Everyone probably knows light layering is the #1 rule in residential lighting design, but we can often neglect it in professional settings. Light layers can transform that standard gloomy, fluorescent malaise into something calm and energizing.

2. Take the layers outside too! The center’s entryway functions like a beacon in the night with those stylish ceiling lights, along with Image via CONTEMPORIST.com

If your business has a storefront or entryway, don’t neglect eye-catching light layers there either. You want to draw customers in, not scare them away.

3. Use standard fixtures in unexpected ways. A regular fixture in an unexpected place will be avant-garde, without the price tag of an avant-garde light fixture. Image via CONTEMPORIST.com

I’d also like to note those crazy recessed ceiling lights – totally echoing a standard recessed fixture only stylized and amplified. It makes you rethink the whole concept of a regular old recessed light!

The little community of Victoria Park in central Florida is beating out Los Angeles when it comes to saving electricity on street lighting. Last November, I wrote a blog post about the street lighting program here in Los Angeles, which is currently yielding higher-than-expected energy savings — 60% compared to the expected 40%. Well, that’s something to crow about regardless of what they’re doing in Victoria Park.

The Nitty-Gritty in L.A.

Electricians are using LEDs to replace the conventional incandescent bulbs in 140,000 Los Angeles street lights. Maintenance costs for LEDs, though not as significant as electric bills, also take a smaller bite. Nothing to be sneezed at! LEDs are good for the City budget, good for climate change, and good for energy independence.

An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a light created by the kind of tiny parts that are in a computer. LEDs are used, for example, in many kids’ light sabers. They’re brighter and use a lot less electricity than the incandescents that you and I screwed into sockets when we grew up. As for what Victoria Park is up to….

Electricians Retrofit Gas Lights in Victoria Park, Florida

Victoria Park is now upping the ante. Electricians are retrofitting its gas-burning street lights with special LEDs that will save the community 92% on its combined energy and maintenance bills.

Victoria Park is a planned community in central Florida. Residents enjoy the charm of real gas-lit street lights, but the expense is a concern. As the community builds out, the annual costs for gas and maintenance were being projected to top $1,000,000 a year, just for street lighting.

When residents formed a committee to look into alternatives, the committee hit upon low-voltage LEDs. While typical house current runs at 110 volts, low-voltage current can run at around 24 volts, reducing power needs.

Victoria Park is now retrofitting their existing street lights with low-voltage LEDs. The retrofits, an innovation by Solas Ray™ Lighting in Anderson Indiana, look, for all the world, like real gas lights. They mimic the look of a candle flame. The lights create charm and a warm glow, but also five times more light than each pole would create with gas. Not to mention the 92% energy and maintenance savings. In fact, the Mayor of the City of DeLand, where Victoria Park is located, awarded Solas Ray a proclamation of appreciation for saving Victoria Park residents nearly half a million dollars in 2010.

Fortunately for all of us, in the energy efficiency race, we all win as cities out-do each other to help out their budgets and help the environment.

Want to save energy in your home or business?

One of the specialties of my electrical contracting company, The Electric Connection, is energy-efficient lighting. Call us to discuss your lighting needs (800) 990-9490.

Kim Hopkins

CEO, The Electric Connection.

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Are you sick and tired of paying an arm and a leg for your electricity bills? Congress is considering legislation that could bring you some relief. A bill was introduced to the House of Representatives this summer that would update the Title I Home and Property Improvement Loan Program, which helps consumers make efficiency upgrades to their homes. The new bill is intended to help homeowners invest in solar energy to power their home electrical work. Read on to learn more about this legislation and how it can help you.

Upgrading Your Electrical Work

The Title I home loan program has been around since 1934, aimed at helping homeowners with capital for home improvement upgrades. Currently, Title I is working through the Federal Housing Authority's Power Saver program, designed to promote clean energy and fight climate change. Home energy efficiency upgrades like photovoltaic solar panels, therefore, are a natural fit for the program.

The legislation currently in front of Congress, called the “Solar and Water Efficient Homes Act,” would update the Title I guidelines to better accommodate modern technologies, as well as increase the number of loans that are available and reduce the bureaucratic red tape that has bogged down the program in the past.

Bringing the Capital to You

Upgrading your home can require significant costs that are beyond the reach to many low and middle income families, so the Title I program provides capital that allows homeowners to realize energy savings immediately. Those who are eligible can get loans of up to $25,000 to make a variety of efficiency upgrades to their electrical work, most notably by installing solar panels. The program will also help homeowners purchase new HVAC systems, beef up their home insulation, buy new water heaters and even install geothermal heating systems.

“Title I loans have helped hundreds of thousands of homeowners improve their homes,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-California), one of the bill's sponsors, said in a press release. “It’s time we make it easier for homeowners to invest in energy efficiency upgrades and improve water conservation, creating good local jobs, and helping the environment.” The legislation also hopes to spur job creation by encouraging consumers to spend more money on home services labor and equipment.

Efficiency Arrives at Your Home

When it's time to boost your home efficiency, Title I is there to lend a helping hand – and if Congress passes the Solar and Water Efficient Homes Act, the incentives will be even stronger. If you want to learn more about the Title I loan program, or need any repairs done on your home electrical work, contact a qualified electrician today.