As any good business owner knows, the very first impression you give to the public is everything. When it comes to your office space, your showroom / shop / etc., you’ll need to make that impression count for all it’s worth. One thing that you can do to really make your spaces pop is something that any electrician in Beverly Hills would recommend: custom interior lighting. There are so many possibilities when it comes to customizing commercial lighting, and the budget required for this type of upgrade is often easily within the reach of most business owners. Without much fuss or expense, business owner’s can begin to enjoy the benefits of custom lighting in their building.

What sort of lighting you choose for your business space depends largely on the type of business that you operate. If you are a retailer of fine products such as jewelry or antique furniture, you might choose to have a chandelier installed by a local electrician. Beverly Hills custom lighting specialists would all agree that this type of classical lighting will really set off your wares and help potential customers view them from a totally different perspective.

In contrast, if you own a furniture or home goods store, modern track lighting might be a better idea. The bright lighting and sleek look that it provides will compliment the look and feel of your products. Another option that you might want to go with is recessed lighting. This type of stylish lighting will illuminate your store in a different, yet innovative way.

The Electric Connection, your licensed Beverly Hills electrical contractor, would be happy to assist you with such a project. You can feel free to give us and call and ask us about what sorts of fixtures we would suggest for your custom lighting project, as well as where the fixtures should be installed, and approximately how much it will cost.

Are you excited about getting started on the lighting for your business? If you are ready to get started soon, visit TheElectricConnection.com and get in touch with us for a phone consultation today. The Electric Connection is ready to help you complete your lighting project, and make you proud of your home or business’ new look!

Geeks everywhere rejoice. July 13 is “Embrace Your Geekness Day,” a day that allows geeks to show off their knowledge of video games and technology.  The word “geek,” as defined by Merriam Webster, is “an enthusiast or expert in a technological field or activity.” To celebrate “Embrace Your Geekness Day,” Mr. Electric has five old technologies modern geeks should be thankful for.

Ever since being patented by Alexander Graham Bell as an “apparatus for transmitting vocal or other sounds telegraphically” in 1876, the telephone soared as a must-have technological household item. The invention of the telephone, along with computer technology, eventually led to the invention of the smart phone. Geeks everywhere can thank Bell for their latest app.

The original purpose of the modern computer was to carry out mathematical and logical operations automatically. The year 1939 brought about the first electric computer for routine use.  In 1973 computers with graphical interfaces, keyboards and a mouse were sold commercially. Research and development allowed for several other uses of computers. By the mid 1990s, home computers became commonplace, and a surge of web users began after 1994.

The first generation video game consoles appeared in the 1950s but could not be connected to home televisions. In 1972, Magnavox released the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game system. Future generations would bring about the Atari, Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation and Xbox, leading tech geeks to celebrate over saving Princess Peach and conquering Tetris.

Although originally sold in low numbers, televisions have been commercially available since the late 1920s. Black and white consoles were the norm until 1972, when color television sales overtook black and white console sales. Continued research and development over the years have seen an increase in screen sizes, flat technology and exponential increases in picture and sound quality.

The Internet is one of the most influential developments to help people get their geek on. Research commissioned by the Federal Government in the 1960s led to the present day Internet. The first message sent via the Internet was between UCLA and Stanford University in 1969. Evolving from there, the Internet would enter homes, schools and businesses by the mid 1990s. Mr. Electric encourages you to embrace your geekness on July 13 and give thanks to all of the tech geeks who came before you.

Insect Vision: Ultraviolet, Color, and LED Light, Marianne Shockley Cruz and Rebecca Lindner from the University of Georgia’s Department of Entomology write, “Experimental work supports the idea that color perception exists in insects and that they are especially responsive to the shorter wavelengths of the visible spectrum and UV light.” Wavelengths are measured in nanometers, and shorter wavelengths of light (less than 550 nanometers) can indicate ultraviolet (UV), blue, or green colors. Cruz and Lindner also cite work that confirms the correlation between UV light from the sun and moon and how certain bugs navigate Earth. Another point to remember about bugs is that certain types, such as mosquitoes, are attracted to heat and have thermal receptors to help them find it. All of this information is helpful for determining why bugs flock to certain light sources.

The color that is emitted from a light source is important because of its ability to attract bugs. As previously stated, shorter wavelengths (UV, blue, and green light) are more visible to bugs than longer wavelengths (yellow, orange, and red light) and, therefore, will draw them closer. Incandescent, compact fluorescent (CFL), halogen, and high-intensity discharge (HID) lights emit UV radiation that is attractive to bugs, and since certain types of bugs navigate by UV light from the sun and moon, a closer, brighter source of UV light can disrupt their orientation and draw them in. LEDs produce very little to no UV light, which makes them less visible to bugs. However, it is still possible for an LED bulb to produce shorter wavelengths of light (bluish-white/cool white color), which will be more attractive to bugs. Therefore, when browsing for LED lights that will attract less bugs, it’s important to choose a fixture that emits more wavelengths that are above 550 nanometers, such as warm white, ultra warm white, or yellow lights.

CCT) instead of nanometers, it’s easy to tell if the bulb will be more or less visible to bugs. CCT is measured in Kelvin (K), and different temperatures on the Kelvin scale represent different colors. An LED bulb with a CCT below 3600K will emit warm or ultra warm white light that’s not easily seen by bugs. Bulbs with CCTs of 3600K and above will emit natural or cool white light that is more likely to attract bugs.

Incandescent, halogen, CFL, and HID bulbs waste most of the energy they consume—as much as 90 percent—in the form of heat. Bugs with thermal receptors can sense the heat released by these light sources. LED bulbs produce a minuscule amount of heat, which makes them less appealing to bugs.

Bug lights are simply light bulbs with a yellow coating that decreases the color temperature of emitted light. Because of the coating, bulbs will emit a peak wavelength of light that is around 550-600 nanometers. However, you don’t need a yellow-coated bulb to reduce the presence of bugs. LED lights that emit warm-colored illumination, such as yellow malibu light bulbs for landscape applications, or From top left to bottom right: incandescent bug light, yellow LED strip lights, yellow LED malibu light bulb installed in landscape fixture, and gold-tint LED filament bulbs

Ecologist Michael Justice performed an experiment to determine the type of residential light that attracts the least amount of bugs. He used six lighting types inside of an insect trap each night during the summer. Justice also made efforts to equalize the effects of weather and the moon’s irradiance. His LED Z-Bug Bulb™ from NEBO is a bug zapper and an LED bulb in one. The bulb emits white illumination from its top and ultraviolet (UV) light from its caged center. The UV light attracts mosquitoes and other insects toward the bulb’s high-voltage electric grid and kills them on contact.

Because different types of bugs see different wavelengths, it is never guaranteed that an LED light won’t attract them. However, most bugs are attracted to short wavelengths of light and are especially drawn to UV light; they can see it better, and some use it for navigation. Bulbs that emit more short wavelengths of light (cool white/bluish color) will attract more bugs. Lights that emit a majority of longer wavelengths (yellow/orange/red colors) are less visible. Heat can also draw bugs into an area. LED lights produce little to no UV light and a minuscule amount heat, which makes them less attractive to bugs—so long as they emit longer wavelengths of light.