With Valentine’s Day edging past and Random Acts of Kindness Day coming up this February 17th, have you given any thought to how helpful your recent actions have been to your bottom line?

Lighting accounts for approximately 5-10 percent of total energy use. Simply turning off the lights in unoccupied rooms can save a great deal. Multiply that savings times thousands of households, and you’re taking part in a huge random act of kindness for planet earth.  

One of the simplest energy savings tips is caring for your water heater by wrapping it up in an insulated blanket, and it can help you save $20 for gas and $50 for electric heaters annually. Setting it to 120 degrees also boosts energy savings and improves safety.

When temperatures are extreme, be thoughtful about your thermostat settings. Adjust accordingly: 68 degrees in the winter, 78 degrees in the summer. Turning your thermostat down 10-15 degrees for 8 hours a day can save you up to 10 percent on heating and cooling costs. Upgrade to a programmable thermostat to make it a simple, automated task.

Another one of the simplest energy saving tips - turn off computers and other devices when not in use. Leaving your PC constantly running could be unkind to your wallet – to the tune of over $100 a year.

Many of the devices we use daily ruthlessly consume electricity, even when they’re switched off. This vampire power consumption can be curtailed with the help of point-of-use surge protection. Rather than unplugging each item individually, with the flip of a button, power to every device plugged into a surge protector is simply and easily terminated. A perfectly humane way to cut off unnecessary power consumption.

Surge protection can also safeguard your checkbook from the hazards of excess energy. Whole house surge protection adds an integral layer of security against budget-busting power surges that can quickly zap your expensive electronics. Be considerate of your wallet. The cost of replacing a single large home appliance such as a TV or hot water heater could cost you twice the expense of an investment in whole house surge protection. Find out how much professionally installed surge protection can save you from getting zapped with a free in-home quote from Mr. Electric®.    

Looking for a few more energy saving tips to protect your pocketbook? Treat your home and your budget to a little kindness with the loving care of Mr. Electric today.

Take advantage of Custom Electrical Services and there partnership with MidAmerican EnergyAdvantage® Trade Ally Partner program.  Receive a free in business assessment on your current lighting.  Let us do the leg work and show you the HUGE savings.  Take advantage of the most current rebates available for your business.  Go green and receive some green at the same time!  LED is here to stay so start saving today!

LED lighting (Light Emitting Diode) is dramatically more efficient than standard fluorescent lighting.  With T12 fluorescent lamps drawing as much as 40 watts per lamp, LED lamps currently can draw as little as 18 watts per lamp.  That’s over a 50% reduction in energy when compared to a standard T12 lamp!  Not only do you get a 50% reduction in energy cost you can save on cooling cost too!  When replacing LED lamps with standard incandescent, high pressure sodium, and mercury vapor lights the new LED lamps DRAMATICALLY reduce the amount of heat produced.

Not only does the LED lamp save you money in energy cost you can also reduce your maintenance cost!  Currently LED lamps can last as much as 50,000 hours which is a much longer life span when compared to a standard lamp.  Paying a maintenance worker to change lamps can be expensive.  Especially for hard to reach areas that require large ladders or specialized equipment to reach the lamp needing replaced.  Even worse is having unqualified staff change your lamps.  Having unqualified people perform this task can lead to electrical shock, falls, or other injuries.

Contact us today and start saving!  Custom Electrical Services will come to your business and perform a free no obligation assessment.  We have replaced THOUSANDS of fluorescent lamps with the new LED in and around the Des Moines area the past year alone.  Businesses are starting to notice the advantages of LED and the amount of volume has gone up dramatically since!  Call today and schedule your assessment and take advantage of our MidAmerican EnergyAdvantage® Trade Ally Partnership.Thank you and look forward to hearing from you soon!

National Boss Day was first proposed in 1958 by Patricia Bays Haroski, an employee at State Farm Insurance Company, who registered the holiday with the United States Chamber of Commerce. Haroski chose October 16th, her father’s birthday, as a day to express appreciation for bosses and promote good relationships between employees and supervisors.

Today, National Boss Day is celebrated in the United States and in other countries, including Australia, India, and South Africa.

In honor of National Boss Day, Capitol Lighting is offering promotional pricing home and office lighting.  And, Capitol Lighting’s consultants will provide expert advice to help you design the most efficient and effective work environment with beautiful Hubbardton Forge lighting pieces.

Think about it:  You spend a majority of your waking hours at the office; doesn’t it make sense to invest in a great lighting design to increase job satisfaction and productivity?  More than creating a pleasant atmosphere, top quality office lighting will increase accuracy of performance, minimize fatigue and eye strain, and be both energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

The key to great office lighting is to provide plentiful illumination, while eliminating glare and shadows.

Capitol Lighting Reveals the Glaring Truth and Offers Tips to Being the Boss of Your Office Lighting Environment

When designing office lighting, you must first understand the glaring truth.

Capitol Lighting’s 5 Keys to Successful Office Lighting Illumination:

Light Up the Boss with Capitol Illumination!

“By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be the boss and work twelve hours a day. – Robert Frost

October 16th is National Boss Day, and Capitol Lighting would like to celebrate the best working relationships with promotional pricing on the latest illuminations.  Show your appreciation and shower your boss with the latest lighting innovations and decorative accessories to add style and sophistication to the workplace.

Enjoy excellent promotional values on famous designer lighting and accessories, including new concepts from Hubbardton Forge lighting:

-The “After Hours” collection: Employing energy-efficient fluorescent illumination, these sconces, wall lights, and mini pendants are available in a choice of finishes with opal or stone glass.

-The “Current” collection:  Simplistic, yet stunningly captivating, this 4-light single tier chandelier is available in 6 different finishes and 4 glass options.

-The “Metamorphic” collection:  Adjustable base table lamps available in 5 finishes.  Complete and customize your design with a variety of outstanding shade options.

-The “Reflections” collection:  Wall sconces available in many finish and glass options to provide beautifying accent illumination.

-The “Rook” collection:  Mirrors, floor lamps and table lamps in a variety of finishes including black, natural iron, burnished steel and mahogany.  Lamps are Energy Smart to provide the most energy-efficient illumination.

-The “Taper” collection-Traditional torchiere lamp bases in choice finishes.  Uniquely designed glass shades are available in an array of colors including topaz, blue haze and amber art.

-The “Down Willow” collection:  Rustic desk and floor lamps featuring a naturally clean design in choice finishes.  Elegant shade options include textures and colors in doeskin, white linen, tea crinkle, black parchment and sage.

Often overlooked and underestimated in its power, superior office lighting creates an optimal work environment. Visit a Capitol Lighting showroom to view the latest innovations for home and office.  Surprise your boss with outstanding illumination.  Desk lamps, floor lamps and mirrors are on sale now, and office lighting experts at Capitol will help custom design the perfect gift!

As a business owner, it is important to reduce your energy emissions as much as possible. You can easily make a conscious effort to do this by reducing packaging, using sleep mode on all your electronic devices and shutting down everything at the end of the business day. Another good way to reduce your emissions and your electricity bills is to use LED fixtures in your buildings, offices, and even parking lots.

Here’s how businesses around the world are taking a step towards reducing their environmental impact using commercial LED lighting.

There are a number of reasons why LED lights make a better choice for the environment and sustainability. The lifespan of a LED bulb is up to 80,000 hours, whilst halogen bulbs are only estimated to last between 2000-6000 hours. The bulbs also gradually lose lumen output at a rate which is almost undetectable to the human eye, in comparison to a metal halide or halogen bulb which fluorescent strip lights to LED tubes, the first thing they will notice is that there is no waste disposal required. Due to the chemicals in fluorescent lights, waste disposal or Light Supplier in the UK. Leila is a Public Relations graduate from Sheffield Hallam University.