Top Dallas Electrician, we know that whether you are remodeling, or starting fresh, some of the most versatile lighting options available are recessed can lighting, and pendant lighting. These types of lighting offer you the most flexibility, and the most visible improvement over unsightly light fixtures installed throughout your home.

Recessed can lighting allows you to fill a room with light, or highlight a particular area depending on your needs, and pendant lighting can accent a space beautifully such as a kitchen island, bar style counter, or eating area. Using these lighting styles in conjunction can help you recreate anything from a clean, modern kitchen, to a comfortable living room, or an elegant dining area, and anything else in between!

On the topic of commercial lighting and products, we often hear the term Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP for short), which is a non-profit that was founded back in 1996. There general mission is to accelerate the adoption of higher efficiency lighting within the world of commercial lighting products.

In conjunction with DLC, there is a group known as the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC). There general purpose is to support the mission of the DLC through education, collaboration, and expertise within the field.

So far you can probably start to notice that the DLC is basically all about efficient commercial lighting. But what role are they actually playing within the commercial lighting products industry? Well, the DLC runs something known as the Energy Star, but DLC is all about commercial products where Energy Star is more about consumer products.

On this Qualified Product List provided by the DLC, you can search up products by certain companies that claim to be DLC certified to confirm that they truly are.

While searching through this database, you may notice that some products are listed as “DLC Standard” and some as “DLC Premium.” Do you know which is better? You guessed it, the DLC Premium! The reason that a product being listed as premium rather than just standard is that to be qualified as premium you have to pass even harsher and more strict guidelines. Do you know what that means? It means even more efficient lighting fixtures for those products that have successfully been listed as DLC Premium.

Want to give it a test and see for yourself how this QPL works? Follow these simple steps:

1. Visit extremely helpful link over on the official DLC website that go’s over everything you need to become listed, standard or premium. As you can see on the official DLC website, becoming DLC Premium is only for the most efficient and quality lighting products.

Have you ever noticed a small spark when you plug an appliance into an outlet? This may be normal or it could be cause for concern, depending on the size and frequency of the electrical outlet sparking. It’s important to recognize the difference between a normal spark and a dangerous one—as well as possible causes for outlet sparking—so you can pursue an electrical repair if necessary.

The supply line that carries electricity through your home measures about 115 to 240 volts with a frequency of 60 hertz. In layman’s terms, this means the flow of electricity runs very fast and hot through the wires behind your walls.

Electrical outlets tap into this fast-flowing stream of electricity, powering everything from your lamps to your laptops to your coffee maker. A small blue spark arcing from the outlet to the plug can occur as the appliance suddenly draws amperage and electrons begin to flow through the cord. Once the flow steadies, the spark should disappear. This type of electrical outlet sparking is completely normal and comparable to static electricity.

Electricity generates heat as it travels through wires. Insulation surrounding a wire may begin to melt, exposing the bare wire. If it comes in contact with the metal outlet casing or even another wire, electrons can leap out of the wire and create a dangerous spark. This is called short circuiting and could cause an electrical fire if not repaired promptly.

Short circuits may be caused by a number of things, including old outlets with loose connections and too many appliances being plugged into the same outlet via a power strip or extension cord.

Water and electricity don’t mix. That’s why bathrooms should have special outlets called ground fault circuit interrupters (GCFIs). These outlets automatically shut down the circuit when they detect water, which can help prevent electrocution and house fires. If the bathrooms in your home have ordinary outlets, you should have an electrician replace them with GCFIs.

If you’ve had an electrical problem in the past, you may have attempted to perform a repair yourself or used a cheap electrician. Electrical wiring can be extremely dangerous if you don’t the proper licensing and qualifications and lead to potentially serious issues, electrical outlet sparking being just one of them. Fortunately, a professional electrician can undo the damage and make your outlets safe to use once again.

When you need a repair for electrical outlet sparking, Kolb Electric is the company for the job. We hire only licensed, fully qualified electricians to handle important outlet wiring repairs in your Maryland, Virginia or Washington DC home.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment or call 877-287-1179 to have an emergency electrician sent straight to your home.

Los Angeles is undertaking a quiet revolution, a switchover to electric cars. This is a revolution that promises bluer skies and greater freedom from foreign oil. At this writing, the Middle East is involved with its own, noisier revolutions, and the stock market is tumbling thanks to perennial shakes over skyrocketing oil prices. Everybody who wants to be independent of foreign oil right now, raise your hands!

Getting back to the other revolution, the quiet one, going on in Los Angeles… car makers and dealers, drivers, and electrical contractors are all involved in a switchover to electric vehicles (EVs). The government is backing it with tax credits and rebates. More on that in later posts.

In December 2010, Nissan started selling an electric car in L.A., the Nissan Leaf. Early this year, G.M. will start selling the electric Chevy Volt. This revolution isn’t confined to L.A. – all along the West Coast and some of the East Coast, deliveries of EVs to new owners are starting. But L.A. is out ahead of a lot of the rest of the country. The Leaf and Volt won’t go on sale, for example, in South Carolina until next December. Pike Research, a transportation analysis firm, has projected that only New York City will beat us out in electric vehicle sales. Pike Research projects 96,000 EVs will be sold in L.A. by 2017. Of course, EV sales could move faster if the price of gas shoots past projected levels.

Both the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt will be priced for middle income families. As electrical contractors in Los Angeles, we’ve already started installing chargers, including in home garages, apartment buildings, and commercial venues.

The Leaf is all-electric with an average range of 100 miles before its battery needs to be recharged. The Volt is a hybrid. With a fully charged battery, it can drive about 35 miles and then, it starts burning gas. Drivers can recharge their Leaf or Volt batteries by pulling out their special cord called a “Level 1 Charger” and plugging it into an outlet that carries regular house current.

The advantage of Level 1 charging is that it’s simple and inexpensive to set up. Hire an electrician to install a circuit in your garage or carport. It will need to be a dedicated circuit, meaning that no other appliances, like a washer, for example, will use it. The outlet will need to be the safety version usual in garages and outdoors (a GFI outlet). Also, your electrician will need to check whether your electrical panel should be upgraded in size to handle the increased power demand. Once the outlet is installed, the EV driver pulls out the Level 1 charging cord that comes with the car, starts charging, and lets the car sit … for a long time.

Level 1 charging is… well, slow. A Chevy Volt battery takes 10 hours from empty to full; a Nissan Leaf takes 20 hours. But help is on the way – Level 2 charging. More on that in my next post or click here for our article which talks about Level 2 Charging.

And did I mention that The Electric Connection website offers $25 off your first electrical job? Plus coupons for Whole House Surge Protectors and other services? Check it out.