You know you need some electrical help around the house, but you are not sure who to call. A quick look at the yellow pages will tell you there are no shortage of electricians listed. Your friends and family are also likely to give you their two cents as well. Before you just randomly choose an electrician in Pasadena, there are some things you need to know to look for. Not all electricians are the same. One crew that you are sure to be impressed with is the team at The Electric Connection.

One of the most important factors of choosing an electrician is making sure they are licensed. Hiring an unlicensed contractor leaves you vulnerable and could end up costing you a great deal of money in the long run. You want someone who has the training and the credentials that qualify them to perform work on your house that is done up to code and will meet the county’s standards. Hiring a Pasadena electrician who has not been properly educated puts your home at risk.

Of course, you also want a professional in your home. Someone that isn’t going to make a huge mess and leave it. Don’t hire just any electrician. Pasadena residents can check the validity of the license and check to see if the person or company is insured and bonded. This way, if there is damage or the electrician happens to suffer an injury while working in your home, they are protected and so are you. While it doesn’t hurt to ask friends and neighbors about their experience with an electrician, always verify the credentials before you make a final hiring decision. Give The Electric Connection a call if you need a licensed, professional team of electricians to take care of any work around your home.

Any room, area, facility, or outdoors space you need to illuminate should be done so with quality lighting. The benefits of quality lights far surpass going cheap on your lighting fixtures just to save a few dollars. The importance of quality such as metal halide have a rather short lifespan compared to it’s competing technology, LED. LED gymnasium lights, and just LED lighting in general, prove to have a much longer lifespan. This lifespan can be 2-3 and sometimes even 4 times longer than other light sources such as metal halide.

This can allow for less frequent purchasing of new lights to replace old and burnt out ones, which will allow you to better realize a better ROI by investing in LED over metal halide or other similar technologies. This also indirectly reduces your maintenance costs by lowering the amount of time you have to pay someone to switch out burnt out bulbs. This can allow you to reduce your maintenance costs related to your lighting for gym areas by 2-3 times, which will just add on to the benefits that LED can bring to your facility.

While saving money through lighting efficiency, longer life spans, and less maintenance costs is great; it shouldn’t be achieved while decreasing the quality of light produced in your facility by your lighting system. Luckily, LED products allow for proper lighting in a wide range of applications, even your gymnasium. This allows you to create exceptionally safe areas that will keep visitors aware of all there surroundings.

Did you know that LED lights that are efficient called the DLC (DesignLights Consortium). This is an organization that qualifies commercial lighting products based on it’s quality and efficiency. There are both standard and premium qualifications, and premium typically yields higher rebates and thus higher ROI over standard qualified products. Although both are still good and are always recommended for any industrial lighting purchase because being qualified is better than not at all. Without being qualified, we recommend you stay far away from any light that isn’t DLC qualified for various reasons including it not being verified to be a “good” product.

If it isn’t clear by now, the answer is obvious. LED can, will, and should be bringing your gymnasium area all of the benefits that the technology offers.

From efficient, to quality and rebates; there is almost no reason why you should choose other gym lighting technologies over LED gym lights.

More importantly regarding safety of all visitors; LEDs will ensure your areas are properly illuminated with a wealthy amount of light, and won’t be under lit. Also since LEDs will never buzz nor flicker, you will never face that annoying issue that other technologies will do, not even near the end of it’s lifespan. And as you know, buzzing or flickering lights can cause annoyance and less focus, which is never good for a gymnasium environment.

Conclusion

There you have it, what quality LED lights can and will do for your gym. LEDs are also a great option for all of your other lighting needs, such as school rooms, hallways, write in to one of our professionals for some answers.

There is an art to showcasing masterpieces and illuminating the beauty in your decor.   Bring out the true colors, textures, decorative details and subtle nuances in your artistic compositions with the right light sources, accent light fixtures and picture lights.

Choosing the right light sources and positioning fixtures to illuminate your favorite pictures and artistic compositions involves careful planning, and certain key components are essential to finding the right light for each application.  Whether you are illuminating a three-dimensional sculpture, an entire wall-mounted tapestry or a grouping of framed photographs, there are 5 key components to consider.

1. Select the right light source—LED, halogen or fluorescent?

•LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs are excellent light sources for illuminating valuable paintings and original artwork, because they do not emit ultraviolet or infrared light that could cause fading or damage to fabrics and paintings.

LEDs are energy-efficient and versatile solid state luminaires (SSL), which provide bright focused illumination that may be manipulated and controlled with fitters and lenses.  Although LED light bulbs are more expensive, they last much longer and operate much cooler than standard bulbs.

Be sure to look for good quality LED bulbs.  The color rendering, color temperature and dimmability of LED bulbs is becoming more refined as technology advances and is incorporated into new LED light sources.

•Halogen light sources are ideal for bringing out the textures and colors in artwork and sculpture.  Look for updated energy-efficient halogen bulbs.

•Fluorescent—May work nicely for black and white photographs.  However, the quality of light in fluorescent fixtures is not ideal for paintings and sculpture, because there is a slight UV risk and the lack of shadow may limit your artistic lighting effects for 3-dimensional artwork and sculpture.

2.  Choose the right filters—light filtures and lenses help to focus the illumination or create a wash of light according to your desired lighting effect.

Whether you need a narrow beam of light or a wide-angle wash of illumination, the right accessories will help create precisely the lighting effects you desire.  From barn doors to diverse screen fitters, the options abound for creatively fashioning and directing light to enhance the elements of design in your artwork.

Picture lights and accent light fixtures are available in a myriad of finish options and light fixture designs, so choose a style to match that of your artwork—keep traditional with traditional; modern with modern. etc.  Your light source should enhance, not distract from the visual focus of your artwork.

The options for illuminating with spectacular lighting effects have never been more accessible. Color-changing LED lamps themselves are works of art, but they may also be used to highlight sculpture, decorative glass and crystal, as well as black and white photographs.

LED light sources are available in a myriad of colors.

Having separate controls and installing accent light fixtures on a separate system makes sense, since you may not choose to showcase your artwork on a daily basis.  Having separate controls also allows you to illuminate original works of art individually for dramatic effect, especially when you are entertaining company.

Whether they are hand-held, wall-mounted or programmed into your smartphone, controls provide the utmost in convenience and energy-efficiency.

◊The art of lighting a three dimensional object…

Lighting from above showcases Antonio Canova’s exquisite marble nude sculpture on display at Villa Carlotta, Tremezzo, Italy. The brilliant use of light brings out the intricate details and the true textures and feel of human flesh that Canova was famous for depicting.

Three-dimensional objects, such as sculpture, often look best lighted from one side, in front and above. However, precise lighting adjustments must be made individually for each piece.  Truly the light is in the eye of the beholder, and whether you choose to light from in front, uplight from below and/or above your 3-dimensional piece will depend upon your personal preference for the features you wish to accent.

You may have to play with the illumination—using a portable lamp or flashlight to see where you want the light to shine in order to bring out the best features in your artwork. Set a wide beam accent light fixture directly in front of sculpture that does not have a lot of variation in texture and dimension; choose a narrower beam from above to call attention to a specific feature in a multi-faceted piece.

◊ The art of highlighting paintings and wall art….

Illuminating objects on a wall or lighting a textured wall or vertical surface itself requires precision.  You may opt for picture lights, ceiling and wall-mounted accent light fixtures or portable uplights, but correct placement is key to displaying your artwork in the best light.

In general, LED or halogen picture lights should be about half the length of the picture itself.  Picture lights may be adjustable and installed on the wall or ceiling or be frame-mounted directly to your artwork, but—whatever light you choose—be sure to measure accordingly so that a flattering beam spread of light will showcase the face of the painting in all its remarkable detail.

*If you are deciding between two size options, always go with the lamp that will present a slightly wider beam spread than needed to avoid cutting off a crucial element in your masterpiece or limiting the design elements and significant features in your artwork.

When lighting a small to medium size picture, have the lighting reach the picture at an angle of about 30 degrees from the vertical.  Lighting placed much further from the wall may cause disturbing reflections on the picture; lighting placed much closer may cause unwanted shadows cast by the frame.  Usually, one fixture is required for each object being illuminated.

•Measure the distance from the ceiling to the center of the object and mount fixtures at the location that will give the 30-degree angle.  For example:  If the measurement from ceiling to the center of the object is 2 feet, mount the ceiling fixture 13 inches from the wall; If the distance is 3 feet, mount the ceiling fixture 20 inches from the wall.

•Adjust for ceiling height:  For 8-foot ceilings, generally fixtures should be mounted 2 feet from the wall; For 9-11 foot ceilings, accent light fixtures should generally be installed about 3 to 4 feet away from the wall.

It is best to illuminate a group of smaller pictures by lighting the surface as a whole rather than by lighting the pictures individually.  Use the same spacing from the wall as for a single picture; for balanced illumination, the space between units should not be more than twice that from the wall.  Using a spread lens or beam elongation will provide lighting for multiple units.

A bit about mirrors—beyond their usefulness as tools with which we may study our appearance, mirrors dramatically enhance our environment.  Although seen as a necessity in bathrooms and powder rooms, decorative mirrors beautify, brighten and expand indoor living space.  Even in a living room, the decorative appeal and vibrant energy of a few well-placed mirrors provides an added dimension.

For most mirrors, lighting should be soft and shielded.

◊ The art of preserving what you have…

Choosing the right light sources and positioning light fixtures accordingly is not an exact science; a bit of trial and error will help you to position fixtures with precision for optimal lighting effects.

Many accent light fixtures, LED light sources, and picture lights are adjustable so as you update or relocate artwork, you may alter the illumination easily.

To view the latest LED light sources, accent light fixtures and picture lights or to receive more information on how-to light your artwork, visit with a professional lighting consultant at a Capitol Lighting showroom or contact 1800lighting.com.

Through the work week between the hours of 9 to 5, many mega watts of electricity is fed into offices and commercial buildings all over the world. These are places where productivity is vital and electricity is critical for the productivity to exist. Whether renting, leasing, or own an office building, here is a checklist of items for consideration that will improve the efficiency of electricity running throughout the office

Some office buildings can have hundreds of workstations on each floor. Each workstation can include monitors, computers, printers and other electronic devices. A bad situation develops when there are insufficient numbers of power outlets, and the only solution is to add and chain extension cables. Often this can lead to overloading the electrical circuits, damage electronics and create a risk of electrocution. If you find that there are not enough power outlets for your workspaces, have a licenced electrician inspect the office space and install new ones. A professional will be able to determine how much load can go on each circuit without causing strain on the circuit breaker.

If the workspace lighting is inadequate, workers may find it straining on their eyes and can ultimately create an unwelcoming work environment. Through proper lighting design the office space can become more efficient and pleasant to work in. Upgrading your light fixtures with more efficient bulbs can lead to better lighting and lower electrical costs each month.

An office building should also be equipped with the appropriate outdoor lighting. This will improve building safety by providing lighting at building entry points, but also keep employees feeling safe while exiting the building during the night. Read more about office lighting.

The worst thing that can happen for productivity is an electrical outage. Without the use of computers and printers, an electrical outage can bring a business to its knees. Equipping an office building with a backup generator adds a layer of protection against these types of situations. As soon as power stops flowing to the building, the generator will activate and continue providing power to workstations. This is helpful to prevent loss of work and provide some extra hours of productivity. While your office still may remain without internet services, the extra time can be used well to finish up tasks and plan for any additional power outages. Read more about standby generators.

Whether you are in charge of a building, or your own office’s workspace, make sure that your building is running safely and efficiently. Investing in the right lighting and generator can be a wise investment to keep productivity up in the long dark hours of the winter. For more information on office electrical or to schedule an inspection from one of our licensed electricians, contact your local Expert Electric.