It’s full-on spring, and there seems to be a lot of activity in the landscape lighting world. That’s probably because landscape lighting is generally a great and affordable way to significantly improve the curb appeal of your home. Landscape lighting ideas abound on the internet, and, since it’s a popular season for landscape lights, I thought I would curate for you some of the best landscape lighting I have seen out there on the Web.

1. Wall Grazing at Its Finest

Wall grazing is a lighting technique in which light is cast up or down a wall in order to let the light and shadow play off the wall’s texture. Wall grazing works especially well on this wonderfully textured stone wall. Interesting walls like this almost demand uplights to play off their texture.

2. Cinematic Pond Beacon Situation

Very bright light on this structure in the middle of a pond creates a dramatic, almost cinematic effect. Bright uplights on the trees give some context to the attractive structure.

3. Variations on a Path

Using different styles of path light can make the walk to the house much more interesting. Never assume it’s law that all your path lights match. Mixing it up a little gives the eye a lot more to look at, and the outdoor lighting design looks more calculated, in a good way. Instead of the string of path lights that come in a pack, this is conscious design that makes every trip to the front door pleasant.

4. Variation on Variations on a Path

Another way you can break the monotony of path lighting is to place your path lights according to the visual features along the path, like plants or garden ornaments. Setting up the path lights to be spaced a little farther apart and placing them in different proximity to the path – now directly on the path, now set back near some interesting plants – leads the eye farther down the path, which creates a spectacle and gives the eye much more to admire.

5. Path Lighting without all the Path Lights

Landscape lighting doesn’t always have to include path lights. Here, adequate illumination and very attractive lighting design is achieved by uplighting trees and using downlights mounted on the house.

6. Moon Lighting: A Supernatural Experience?

Moonlighting is a technique in which lights are hidden higher up in trees to create an ambient effect. Pretty cool!

7. Under Counter Lights

One really cool outdoor lighting effect is under counter lighting. Led rope, tape, or LED tape rope hybrid can be run under the edge of counter, stone wall ledge, bar, island, or bridge to create a wonderful lighting effect. This is one application in which LED landscape lighting works really well.

8. Water + Lighting =  Awesome

What’s cooler than light fixtures giving an almost otherworldly beauty to outdoor water features? This is my personal favorite kind of landscape lighting. It just provides such a reliably relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. If your home is your sanctuary, you might want to consider this one-two-three punch of water, sound, and light.

9. Shadowy Magic

Moonlighting can also be used to create cool shadows on the path. See that light mounted up in that tree? It mimics the light of the moon, creating interesting shadows on the ground and enough ambient light to see where you’re walking. Great lighting design.

10. Lit Up Night Time Oasis

There are a lot of interesting things going on here. The space feels large and luxurious, in part because that uplight at the back draws the eye directly to the back edge of the space, making the whole spread look larger. The path lights around the perimeter draw attention to the landscaping. Of course, the star of this show is the cove lighting used around the bridge, making it look almost as if it is floating on light. Yes to this.

11. Epic Landscape Lighting in a Park

I mean, this pretty much speaks for itself. The high powered uplights illuminating the tall canopy creates an amazing effect. Not only is it beautiful, but it also represents the dual purpose of landscape lighting: To beautify and to make safer. Urban parks can be dangerous, but this one looks even more welcoming at night.

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.

As its name implies, an Arc-fault Circuit Interrupter is designed to detect electrical arcing, and turn off the current to wiring or appliances where arcing is occurring. An electrical arc occurs anytime an electric current jumps through a gap or air space between two conductors. This typically produces a visible spark or sparks. We’re all familiar with small sparks which can be seen inside electric tools and motors, and tiny sparks which may occur when we plug an electrical device into a wall outlet. Small levels of arcing are normal and benign in these places, but dangerous arcing is a different matter. Dangerous levels of arcing can involve damaged insulation, worn or broken conductors, many other electrical problems. This type of arcing is the single greatest cause for electrical fires across our continent and has resulted in hundreds of human fatalities, hundreds of thousands of fires, and billions of dollars in property damages. AFCI’s are designed to detect dangerous levels of arcing while ignoring benign occurrences. When dangerous arcing occurs, an AFCI will immediately detect this and turn off the electrical current for the affected circuit. If someone tries to reset the AFCI, and it trips again rapidly, this is typically an indicator of a larger problem.

While a GFCI is designed to detect electricity which has become shorted to ground, an AFCI is designed to detect arcing within wiring or electrical devices or appliances. AFCI units look a lot like circuit breakers and are typically located inside breaker boxes, rather than outlets. However, they are able to detect dangerous arcing conditions a breaker cannot detect. In addition, AFCIs are manufactured for circuits carrying up to 100 amps, so they can protect buildings from arcing in large equipment like stoves and central air units.

AFCIs have been developed and mandated by law to protect lives and property from electrical fires caused by arcing. However, many older homes and buildings have not been retrofitted with these devices and remain unprotected. To make matters worse, older buildings are more likely to have outdated wiring and appliances, and insulation problems and other conditions which cause arcing problems.

If you are concerned about your wiring and would like to schedule a safety inspection, call Bryant Electric Service at 512-402-8587. Our electricians are licensed and equipped to inspect electrical systems, and can determine if your home or building is sufficiently protected by AFCI protective devices.

Lights are one of the greatest things about the holidays. You’ll find them in trees, colorfully decorating home exteriors; you’ll even find them on vehicles. And honestly, we love it. Lighting is one of the keys to the spirit of the season and an integral part to this time of the year. But, as we’re all well aware, they aren’t exactly the easiest thing in the world on your energy bills.

Looking for ways to keep your holiday lighting costs at a minimum this year? With more than 25 years of experience and knowledge, we can give you a hand! Sit back, relax, and let the certified electricians at Hoffman Electrical show you some quick and simple ways to lower holiday lighting costs!

If there are two things you should never mix, its water and electricity. Water actually reduces the body’s electrical resistance. This is why you probably know to never get electrical devices wet; such as bring a radio into the shower with you. It is important to keep yourself safe in the room that has the most water in it. Here are some tips when it comes to running electricity through the bathroom.

Sometimes it can be difficult to light the bathroom properly. With minimal windows or frosted windows, the light just doesn’t come in the same. Lighting is even more important in this situation so you have proper sight to avoid any hazards. You may require ample lighting to keep everything in your bathroom visible at all times. Plus, proper lighting can make your bathroom more peaceful and relaxing.

When installing lights in a bathroom it is important to ensure that they are watertight and water proof. When you have a hot bath or a hot shower there can be a significant amount of steam. If this steam gets into the light fixture or electrical connection it can corrode the wires and increase the chance of electrical surges and fires. If you are installing new lights in your bathroom have an expert check the product and connections to ensure that you are safe.

Blow dryers, shavers, curlers – there are many electrical devices that are commonly used in the bathroom so there needs to be an electrical outlet. This can be a huge risk for electrocution if not properly placed. Electrical outlets should be on their own dedicated circuit. In the event that there is a surge or water contact, only that circuit will shut off. The outlet should also have a GFCI (grounded fault circuit interrupter). Without a grounder, electricity can escape from the device and if you are wet, this is the last thing you want. Lastly, the outlet should be near the sink for functionality, but not close enough that any wires can hang into the water.

Our bathrooms can be a place of peace and escape, but you must respect the danger of putting electricity near water. If you are looking to remodel your bathroom call in an Expert Electrician.