When you walk into your home at night after a long day away, what’s the first thing you always do? Switch on the lights! The lights in your home greet you every evening and they brighten up your dark, early mornings as you groggily flip the switch. So if your current lighting design does not please the eye, or if you’re installing lighting in a new home, you want an attractive and practical design to illuminate the house.

The best way to ensure your new lighting design does the job is to hire licensed electricians to properly and safely install your new system and help you decide on the ideal placement and style. Whether you want a new lighting scheme for practical purposes, or a lighting system that will be both aesthetically pleasing and functional, you need a skilled electrician to help you out with custom lighting design services. Here are a couple of reasons you should always work with licensed contractors for your new lighting.

You can look at pictures of sconces and chandeliers online or in catalogs, but nothing can bring the image to life quite like seeing these lights in person. Some lighting professionals, like the friendly people at FB Electrical Services, offer a Call FB Electrical Services or stop by to visit our showroom in Newton, MA to discuss your need for professional custom lighting design services in Brookline.

A recent study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that homes constructed within the past decade are significantly less expensive to maintain than properties that were built a generation ago. On average, the combined annual maintenance and utility costs of a home that was built in or after 2008 is roughly $241, while the same yearly price to live in a home built before 1960 is $564 a year. There is also a noticeable variance in the average operating costs of houses built during these two periods - properties constructed more recently only have operating costs of roughly 3 percent while those built before 1960 averaged 5 percent.

A large factor is the kind of plumbing, wiring and overall utility setup of a given property. Over the past several decades, streamlined construction methods and an overall "greener" sensibility among shoppers have led to the development of more energy conservative appliances and layouts that cut monthly power and plumbing costs.

For example, the federal government offers homeowners a tax credit when they replace older appliances with Energy Star-approved ones. The results are savings in both the short term, with the immediate rebate most suppliers offer, and long term when monthly utility savings are taken into consideration.

Even manufacturers must meet higher efficiency standards today than in the 1960s whether or not they are looking for an Energy Star certification.

Question:  How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer:  Only one…but the light bulb has to really WANT to change.

Maybe you’ve heard this joke before.  And, maybe you are tired of hearing light bulb jokes in general.  But, like it or not—Change is inevitable and the LED light bulb is leading the way.

Nearly a day goes by that we do not hear about light emitting diodes (LEDs) and the changes taking place in the lighting industry.

And, for good reason.  LED is changing the way we see the light.  The latest ceiling pendants, mini chandeliers, task lamps and outdoor light fixtures are accepting these new bulbs with tremendous gusto.  The lighting effects are becoming more versatile and redefining our vision of elegance.  The price of LED lamps is even coming down.

As LED light fixtures become more affordable and user-friendly, the choice of which bulb to use in your next lighting design will be clear…or frosted or soft white or blue…but it will be LED!

1.  LEDs lasts up to 50 times longer and use 80% less energy than old standard incandescent light bulbs.

2.  LEDs burn out slowly over time, so the dreaded pop and bulb blow out will be a blast from the past–something to tell your grandchildren about!

3.  LEDs radiate little to no heat and they hold up extremely well in harsh winter weather conditions.

4.  LEDs are eco-friendly; they do not contain toxic gas or emit harmful IR/UV radiation.

5.  LEDs are also referred to as “solid-state” lighting  (SSL) because they use semiconductors and are solid light sources; they are shatter-resistant and durable.

Embrace change. Learn the facts and put LED to work in your home or office environment.

√ Buy from a reputable dealer.  All LED bulbs are not created equal.  Through a process of “binning,” LED chips are sorted according to the quality and degree of luminescence.  Cheaper LED bulbs may be equipped with a lower quality chip that will not provide the brightest light and may burn out prematurely.

√ Look for Energy Star®-ratings to find LEDs of the highest quality.

Some of the latest LED innovations include designer mini pendants and ceiling fixtures from ELK Lighting.

video in which Kathleen Packard, their Healthcare Market Development Manager, discusses how some innovations in lighting can positively affect the healing process (and save energy and money). Packard describes hospitals as being historically “institutional and very uncomfortable,” and her mission is to educate the public on the “importance of design” to patient health.

intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell in the human eye, which senses light and regulates the body’s systems, including melatonin levels, which are directly related to sleep. Visa’s Amber Night Light, she says, creates ambient light that won’t disturb the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell. This allows nurses to check on patients without disturbing their sleep.

Of course, all this valuable information leads us to the problems solved by Visa Lighting’s healthcare light fixtures. Packard calls special attention to the benefits of using LED fixtures. She reminds us that LEDs are indeed a great option for hospitals because they are energy efficient and therefore save money, reducing the cost of healthcare; they render color well, which is necessary, so that doctors and nurses can accurately assess skin pallor; and, unlike fluorescent lamps, LEDs contain no mercury.