Energy deregulation gives consumers choices when it comes to the companies that provide their home electricity. Suppliers can compete for your electricity dollars in a variety of ways, offering low prices, short and long-term contracts, fixed or variable rates, and a choice in how your energy is generated. The sheer volume of options can seem so complicated that you need to ask an electrician to help you tangle out the pros and cons of the available plans. One area in particular that can trip up consumers has to do with whether the source of their electricity is green or renewable. Read on to learn the difference.

Green Customers are Loyal Customers

Currently, 15 states plus Washington, D.C. have active electricity deregulation programs, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and these states are largely concentrated in the Northeast. Consumers who live in deregulated states are likely to be flooded with energy offers, often promising electricity that is derived from green or renewable sources. Purchasing this environmentally friendly power usually costs a bit more than electricity that comes from more traditional sources like coal, but some homeowners like to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to reducing carbon emissions.

Those customers who go green are valuable to the supplier because they are less likely to jump ship based on the availability of a cheaper energy source. "A customer on a renewable-energy product has actively decided what is important to them and has selected their supplier accordingly," Ritchie Hudson, Pennsylvania chairman of the Retail Energy Supply Association, said to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

A Question of Semantics

However, while many suppliers and consumers treat green and renewable sources of electricity as synonymous, there is a distinction. Green energy is that which comes from specific sources that have the highest environmental benefit, including solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass and small hydroelectric sources, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, renewable energy “includes resources that rely on fuel sources that restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish,” which includes all the green options but also other sources such as large hydroelectric dams, which present certain environmental tradeoffs.

That means that if you really want to limit your impact on the Earth as much as possible, go green in lieu of simply choosing renewable energy. You can further refine your choices by asking about the specific source of the electricity, if you have a preference for solar, wind or another option.

Ask an Electrician About Your Options

Deregulated energy markets give you flexibility, but can also sow consumer confusion. If you need help deciphering the offerings of your state's electricity providers, ask an electrician who can walk you through your choices.

In typical fashion, Sedaris humorously depicts his family in order to illustrate his point. He remarks that if his father were a talking doll with a pull cord, who spoke his most common phrases whenever the cord was pulled, he would mechanically utter “Turn the damn light on!” followed by “Turn that damn light off!” This would be, of course, in reference to the overhead lights. David Sedaris remarks that the latter phrase – Turn that damn light off! – is one that has become a standard from his own lips.

He brings us to the center of his early family life, the kitchen table. We see his father sit down to eat the meal his mother has prepared and exclaim, seconds after sitting down, that he can’t see his food, and would someone please “Turn the damn light on!” This causes dismay. His mother prefers candlelight and always has candles at dinner. Once the overhead lights blast on, everyone looks “sallow.” The colors are all washed out. The gravy stains above the buffet again become visible and unforgivable. Once his father leaves, David and his siblings flick off the lights again and sit around the table in candlelight for hours, smoking cigarettes as a family unit.

“Everyone looked better in the soft glow of a candle,” writes Sedaris.

We are then led to his teenage bedroom and his dormitory, where Sedaris shows us that, as someone particularly attuned to the lighting in a given room, one who could actually achieve “shivers” from the way that sunlight played in slats on his well-made bed, he was inherently different from “other guys.” He was very neat and very concerned with aesthetics.

What made him different in his younger years is what unites him to his long-time life partner, Hugh. They have very different taste in books and movies but both abhor overhead lighting. He writes, “it’s enough to keep us together. Every night the candles are lit and placed on the kitchen table. In their glow I can see the person I met almost 25 years ago, young again, and dashing. The effect is even better when I take off my glasses, leaving nothing between him and the eyes I have ruined with a lifetime of reading in the dark.”

I think it’s very interesting the way Sedaris celebrates dimness like it’s a comfort, something to wrap around oneself in a too-bright world. The fantastic comfort of illusion, of softening, of flattering alteration, is something you might expect to be valued by a creative writer like Sedaris. I agree completely: Candlelight is great. However, I’m not a candlelight every night kind of guy.

You might be a fan of their appearance, but aluminum light poles bring more to the table than just their looks. Whether you opt for squared or rounded varieties, these light poles have become more popular than ever. This is thanks to their impressive ratio of strength to weight, as they are sturdy while still being lightweight. Additionally, they feature a high resistance to corrosion. These advantages, coupled with their recyclability, make aluminum light poles a perfect match for sustainable projects and harsher environments.

Aluminum is a great material to use when you’re prioritizing strength and reliability. However, just as important as the variety of light pole is the installation procedure. If your poles don’t have proper installation, you could be losing out on the benefits of the lights. A sloppy installation by the wrong people compromises everything from the reliability of the lights to your safety.

Not all vibration is bad, but the destructive form of it can cause serious damage over time as cracks begin to form and then spread along the pole’s side. If the pole’s movements are not equal in either direction, it is simply usual sway, and therefore no reason for concern.

On the other hand, if it is constantly moving back and forth an equal distance, with the motion based at the center of the pole’s shaft and not on top, you’re seeing potentially destructive vibration. Eventually, this can lead to the pole shaft cracking and falling, breaking just above the part of the base where the weld held it together.

Several factors contribute to pole vibration. These include the pole shape, the surrounding environment and the installation. Whoever performs the installation needs to follow the appropriate guidelines for the size and type of pole, as each pole can handle a certain load. If your installer uses the wrong light fixture, destructive vibrations could be inevitable.

Every installation job will have its requirements, based on the client’s needs as well as the location in question. One aspect that doesn’t change, however, is the importance of safety. Light pole installations fall under the umbrella of electrical work, which is always a dangerous area for anyone who isn’t an expert. Any piece of electrical equipment improperly installed can become a safety hazard, and aluminum light poles are no exception.

Your installer must comply with local codes and requirements as applicable. As such, they need to provide proper electrical groundings. Failure to do so can be a serious violation of important safety regulations. Worse, it can lead to a very dangerous situation for you and anyone exposed to the light poles.