By Clarissa Allison | May 20th, 2016

As nice as it is to have a professionally made, artisan crafted item proudly displayed in your living room, being creative and producing a work of art on your own has a unique appeal. If you need a cool project to try your hand at this weekend, take a look at the following 4 best lighting hacks you can make at home and their professional counterparts!

The Sparkleball!

The sparkleball project is a quick and easy way to create mood lighting for a party, holidays or fun and eclectic home decor. It takes just a few items that you likely already have laying around the house to create this dazzling disco ball.

The Fredrick Raymond  Twelve Light Polished Chrome Frosted Cubes Glass Up Chandelier

The Mason Jar Lantern!

Pinterest wedding boards and hipsters may be the genesis of the popularity behind the mason jar light phenomenon. It’s an easy and fun idea with beautiful results!

Professional Counterpart: The LBL Lighting 573 Mason Classic Line Voltage 120V Pendant

The Wine Bottle Candle Holder!

In this green age, upcycling items that you’d normally throw out is not only common, but expected. Check out this fun video on how to make beautiful and romantic hurricane candle holders with your empty wine bottles.

Professional Counterpart: The ELK Lighting 14040/1 Vintage 1- Light Chandelier in Dark Rust

The Spoon Lamp!

Professional Counterpart: Lite Source EL-50077 Bubbles Crystal Flush Mount Lamp in Chrome

You may not have thought about the Advantages To Wind Energy lately, but every month when you get your electric bill in the mail, you may find yourself asking, “Isn’t there a better way?”, or “How can I have lower electric bills?”  As energy costs rise, and the environmental impact of using fossil fuels to generate electricity comes into question, green energy production is becoming an increasingly valuable way to help your home or business do its part in helping the environment, and lowering those high energy costs that drain your funds each and every month.  In an effort to find newer, more sustainable forms of energy, a great opportunity has arisen in harnessing the abundant power of the wind to create electricity yourself, and lower its overall cost.

While many people are familiar with the giant wind farms scattered throughout the plains across the state of Texas, most people aren’t aware that this isn’t the only way to use wind for electricity. Local Dallas and Plano Electrician, ElectricMan Inc. is now offering something that will definitely spark your interest!

The Advantages To Wind Energy can now be felt by homeowners and business owners through more efficient, highly cost effective, and easily installed wind power generators.  Standing only five feet tall, with the capability of harnessing even a slight breeze coming from any direction, these new wind generators are a drastic improvement on the standard “Propeller Style” wind power generators that most people are familiar with.  Now you don’t need an open field or even a very windy area in order to start declaring your independence from the high costs that electric companies place on the electricity that they provide to you.

Partnered with a system like the Indoor Generator, which allows you to program the system to use stored electricity when it is most efficient for you, you can do two major things.  First, at times when you are creating more energy than you need, that energy can be funneled into a battery system and stored for your higher usage time, avoiding those peak usage premiums that power companies have put in place to raise profits and revenue. Secondly, once your stored supply of electricity is at full capacity, you can actually sell your surplus electricity back to the power company, offering you the possibility of income without any labor on your part!

Everyone is looking for a way to save money these days, so here is one more incredible Advantage To Wind Energy.  If you install a renewable energy system for your home or business before the end of 2016, your entire system is eligible for a 30% federal tax credit!

To see this amazing product in action, visit www.breezewaypower.com, or to purchase this product locally and learn more about the Advantages To Wind Energy, call your local Dallas and Plano Electrician, ElectricMan Inc. at 972-792-7270 or visit our website at www.electricmaninc.com!

We realize there are a lot of different Des Moines electricians.  However, we want you to understand what sets us apart.  Our electricians can give you an upfront price right on the job site.  That way you know exactly what the job will cost before the work begins.  We give you a set price to work within your budget so you have peace of mind.  If the job takes longer than expected it will be no additional cost for you.  When our electricians arrive at your home they will greet you with a warm smile and friendly handshake.  They are professional and courteous every step of the way.  We always work to State and National Electrical Codes so you know the job will be completed to code. Our staff is familiar with the Des Moines electrical inspectors and have a quality relationship with them built on trust and professionalism.

Is your home or property not up to code?  Give us a call and we can help.  One of our professionals can perform a minimum code update or rewire your entire home.  We can add new circuits, dedicated circuits, GFCI installations, ground an outlet, and much much more.  Maybe you want something more aesthetic?  We install LED under cabinet lighting in a home virtual everyday.  This task is a highly requested item.  We also add recessed lighting.  Recessed lighting can add general illumination or accent a wall or nich.

Have a rental property in Des Moines?  Our company handles a lot of calls for landlords needing electrical items brought up to code or repaired.  Our certified electricians are on call offering 24 hour servicing for those unexpected emergencies. We can perform a code update, panel replacement, ground an outlet, or rewire your property.  No job is to big or to small.

Highlights from Hong Kong International Light Fair (HKILF) include exciting new products for boosting energy-efficiency to new heights in home and office illumination.   As the largest autumn light fair in Asia, the HKILF introduces new items from home appliances to maintenance-free landscape lighting and novel LED products.

image from HKILF*

The Hong Kong International Light Fair continues to grow and gain recognition as the world’s most important platform for introducing novel lighting designs and new energy-enriched products.

The 16th edition of the HKILF (Autumn Edition) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre attracted 180,000 global buyers.* and was the most well-attended, as well as the biggest on record.

“Last year, the four-day event attracted 2,360 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions and produced strong visitor turn-out, with more than 38,000 buyers from 144 countries and regions in attendance.”–www.enlightenmentmag.com october 2014

Show highlights include:

• Energy-efficient, eco-friendly “LED and Green Lighting Zones” looking to meet international sustainability requirements.

• New Product Platforms

• Information Exchange Platforms

• New Trends and Styles

–LED and “green” lighting products are expected to see the highest sales growth in 2015.*

–Retail prices of LED lamps are expected to drop by 8 percent by the end of 2015.*