you will operate them in.  

Well-designed LEDs manage glare and light placement with optics. Well-designed optics minimizes a direct sightline to LEDs, as well as glare, and color temperature for these applications is also excellent.

Don’t let old lighting technology leave your business burned out. Upgrade to LED lighting with the help of Mr. Electric® today.

As a Top Plano Electrician, I know better than anyone how powerful and useful electricity is. It also makes me more aware of what most people tend to ignore or forget: electricity is dangerous. Electricians are required by law to carry insurance, and for good reasons. Electric current is capable of starting fires and destroying your property and equipment in a matter of moments. The proper safety precautions really can save lives, and there‘s always something we can do to improve home safety.

One of the most important precautions is located in your electrical panel: the circuit breaker. It is designed to keep you from using more electricity than the wiring or receptacle can handle at one time, what we refer to as overcurrent protection. This protects your wiring from taking on too much current, which can cause the coating around your wiring to melt, the leading cause of electrical fires. Circuit breakers serve another purpose as well; not only to protect from surges coming from outside your home, but from potential hazards within it as well. Current flowing through a failed piece of equipment or appliance can cause sparks, which have the potential to start fires or damage other electrical devices. A properly functioning circuit breaker can shut off the power to this device. It’s very important, however, that you use a circuit breaker of the proper size for the circuit to ensure that your wiring is properly protected.

Circuit breakers come in specialty varieties as well; the most important are ground fault circuit breakers (GFCI), for wet locations, and arc fault circuit breakers (AFCI). AFCI’s, in particular, can help prevent some of the most common dangerous situations in your home.

I’ve dealt with plenty of cases where electrical fires have started because people ran an extension cord under the carpet, so that they can power the lamp in the center of the room. Over time, people walking over the cord stretches out the wiring, making it so thin that the current overloads the thinly stretched wire, creating an arc fault; the electricity “jumps” the wire, completing the circuit in a way the cord can’t handle and generating heat that starts a fire. Arc fault circuit breakers prevent this by shutting the circuit down when the arc fault occurs.

So what do you need to know about arc fault circuit breakers? To start with, by code AFCI’s should be installed on any circuit that isn’t protected by a GFCI or directly wired into an appliance. It’s in your best interest to have your safety devices routinely inspected to maintain their optimum performance and capabilities; in particular, your circuit breakers should be inspected at least once a year. The inspection process is quick and relatively inexpensive, and something that simple really can save the lives of you and your family.