Early Christmas morning in Stamford, Connecticut, the fire department rushed to the aid of Madonna Badger’s family as their home was engulfed in flames. The simple act of discarding ashes from the fireplace turned deadly when those ashes were not fully extinguished, sparking the blaze from outside the home. The heartbreaking news that both of Badger’s parents and her three young daughters perished in the fire turned what would normally be a joyous holiday into a time of mourning for friends, family, and community members in Stamford. Our hope, at ElectricMan Inc. is that this sad story will help drive home the message that smoke detectors are the most important safety feature that you can have in your home.

Is it driving you crazy to charge all of your devices? Smart phones, tablets, digital music players, digital cameras and more have made many facets of life more convenient, but they come with their own complications and annoyances as well. For one thing, all those devices need their batteries charged, sometimes every day, and it can be quite a pain to keep track of all the cords and adapters. Fortunately, with a little DIY talent or the help of an electrician, you can install combo outlets in your walls with built-in USB ports, making it easier to charge your gadgets wherever you’re at home.

Out with the Old, in with the New

To install a USB outlet, you need to buy an outlet kit from your local hardware store or from an online retailer. You can find various options with two or four USB ports combined with one or two traditional power outlets. If you are comfortable doing simple electrical work, you can probably install the outlet yourself; otherwise, an electrician can do the work and have you up and running quickly.

If you are a DIYer, the first step is to turn off the power to the circuit you are working with. After you turn the switch off at the circuit breaker, make sure you test the outlet with a light or other appliance before you proceed to make sure it doesn't have any current. Next, you'll need to remove the old outlet with a screwdriver and disconnect the wiring. Then, simply connect your new outlet, carefully following the manufacturer instructions. It's extremely important that you reconnect all the wires properly, including the ground wire.

Convenience and Simplicity for Your Devices

Once the new outlet is wired up and screwed into the wall, flip the circuit back on and you should be good to go. Give the new USB outlet a test drive with your phone or tablet, and then sit back and enjoy the convenience and simplicity. Unfortunately, you still need to have an appropriate cord around to take advantage of the USB outlet, but at least you can do away with the cumbersome adapter. That frees up space, since adapters are often so bulky that they cover multiple outlets even though they only use one. Plus, the built-in USB ports limit the electrical current to whatever amount is required to charge the device.

You don't need combo outlets everywhere you have a plug, but if you put them in highly-traveled areas like the kitchen, office and bedroom, you will have easy access to their charging power whenever you need it. Those readers who enjoy perusing their phones in the bathroom can even put a combo outlet by the sink – just make sure you don't get water on your device!

Recharge Your Life with the Help of an Electrician

If you need any help installing or upgrading outlets in your home, call an expert electrician today.

High bay fixtures are a critical part to any high ceiling building. Since these high bays require such large lumen output, the cost to run them can be high. By converting to LED high bays, you are able to reduce your energy consumption in your most energy intensive fixtures by up to 75%.

In this post, we are going to cover (non-comparatively) 5 top types of LED high bay lights for this year, 2017. While not every item on this list will apply to you and your building, there will surely be one or two for your needs if you currently use high bay lights in your facility.

If at any time you come across a question, want more information, or are actually interested in implementing LED into your building;

These traditional commercial high bay lighting fixtures look a lot like what we think a normal high bay should look like. They are reminiscent of traditional style Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium high bays and offer your typical round high bay look.

These high bay LED fixtures can replace both 400W and 1000W Metal Halide. The smallest unit is 80W producing 10,240 lumens. There is a 160W unit producing 19,200 lumens. This would be a good 400W Metal Halide replacement. And the largest unit at 400W produces 51,200 lumens. That’s 128 lumens/watt. And, USA Made backed with a 10 year warranty.

These LED high bay Lighting fixtures look a lot like a troffer style panel. The advantages of this type of fixture are the LEDs are spread over a larger area. This has 2 main advantages – Great light distribution and large heat sink. It is important to realize these lights are particularly good at light distribution, creating an even distribution.

These high bay LEDs can replace both 400W and 1000W Metal Halide. The smallest unit is 120W producing 15,360 lumens. There is a 150W unit producing 19,200 lumens and the largest unit at 300W produces 38,400 lumens. USA Made backed with a 10 year warranty like the traditional style high bay.

A retrofit kit utilizes your existing fixture and replaces the bulb and ballast with the LED head and the LED driver. These retrofits can be significantly more economical than replacing the entire fixture, for obvious and not-so-obvious reasons. One of which being it’s cheaper to buy. Another being it’s (typically) cheaper to install as well. For this reason, our high bay retrofit kits HAD to make it on the list of the best high bay lighting options.

Many people in the Alpharetta area have barns without pole barn lighting. It is still fairly common to see pole barns with no artificial lighting or traditional sodium lights installed. Both options can lead to unsafe situations.

Pole barns have many dark nooks and crannies and often have sharp objects stored in them. Sharp objects plus dark areas is a recipe for injury. To prevent potentially dangerous conditions, you should have a lighting system installed. It is especially important to get these lights installed before winter, as the days are shorter and nights are longer. The pole barn will be left through those long nights without natural or artificial lighting unless you have an electrician install illumination now.

Here are the options:

● Fluorescent Lights. Fluorescent lights are a good option for a relatively small space, especially if the ceilings are low. Fluorescent lights are cheap to buy and run. They are also fairly energy efficient, which means your electrical bill will be lower.

● Halide Lights. While fluorescent lights have long been popular for many residential and commercial applications, halide lights are relatively new. They have been around a few years but are not as common as fluorescent lights due to their more specialized nature. Though halide lights are stronger than fluorescent lights, they do have a few drawbacks. They are more expensive to buy and operate, and they take a while to reach full power after being turned on. Nonetheless, they’re likely the best option for large pole barns because of their power.