1.  Invest in a Few Strategically Placed Garden Lights–Do not over light your landscape. Be sure to check the “dark sky”* ordinances in your town so that your landscape lighting design will be within legal limits of illumination.  Try a few garden spread lights to softly highlight flowerbeds, rock gardens and sculpted shrubbery.

2.  Work It Wisely—Put the ultimate control in the palm of your hand. Whether hand-held or on automated timers, outdoor lighting controls are the utmost in energy-saving and convenience to promote safety and security effortlessly and instantly.

3.  Prepare Your Patio for the King of the Grill—Task lighting is often neglected when planning your landscape and outdoor lighting design. While aiming for subtle illumination in most backyard areas, you need shielded, but plentiful focused task light over outdoor cooking stations.  An adjustable spot light installed in a rooftop corner or an attached grill light will help you to see that your chicken is thoroughly cooked and your burgers are not too well-done.

4. Watch Your Step and Provide Shielded Path Lighting —LED path lights and strip lights are available in a variety of colors and sizes to uniquely define and expand the boundaries of your outdoor living space while providing nighttime illumination for safe navigation.

5.  Go for the Life Time Guarantee—Superb new vendors are featuring landscape lighting products guaranteed to withstand the elements and weather naturally overtime without peeling or rusting.  Check out new post lamps from Northeast Lantern–all parts, with the exception of glass, are guaranteed for life!

 Say “Happy Father’s Day!” and bring it on home. Great landscape lighting will truly make his home feel like his castle. 

 Best Landscape Lighting Finds For Summer 

Path Lighting: “Nexus,” new from Hinkley Lighting featuring LED and a Bronze finish; “Dwell”  1547 from Hinkley in a Buckeye Bronze or Hematite finish.

Garden Lights: “Intaglio” Brass Crook Neck 1543 landscape light in Olde Bronze from Kichler Lighting; Tiffany path light in Antique Bronze with Green Faux Tiffany shade (P5271) from Progress Lighting.

Grill and Wall Lights: Barn Lantern from Northeast Lantern available in a choice of unique finishes including: Antique Brass, Dark Antique Brass, Dark Brass and Verdi Gris.

Step and Deck Lighting:  LED-TO24-5 Tape Lights from WAC Lighting, available in Amber, Blue, Green, Red, and White.

 Be sure that your new outdoor lighting purchases are in keeping with the dark-sky outdoor-lighting codes in your community.

*The latest landscape light fixtures are energy efficient and in keeping with new “Dark Sky” regulations.  “Dark Sky” ordinances continue to spread across the country in an effort to reduce light pollution.  Check the latest nighttime light restrictions in your town, to make sure your outdoor and landscape lighting is in keeping with new code laws.  Call your local government’s community planning and zoning office.  Fines for violating dark-sky ordinances may cost up to $100–Consumer Digest Communications, LLC.

The emergence of shielded dark-sky-compliant fixtures makes it easy to update your landscape lighting in keeping with the new laws. In addition to being environmentally friendly, these fixtures reduce glare, and they are affordable and energy saving.

We are giving away 1 ceiling fan to a lucky winner!  Best of all, it comes with installation!  To be eligible to win you must:  Like our page and share this post.  That is it!  Winner will be drawn October 30th, 2016.  *

Fall is fast approaching.  For many its there favorite time of year.  Mild days and cool nights make it a great opportunity to open up some windows and let some fresh air in!  Ceiling fans are a great solution to move some air around.  Many modern day home layouts don’t allow for much cross ventilation depending on the window alignment.  With a ceiling fan installed it easy to get that air moving again.  A ceiling fan can even reduce your energy consumption by up to 30%!  Who wouldn’t want to save 30% on there energy cost?

A chemical free deterrent to bugs and mosquitoes can be as simple as turning on your ceiling fan.  It is a known fact that the wind reduces the amount of air born insects around you.   Also the wind dilutes and blows away the carbon dioxide you exhale.  Similar to why airplanes have trouble landing in high wind so do bugs?  They often seek protection during high winds or try to avoid them all together.

A ceiling fan should only be properly installed by a trained electrician.  We often find ceiling fans installed on plastic boxes or boxes with the wrong size screws.  Can you imagine a ceiling fan rotating at high speeds and weighting 30 to 50 pounds falling from your ceiling?  We have seen ceiling fans that have even fell on a child’s bed due to improper installation.  Thank goodness no one was hurt in that case!

A under sized ceiling fan wont be as effect as a properly sized ceiling fan.  Also, ceiling fans should be installed at a minimum of 7′ off the floor, 20-30 inches from walls and 10-18 inches from ceiling to increase there effectiveness.  Also consider features of the ceiling fan such as the light quality, remote option, and number of speeds.  As the old saying goes ” you get what you pay for” this is also true when it comes to ceiling fans.  Cheap fans are usually more wobbly, nosier, and don’t last as long.  Spend what you can afford but try not to buy the cheapest fan possible.  Search for name brands such as Casablanca, Emerson, Minka and other high quality fans.  Unless your truly a handy individual and know the electrical code when it comes to proper ceiling fan installation you should have a professional install your ceiling fan.  Contact us today to have one of our trained, trusted, and background checked electricians install your fan and put the cool back in that room!

*To be eligible for ceiling fan giveaway you must live within 20 miles of the 50325 zip code.  For installation you must currently have a ceiling fan or light fixture installed and location installation of choice.  Box supporting existing light fixture or ceiling fan must be rated for a ceiling fan.

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In many of our past electrical safety articles we have talked about electrical fires. The reason we warn homeowners so frequently about the threat of an electrical fire is because of the danger it poses to your home and your family’s lives. Electrical fires can result from poorly managed electrical wires or equipment and result in huge damages and health hazards. It’s important that you have taken the necessary steps to avoid this.

Electrical fires are fires that start as a result of electrical wires that are hot, overloaded, or sparking. Electrical wires run throughout your home, next to hundreds of feet of wood. If a circuit is overloaded or damaged it can become extremely hot and product a spark. If your circuit breaker does not detect this and fails to shut it off quickly the wires can heat up the surrounding wood structure and start a fire. The biggest problem with these types of fires is their location. The fire has now started behind the wall, out of sight. By the time the smoke is visible through outlets or vents, significant damage can already be done. By the time you notice the fire, call the fire department and they arrive to extinguish the fire, there will already by substantial damage to your home. This situation can be even worse at night while you and your family is sleeping. The fire can creep up on you and spread behind the walls before you notice. You may even find yourself in your home and unable to prevent the fire from overtaking the entire structure.

Some common causes of electrical fires are:

To prevent electrical fires ensure that your electrical circuit panel is properly organized and up to date. If your electrical panel is old and not properly organized, it will not detect overloads and do its job of protecting your home. We recommend having your home inspected every 10 years. Some problems you will not be able to identify on your own. Our electricians will be able to identify areas that need to be upgraded and brought up to code. There are some precautions that you can take on your own. Check on your appliances, electrical equipment, and extension cords to ensure they are not frayed or have exposed wiring. If you notice that one of your electrical devices is very old, it may be time to repair it. If you are not sure contact your local Expert Electric.

To schedule a home inspection or receive more information about keeping your home safe from electrical fires, contact Expert Electric at 604-681-8338. We are your neighbourhood’s electricians committed to keeping you safe.