If chosen wisely, kitchen island lights take center stage and bring star quality to this multipurpose “heart-of-the-home” station.

From classic and traditional to clean and contemporary, island lighting makes a world of difference, enhancing the appeal and function of your kitchen space.  Over the breakfast bar or full service cooking station, island light fixtures and lighting controls should create balance and deliver a blend of general/ambient, task and accent illumination.

1.  Opt for energy-efficient task light with CFL (compact fluorescent) or LED (light emitting diode) pendant lamps centered over the island workstation.  Updated CFL and LED lamps are dimmable and available with improved color-rendering and color temperature.  Look for bulbs with a CRI (color rendering index) of at least 80 (100 is perfect color rendition) and CCT (Correlated color temperature) between 2700K and 3500K.

2.  Look for shielded, but focused illumination. Light sources should be non-glaring to provide even, shadow-free illumination.

Fuses and circuit breakers are part of any home or business that has electricity. These devices are extremely important to your safety, but what exactly are they?

It can be easy to take the technology around us for granted, and that includes the collection of strange switches in that metal box in the basement you never mess around with. You might have heard something about a “tripped circuit” or a “blown fuse,” possibly around the time the air conditioner shut off when someone plugged in a new appliance. But you might not be clear on what exactly these terms mean. Read on as we uncover the mysteries surrounding fuses and circuit breakers.

Circuit breakers and fuses (which can sometimes be found instead of breakers) are safety mechanisms put in place to ensure you don’t exceed certain current limits. If the wiring in a building has too much electrical current moving through it, these devices stop the flow of electricity until you address the problem.

Imagine a future free from electricity bills. A home where you can maintain or improve your current levels of comfort, but one that is so efficient that it costs little to nothing to power its electrical work. Someday soon, this vision could become a reality, with a combination of renewable power generation and hyper-efficient technologies allowing Americans to enjoy elevated standards of living without placing a burden on their pocketbooks or the environment. Read on to learn more about the ultimate in energy-efficient homes.

Testing the Effectiveness of New Technology

One hotbed for innovation in efficient home construction is in the Pacific Northwest. A pilot program comprised of builders and utility companies is studying new homes built in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington to discover how new technologies are functioning and which ones are most effective. The program is looking at homes that are at least 30 percent more efficient than required by local code and monitoring them for a year after they are built to ensure that their performance is living up to their promise.

Among the energy-saving features that are included in the new houses:

Filling in the Other Side of the Equation

Naturally, any modern home should also include features like LED lighting technology in lieu of incandescent bulbs and efficient Energy Star-rated appliances to keep the costs for your electrical work low. Add smart technology to the mix, which can automatically find extra savings, and you are looking at a historically low electrical bill.

Of course, it's extraordinarily rare to find an American household that gets by without electricity at all, so no matter how efficient you are, you'll still have some level of energy consumption to power your electrical work. That's where the other side of the equation comes in: personal, renewable power generation. Once you install solar panels or a wind turbine on your property, you can make your own power. Pair that with a good electricity storage option and you're well on your way to being free from electrical bills forever.

Conservation in Your Circuits and Wires

The nation hasn't realized its efficiency dreams yet, but we are well on our way. If you need electrical work in a new or existing home, call up a qualified residential electrician today.

If you’re longing for a bulb that’s going to save energy and that lasts, this LED bulb replacement guide is a great place to get a feel for the type you might need. Other than finding a bulb that fits the socket, has the correct voltage, and meets wattage requirements, there’s no list of rules as to what bulb you should use in a certain fixture. This guide shows that even the same type of fixtures can require or accept different bulb types. LED replacement bulbs are available in a variety of wattages, intensities, voltages, and with different base types; they can even emit different colors of light. You have the freedom to choose a bulb that fits your needs, and there are plenty of available options.

Clicking each picture below will direct you to a page of similar bulbs. Keep in mind, this post just touches the surface of available LED bulbs. If you don’t see what you need, use our site to see hundreds of lighting options.

Track light fixtures are found in many homes and allow for aimable illumination exactly where it’s needed. These fixtures almost always contain MR11 spotlight bulbs. In addition to track lights, these bulbs are often used in recessed, pendant, display case, and desk light fixtures. MR16 and MR11 LED replacement bulbs have GU10 or GX5.3 bi-pin bases and are available in a wide variety of styles with many LED configurations.