We are very proud of our LED Retrofit Kits – DesignLights Consortium came out with a new standard, Version 4, that allowed the most efficient LED Retrofit Kits a higher efficiency category. So be careful, there is no need to purchase DLC Standard LED Retrofit Kits when there are DLC Premium Qualified LED Retrofit Kits available. And this is important, because the more efficient the product is, the more you save. And the savings don’t end there. The whole reason for the more efficient standard was to offer larger utility rebates at time of purchase.

So you save 2 ways: potentially at time of purchase and over the life of the product. Let’s do the math, because the numbers don’t lie.

Lately, I have been coming across lots of photos of cool applications of kitchen track lighting. So this week I thought I would share some of my favorites with you. I hope you find some inspiration below. Or, if not, I hope you at least enjoy seeing how relevant via Pinterest (Marcia Moore)

It’s not a huge, luxurious kitchen. It is something better: Real. Track lighting functions to illuminate kitchen tasks while accenting the wall. All is taken care of with one fixture. It’s the perfect solution in this kitchen full of well-used space.

2. For Gigantic Kitchens, Too

The lighting design pictured above calls attention to the right angles in the kitchen. It’s a metropolitan look that gives the room a sense of cohesion. Track lighting like this can also be used in kitchens with exposed beams. Using tracks to cross gaps or grades in the ceiling can be really cool.

4. Pendants and Spots, Spots and Pendants

Another new trend in kitchen track lighting is the flexible track. While this kind of track is generally not malleable by hand, a special track bending tool allows you to create a custom shape. I’m not sure who bent the track above into that nice curve, but it sure looks good in this real-life kitchen, which is complete with baby pictures on the fridge.

6. Wire Track Lighting

Kitchens like the one above make you see the brilliance of modern design. To put it simply, this kitchen is beautiful work of art, from the brushed metal ceiling to the glass tile to the granite to the smooth top range. To the track lighting! Can I hang out in here? FOREVER?! Muah ha ha. Ahem. Moving on.

7. Very High Ceiling

These very bright track lights look great with their blue glass shades. And they are task-oriented lights, a clear choice for the chef of the house. The aesthetic and functional dualism embodied by kitchen track lighting echoes the aesthetic/functional dualism of the culinary arts. It provides something you need and looks good while it does it.

9. Pendants Done Right

And here we have a lovely kitchen island situation. Notice that the island is dynamic. There’s a gas range for the chef and chairs for the kids. Quite a lot going on. So they had to be very deliberate and smart about the lighting. These white pendants are perfect. What was once utilitarian is now elegant – even graceful.

10. Kitchen Track Lighting Mash Up

Here we have a kitchen doing it all with track lighting. There are spot lights, pendants, and it’s even on a curved monorail. These contribute warm light to a comfortable environment, and they go well with the chandelier. Win.

11. Stunningly Wrong

Chances are that you must be one of those home owners who only looks at your circuit breakers when you happen to trip the circuit in your house and have to reset the switch to restore your power right? The truth is that a circuit breaker is actually a safety device rather than a simple on/off switch.

Bryant Electric Service was recently inundated with calls the morning after a strong wind/thunderstorm blew through Austin.  This happens every time.  Although many calls were customers needing their power restored after tree limbs took down their overhead power line, there were also many calls wanting our service techs to come out to check their whole electrical system because of nearby lightning strikes damaging many of their home appliances and electronic devices.

With the enormous amount of electronics that are now being installed in almost every device that can be plugged into any power or phone/data outlet, it has become evident that having whole house power/data surge protection installed is imperative.

When lightning strikes it creates a huge static electrical field that, like the bolt itself, seeks the easiest path of least resistance to the ground.  The easiest path for this static current is your overhead electrical and phone/cable lines that run up and down your street and all of which connect directly to your house.  When this happens, it destroys the very delicate, low voltage instruments that are now installed in most appliances:  refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, oven, coffee makers, washer/dryer, A/C and furnace, thermostat, garage door opener, sprinkler system control, etc.  These are all affected by power surges going throughout your electrical wiring system.  Then there are your TVs, computers, modem, hand-held charging devices, VCR, TV signal box, Bluetooth and your telephone, if you still have one, and these are all affected by the power surge through your phone/data cables.

If you are interested in receiving a cost estimate to have this protection installed in your house, please contact us at Bryant Electric Service and one of our dispatchers will be happy to help you.

As summer comes to an end, so do those long days and short nights. Now, when you head to work in the morning or the kids go off to school, there is a pretty good chance the sun is just barely breaking the horizon. Although we move are clocks back to make the best of the short winter days, it isn’t enough and we need extra security lighting to make sure we are coming and going with plenty of light brightening our paths. A Burbank electrician can help you enhance the safety of your family’s comings and goings by installing security lights. The Electric Connection has a team of qualified electricians to make this happen.

You have several choices when it comes to picking the right security lighting for your home. Solar lighting is really not an ideal option for the short winter days. While it works great for summer nights, you will want to have something a little more reliable. Electric pathway lights are perfect for illuminating the path between the door and driveway and can be set up on a timer to come on when you need them. Another option is the mounted security light. This can be put up to illuminate a driveway, the pathway to the door or a dark area in your landscaping. This particular type of light is much brighter and can spread light over a large area.

These will need to be installed by an electrician. Burbank homeowners can choose to have these lights on a timer, a manual switch or the common motion-detector system. The timers and motion-detection systems are a little more energy efficient and prevent the light remaining on when it isn’t needed. If you would like to learn more about your options for security lighting, give The Electric Connection a call today.