If you are planning on renovating or sprucing-up your kitchen, it’s probably a good idea to map out a detailed lighting plan as well. Most people find this a little strange as they feel that lighting in a kitchen isn’t something that needs too much of consideration or planning. It’s just a place where you cook and probably where you have an informal meal after all.

However, the fact is that it’s important to plan kitchen illumination well if you want to make optimal use of your kitchen spaces. Here, we would like to share some basic lighting ideas to create the right balance of functionality and aesthetics.

If you want to get a better idea about what type of lighting would work best for your kitchen, it’s vital to understand how your kitchen spaces relate to the different type of lighting. Let’s start off with understanding what type of bulbs you can use for the best effects:

These bulbs emit a yellowish light and you will now find many artistic versions of these on the market today.

These bulbs throw off a flat, cold light that has a bluish tinge, which lends a very harsh effect to the room.

These have a warm light that makes the place look very inviting and comfortable

These are the latest in light bulb technology and are available in a range of effects including white, cool daylight, warm light, yellow and a range of other colours and hues. Aside from this, LED bulbs are also 80% more energy-efficient than standard bulbs; and most property owners are now opting for these fixtures.

In addition to the types of bulbs used, the style of lighting or the lighting effects are what impact the ambience and appearance of a room. With this in view, here we discuss the different lighting effects that can be used in your kitchen:

This is one of the simplest ways to create the right lighting effect in your kitchen. This type of lighting is designed to help you move comfortably around the room. In most instances this type of lighting comes from grid-style can lighting, widely-spaced, wall and ceiling lamps, semi-translucent skylights or even the natural light that streams in through glass windows and doors. This is the base layer of any lighting plan.

In your kitchen, task lighting would be required to illuminate kitchen counters and food preparation spaces. Since you will be cooking in your kitchen every day, it’s important that the task lighting be planned and installed well. If you have only recessed lighting fixtures in your kitchen, you will feel the lack of focused light when you are cleaning, cooking or prepping in that space.

If you install one-dimensional lighting in the kitchen, it creates unsightly shadows in different areas of the room, while ceiling lighting is ineffective in illuminating spaces like sinks, under counter or cabinet areas etc. On the other hand, if you add special pendant lamps over the counters or even your kitchen island it can prove to be a more practical solution. Under-cabinet lighting can also help in illuminating the cabinets that are positioned there.

This effect doesn’t seem as necessary as ambient or task lighting does in a kitchen space, as the illumination it provides isn’t as functional as the first two. However, it can have a significant impact on the way your kitchen spaces look. If you want to enhance the appeal of your kitchen (regardless of whether you are getting it entirely renovated or are opting for a lighting upgrade), it’s important that you plan your accent lighting well.

One of the most popular tools in any home is the extension cord.  For a long time, rooms would be built with only one or two outlets, creating the need for additional power strips and extension cords as we moved into a more digital world.  As more devices found their way into our homes, the NEC updated standards for home construction to require additional outlets and electrical accessibility in each room.  Unfortunately, most homes still lack the proper number of outlets, and when a cable can’t reach, most of us will reach for an extension cord.

Most of the time, this isn’t a problem.  Extension cords function exactly as their designed to.  When you need a longer cord to place a fan or give a little extra reach to your vacuum cleaner, there’s nothing dangerous going on.  Where extension cords become risky is in their overuse.  Many people buy the longest, cheapest cord they can find and this is where danger sets in.

Electricity and metal have a very interesting relationship.  As current, the flow of electricity over a conductor, increases in a wire, the temperature increases.  Current is also adjusted as resistance increases to keep power at the same level.  When you add wiring to a circuit, the resistance of the wire itself stacks with the rest of the components on that circuit.  While one electrical cord doesn’t add much in the way of resistance, multiple cords will continue to increase the amount of power being used in the system.  As the current increases to keep up with the new demand, the temperature in the wiring also increases.

This relationship is used to great effect in your circuit breaker, where the difference in heat forces a breaker trip that protects your system.  In an extension cord that isn’t designed to handle the load being placed on it, insulation melts and fires can start.

Keep in mind that extension cords are always temporary.  Never use an extension cord for anything permanent.  They are designed to help you reach electricity for a task and nothing more.  When in doubt (or if you hear buzzing coming from the wiring, socket, or circuit breaker) switch to a higher amperage circuit and a lower gage wire for your extension cord (the lower the gage, the thicker the wire and the more current it will be able to handle).

According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, Guidelines for using an extension cord are as follows:

Remember that the more power you need, the more current you’ll be using.  Any device that includes a motor or heating element will either need an industrial-grade extension cord (power tools) or should not be used with an extension cord at all.

For the best in quality electrical repair work and installations, contact the professionals at Custom Electric!  Be sure to check back here each week for helpful advice, news, and guides or follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

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Low-voltage landscape lighting is a simple improvement that can make an enormous impact on the beauty and appearance of your home after dusk, as well as its safety and security. Installed along walkways, steps, and driveways, or directed up at trees, garden objects and walls, the typical low-voltage lighting system requires just three components: a transformer, low-voltage electrical cable, and the fixtures.

Being the owner of a plant is a big responsibility and it is very important to keep your equipment in working condition. You need to remember that all your maintenance must be planned in an efficient way for both economic and energy efficiency.

Usually when you choose to partake in your routine maintenance, it may cause a delay in your production resulting in loss of income. All safety electrical equipment that is used on a continuous basis will require a lot more maintenance than your equipment that is used rarely, although they will still need to be maintained.

Even though you may maintain your equipment on a regular basis there will be times that your equipment could break. You will then need to take all costs into consideration before deciding whether you should repair the equipment or to just replace it completely.

To help you decide, you should analyze what you have already spent on the equipment as well as what it will cost to maintain it in the future. Once you have done that you should compare it to what it would cost you to acquire newer equipment that may cost less to maintain.

You could also hire a specialist that could create a breakdown of important factors such as the probability of the following:

To run a successful plant you will also need to keep the following important steps in mind: