Have you been struggling with what feels like a lack of electricity in your home? You don’t have enough outlets and have extension cords plugged in here and there. Maybe you have to unplug appliances in the kitchen so you can use another one. Your microwave and toaster can’t run at the same time or your breaker trips. These are all major inconveniences and at times, they can pose a fire hazard. It may be time to consider an electric panel upgrade. The crew at The Electric Connection is familiar with this particular job and can get it done professionally and efficiently for you.

An electric panel upgrade is typically needed for homes that were built before the 1980s. 30 to 40 years ago and of course long before that, homes didn’t have even half of the appliances that we have today. There wasn’t a computer, television and even a mini fridge in every room. Today, we are very dependent on the gadgets that run our life and make life easier and that means we are very dependent on the electricity needed to keep them going. An electrician in California can upgrade the panel and give you the additional electricity you need to make your home run smoother.

Once the panel is upgraded to 200 amp or higher service, you can have additional outlets installed. You can have some of the outlets in the kitchen put on separate breakers so you can run your microwave, toaster and coffee maker at the same time. You will discover the upgrade truly makes your life a little easier. You may even be able to save some time in the morning and will absolutely reduce your frustration as you work around your electrical problems. Your California electrician is ready to help. Just give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your initial consultation.

It used to be that the moon and the stars were the brightest bulbs in the sky. But as anyone who’s flown across a city at night knows, these days, there are an awful lot of outdoor lights shining up from the ground.

Many people assume that an orange nighttime sky is just ugly, not harmful. But recently scientific studies have suggested that light pollution is more than an annoyance; it’s destroying wildlife, damaging human health and costing us a lot of extra money.

That’s why a growing number of cities and towns across the United States are drafting ordinances to try to bring the night sky back. They’re requiring that all new outdoor lighting fixtures that are installed – both commercial and residential – only shine light down onto the place that needs to be lit, not up into the atmosphere.

Known as the Dark Sky movement, these ordinances vary from town to town, but often the requirements are similar. No outdoor lighting fixtures can shine any light above a horizontal line. Instead, everything must shine down.

“We’re not saying you can’t have that aesthetic value, you just light it from the top down,” explains Johanna Duffek, Sections Coordinator with the International Dark Sky Association, a Tucson, AZ-based non-profit group that’s at the forefront of the movement.

Although the original purpose of The International Dark Sky Association was to keep the night sky pristine for astronomers, today the Dark Sky movement is gaining ground because more consumers are interested in reducing their energy usage, and when you’re not wasting light that’s going up into the sky, you can use a lower wattage bulb to achieve the same level of exterior lighting.

For example, if a homeowner used an outdoor sconce that had openings on the top and the bottom, he’d have to use a 100-watt bulb. But if he switches to a Dark Sky fixture that only allows light to shine from the bottom of the fixture, the homeowner could use a 40-watt bulb.

“It’s a more efficient use of light,” explains Tom Patterson, Director of Product Development at Hinkley Lighting, which already offers some Dark Sky light fixtures. “You can use a third of the wattage or half of the wattage and get the same amount of lumens.”

Patterson says consumer awareness of the Dark Sky movement is still very low, but he said awareness has been growing among local government leaders, and that is forcing the manufacturers to come out with more and more Dark Sky-friendly outdoor fixtures.

“Now in Arizona, in all the new construction, you’re going to have to meet the dark sky qualifications,” Patterson says. “It’s catching a little bit more momentum.” Hinkley, for example, advertises that it can make about 25 percent of its outdoor lighting fixtures Dark Sky compliant. Retailers are charged about $15 to $20 to change a regular fixture to a Dark Sky fixture.

Currently, there is no official government standard for a Dark Sky fixture, but the International Dark Sky Association has been in talks with the Department of Energy to incorporate the Dark Sky philosophy into the Energy Star program.

The International Dark Sky Association also independently evaluates fixtures from manufacturers and awards a seal of approval to all of those that meet its requirements.

So far, Duffek says the International Dark Sky Association has awarded Fixture Seals of Approval to 75 different lighting manufacturers, and while many of those have been commercial applications, Duffek says the organization is hoping to increase participation among residential lighting manufacturers.

Hubbardton Forge, for example, makes a sconce that has received the Dark Sky Fixture Seal of Approval that features a slate-colored ceramic shield around the light bulb that forces the light down. And the Minka Group has several outdoor lights with metal crowns that block the upward light.

Both Patterson and Duffek say the biggest resistance to Dark Sky fixtures isn’t coming from manufacturers but from homeowners who are afraid that less exterior lighting around their house will make them less safe.

But Duffek said homeowners need to understand that blocking light from going into the sky doesn’t mean blocking all exterior lighting. Duffek says the Dark Sky movement suggests homeowners buy outdoor lights with movement sensors that will go on if someone enters your yard, which can help alert you to danger and keep your energy usage down at the same time.

“When you keep the lighting on all the time, all you’re doing is lighting for the bad guys,” Duffek says.

Duffek says the biggest challenge now is to educate the public about the benefits of reducing light pollution and encouraging manufacturers to continue to design compliant fixtures.

“We always try to present it as a win, win, win solution,” she says.

Let’s face it—halogen and incandescent headlight bulbs are a thing of the past. fanless, driverless LED headlight bulbs were used in this installation.

If your vehicle allows for horizontal adjustments, mark the distance between your headlight centers with two vertical lines of tape. These lines are important for projector headlights and/or lining up beam cutoff points. Repeat these tape lines for your other headlight.

6. Remove your headlight assembly if necessary, remove the current bulbs, and install your new LED bulbs. Check your owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to replace your headlight bulbs.

7. Depending on your vehicle, you may have to adjust your headlight beam before or after the assembly has been reinstalled. Your owner’s manual will explain how to adjust the beams. Align each headlight so that the top edge of the beam is at the same height as your horizontal line(s). If your headlights can be adjusted horizontally or produce two light cutoff points, use the vertical tape lines to align them properly.

3. Shake the vehicle to ensure that your suspension system is settled. For more precise adjustments, inflate all tires to their designated psi capacity and have someone sit in the driver’s seat. Also, make sure that your vehicle’s gas tank is at least half full.

4. Measure from the ground to the center of your headlight assembly where the bulb is located. This step must be done for all vehicles. If your vehicle allows for horizontal headlight adjustments in addition to vertical adjustments, it’s important that you also measure the distance between the centers of both headlight bulbs. The vehicle featured in this video allows for vertical headlight adjustments only; therefore, center lines aren’t necessary but are shown for demonstration purposes.

5. Turn on your low-beam headlights. Using painter’s tape, mark your headlight measurements on a flat wall. Measure from the ground up, and apply a horizontal line of tape to the wall; this line represents the top of your headlight beam. You can either apply one long, continuous line or small sections where the brightest areas of the headlight beams are shown.

If your vehicle allows for horizontal adjustments, mark the distance between your headlight centers with two vertical lines of tape. These lines are important for projector headlights and/or lining up beam cutoff points.

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.

Clearance Sale –Up to 70% off of Overstock, Brand Name Lighting

Shop clearance lighting and get up to 70% off of overstock, brand name lighting at Capitol Lighting retail showrooms and 1800lighting.com! Throughout the year our top brands are making available exclusively to Capitol hundreds of top selling overstock and clearance lighting. We are thrilled to be offering these items to our Capitol Lighting customers at discounts as steep as 70 percent off! Quantities are limited on all items tagged as clearance lighting and are available while supplies last. Find clearance lighting at unbeatable prices every day in our showrooms and online and save big on brand name lighting from top manufacturers. No need to sacrifice quality for cost when you shop clearance lighting at 1800lighting.com.

Shop ceiling fans, outdoor lighting and so much more in our clearance section online. Overstock and clearance lighting is sold as FINAL SALE and are not eligible for return.

See complete Product Return Information for Details.