One of the easiest ways to increase your home’s security and beauty is to install outdoor lighting. By combining beautiful outdoor lights with your home’s landscaping, you can increase the value of your home while creating a gorgeous outdoor area that you can enjoy at any time of the day. But what outdoor lights are the best? Let the electrical experts at Kolb Electric help.

Like everything, it depends on what you’re looking for with your outdoor lighting. Do you want security for your home, or landscaping? These questions will point you toward not only what style lights you need, but how bright your lights should be.

When you choose to use outdoor lighting for security, you can go in two different directions. You can either:

If you’re choosing to install outdoor lighting for landscaping purposes, it’s important to keep these few things in mind:

Kolb Electric offers outdoor lighting that will increase your home’s:

Beauty – landscape lighting can be used to showcase interesting features in your home’s architecture or your yard! At Kolb Electric, we can design and install outdoor lighting that will illuminate and call attention to your landscape at night. Landscape lighting is a fully customizable way to improve the look of your house after the sun goes down, particularly if you enjoy entertaining or you want to improve your home’s curb appeal.

Security – dark spots in and around your yard can be dangerous, particularly if they are around entry points into your home. With low-voltage landscape lighting, you can shine a light on potential problem areas in your home and deter intruders late at night!

Safety – in addition to keeping your home safe from intruders, low-voltage outdoor lighting can make walking around your yard safer. It can be used to light up stairways, paths, etc. to prevent tripping and injuries.

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are good substitute to the now being banned incandescent lamps. It is more energy efficient and lasts longer than its counterpart. CFLs are more expensive because the price includes the disposal fee. It was introduced in North America in mid 1990s. Although it is more energy efficient than the incandescent lamps, its composition makes its disposal complicated. CFLs are known to contain mercury which is a very serious threat to the environment once disposed improperly. Mercury functions as the vapor inside the glass tubing of CFLs. Usually CFLs contains around 3-5 mg of Mercury; some have it as low as 1 mg. In essence, Mercury is utilized as vapor in a phosphor tube, which when electricity pass through, it produces short-wave UV (ultraviolet light) which causes the phosphor to fluoresce, therefore making visible light.

Mercury or Hydrargyrum or quicksilver is a liquid metal with a symbol Hg. Mercury is a poisonous chemical that can be derived from major deposits as cinnabar or mercuric sulfide, the reason for vermilion, the red pigment responsible for the reddening of the soil. The poisonous substance can be ingested or inhaled mercury vapor or by eating mercury contaminated fish. Mercury poisoning which is also known as mercurialism or hydrargyria is the disease that can be derived from exposure to mercury or its components. Acrodynia, Hunter Russell syndrome and Minamata disease are among the list of those mercury related diseases. It affects body senses such as impaired vision, hearing and speech. Disturbed sensation and lack of body coordination are also among the symptoms.

Imagine the world full of mercury-filled CFLs, time will come that the number one cause of human fatality is mercury poisoning. Steps are being taken into account for the eradication of CFLs. By the year 2015, the government of the United States of America will implement the banning of use of CFLs to stop the possible exposure to mercury. Although it is expected that many users of CFL will stop this banning procedure, a lot of informative measures are being given to the public to further understand why the government is pursuing this act.

When this thing comes into action and given that the incandescent bulbs will as well be phased-out, what can substitute CFLs as lighting solution? Majority are thinking that LED lamps are the next thing to be on the spot light to cater all the lighting requirement of the world.

LED lamps can be considered a viable means as alternative to the prevailing lighting system which are expected to be obsolete in the years to come. LED lamps are a lot more beneficial to employ than those two. Imagine the comfort one can have if for a long time, around 10 – 13 years, he will not be thinking of replacing bulbs and maintaining it. Additionally, LED lamps are comparatively using very low energy and still can give-out the equivalent brightness and luminance compared to its counterpart. Considering the price of purchasing LEDs, one just have to consider LED lighting as an investment that will definitely pay-off in the years to come.

Ample information should have to be distributed to further inform the public regarding the practical benefits of choosing LED bulbs over the other lighting options available today.

The energy consumed by a single building or business can prove to be a huge overhead cost, especially for those buildings of a much larger size.

Starting the initiative to reduce energy consumption is becoming more and more common as the benefits become more and more clear. The benefits of reducing energy consumption is often times for one major reason, and that is to reduce overhead costs. By making switches (such as those listed here), you could realize a 50% or more reduction in overall energy usage in your facility.

Sound interesting? Learn how you can do that with the tips below…

 

 

Whatever lighting technology you have right now, if it isn’t LED, then you are probably consuming more energy than you have to be when it comes to your lighting system.

By converting to LED from a technology like fluorescent, you will easily realize a 30% reduction (on average) in energy consumption from your lights. Now, if you have lights such as metal halide or HPS (often used outside or in high ceiling lights), then you could realize even greater savings (by up to 75%)! This, in and of itself, can prove to be a major way to reduce energy usage in your buildings.

 

 

facility manager is, but it’s just a fact. Think, who knows more; someone who works with all the equipment everyday or someone who overlooks said worker? Probably the former, and that’s okay! But, just remember to ask them to be on the lookout for things and get them on-board with your efforts to reducing energy in your building. It will help a lot with your efforts!

 

Planting save energy in your building, but they are definitely the huge players that eat up a lot of energy. By changing just these 9 things, you will be able to put your efforts to the highest reward type initiatives.

Once you’ve switched these major energy consumers, you can then work on smaller areas of your building that are inefficient, just not as much as these 9 things.

 

What is one thing not listed here that you find to be a huge energy consumer? Comment it down below so we are all aware of it!

The use of electricity undeniably increases during winter and this makes it inevitable to remain extra vigilant when it comes to electrical safety. As winter approaches several power issues crop up due to strong winds, snowfall and heavy rains. Accidents involving electricity can prove to be extremely fatal and also have financial repercussions. Fortunately if you take a few precautions; it is possible to stay safe and comfortable indoors.

As the cold and snowy season approaches, you have little room for mistakes. Simple things like checking the overhead lines outside your house for clearance to ensuring that electric panels are covered, will keep your home protected from high power surges and electrical hazards that threaten life and property with