The holiday season is a magical time, when everyone’s spirits lift and goodwill is shown to all. This buoyant mood is magnified by the sparkling Christmas lights we use to decorate our homes and with it comes the rise in energy use as a result.

Don’t let rising energy costs prevent you from decking your home in the finest lighting fashions of the season. Instead, follow these tips to reduce energy use during the holidays.

LED lights are highly energy efficient. Compared to a string of traditional holiday lights, a string with Energy Star LED bulbs uses up to 90 percent less electricity, and the light LEDs produce is just as bright.

Another advantage is that LEDs won’t burn out. Due to their high durability, you won’t spend the first hour of stringing lights hunting down and replacing burned-out bulbs. Using these lights indoors, you won’t have to worry as much about fire hazards because they run much cooler than incandescent bulbs.

LEDs not only save energy, they come in a marvelous array of twinkling, fading light effects to make your holiday display sparkle. Traditional light strings have given way to LED ropes, spotlights, and even laser light shows.

There’s no need to light your display when no one can appreciate it. Instead of burning the lights all day and night, just turn them on when it’s dark and the neighborhood is busy. This way, everyone enjoys the display and you save energy.

By automatically controlling your lights, your energy savings can be even higher. Instead of relying on your memory to turn the lights on and off, use an automation system, such as HomeWorks from Lutron, to do it for you. Such a system offers benefits beyond turning lights on and off; it can improve lighting use throughout your home and provide added exterior security.

Even a modest display of holiday lights can consume a lot of energy. You may choose to only light your Christmas tree, but you can do it economically. However, because of the latest advances in energy-saving lights, you don’t have to limit yourself to a few lights on a tree.

Hang strings of LED sparklers from the eaves, trim the evergreen in the front yard, and install a few lighted reindeer or a Santa Claus on the lawn. Get into the holiday spirit without breaking the bank and contact Bryant Electric Service today for your lighting needs.

If you work in hazardous locations and conditions, you would understand the need to promote safety and ensure that the risk of explosions is reduced. It is crucial that you eliminate one or more component of the ignition triangle to minimize the chances of an explosion. The 3 protection methods listed below are widely used in hazardous locations, in the process control industry:

Before we delve a little deeper and understand these techniques, let’s take a quick look at the role electrical enclosures.

Electrical enclosures are cabinets containing different electrical components such as switches, sockets, plugs, knobs, transformers and controls. These keep the surroundings safe from any kind of electrical hazard. Such enclosures are resistant to spark and shock and they have a high tolerance to extreme temperatures. They must be used in hazardous locations as they keep an interior explosion from spreading to the external environment and damaging life and property. Let’s see how they are relevant in the Containment method of protection: