Infuse outdoor entertaining with a festive air by garlanding your gazebo, patio awning or deck railings with popular Bulbrite string lighting. It brightens up your outdoor vistas after sunset with the warm glow of vintage elan. Try connecting several strings together to create a border that keeps the dark at bay, or use a single string as a decorative accent in a seating area or your barbecue station. Because it’s so portable and versatile, it’s a great do-it-yourself hack that works in all sorts of settings.

Rope lighting really jazzes up outdoor living space with a minimum of fuss. This kind of string lighting works great in unobtrusive places like below a handrail cap to or around the edge of your deck to frame your spaces with a warm, welcoming glow. If you wish to create a more celebratory vibe, place rope lighting in plain sight like you would holiday lights, encircling structural posts with festive glimmer.

LED strip lighting is another option that saves energy while instilling your outdoor atmosphere with a distinctive verve. LED strips from WAC Lighting and Koncept are rated for use in damp places, as long as they are not exposed to the weather. Get creative with your deck lighting by incorporating strips of various lengths in covered areas like your deck or patio. Use led step lighting from some of our most popular manufacturers, including Kichler and Sea Gull Lighting, to improve visibility as well as aesthetics.

Use light as a medium to paint your landscape and make your carefully manicured plantings and special features pop at night. When you are planning your backyard lighting scheme, be sure to bring some of the following areas into focus:

• Gates and entryways

• Footpaths

• Stairs

• Fountains, waterfalls, ponds

• Statuary

• Seating areas

Solar landscape lights from Kenroy Home cast soft haloes along pathways or beside garden benches, creating an aura of enchantment. You can position solar lights as far from an electric power source as you wish, so they are ideal for the far reaches of your backyard.

Strategically placed spotlights show off your most distinctive flower beds, trees or shrubs to their best advantage while providing attractive pockets of brightness that banish shadowy corners, making your backyard more welcoming. You can also hide spotlights behind shrubbery but aim the light toward the sky, backlighting plantings while illuminating the perimeter of your home or patio. Keep in mind, though, that too much light can be as ineffective as too little. Think Cinderella’s castle rather than Times Square.

When the party is over and it’s time to retire, you can rest easy knowing that your motion sensor lighting is keeping vigil, ready to reveal any interlopers in your personal space. Wall sconces from Designers Fountain do more than just decorate your porch, deck and patio beautifully. They serve double duty as security features while your family sleeps. For locations where utility takes precedence over decorative appeal, select from our Craftmade security lights, and get the coverage you need to feel secure all night long.

PRO TIP: Ensure your outdoor light array works perfectly by using timers. You will have one less task to remember, and your landscape will always appear in its best light.

There are a lot of interesting facts and tidbits about solar power and its usage. If solar panel installation is something you are considering, here are four points you may find helpful in making your decision:

It does not cost as much as you think.

Solar panel costs are not as high as most people assume. There are even financing plans that you can look into. Also, they end up saving you a bunch on your electricity bill.

You are going green.

Having a solar panel installation done on your home greatly reduces your carbon footprint. Powering your home via solar energy requires no pollutants being expelled into our water or air. While your home is basically ran on solar energy, you still have the back up of electricity when its clouded over or rainy for several days.

There are different types of solar panels.

You should educate yourself on the different types of solar panels if you are looking into solar installation for your home. There are photovoltaic panels and solar thermal panels. The photovoltaic panels convert sunlight into usable energy. Solar thermal panels absorb heat and then distributes that heat for warming purposes.

The idea of using solar energy is not a new innovation.

Back in the Fifteenth Century, Leonardo Da Vinci had sketched several ideas on how to harness the power radiating from the sun. Although much was not done with it, it still proves that great minds thought early on that using solar energy was wise.

If you are interested in having solar panels installed, look no further than The Electric Connection. If you need solar installers based in the Los Angeles area, we can help you out. You can also visit our website or give us a call today for more information on solar panel installation and benefits.

Power outages were something that we all thought were fun as kids. Any distraction from the normal routine was enough to excite us back then. Of course, looking back, our parents probably didn’t think that they were as much fun as we did, and with good cause. Power outages can be very disruptive, and can even create hazardous conditions in the home. If you own your own home now, you may want to consider the installation of a backup generator on your property. Backup generators in Boston, MA can help you to go about your business even when the power from the grid fails. Just remember that professional backup generator services are a must. Schedule your generator installation, repair, and maintenance with the professionals here at FB Electrical Services.

While very short power outages may not be that big of a deal for most people, the fact of the matter is that one can never be sure just how long any power outage can last. Some people keep a portable generator on hand, and these systems are capable of powering a few appliances or electronics that are plugged directly into the generator. This is fine for a quick fix or for recreational purposes. A backup generator, though, offers a level of performance that portable generators just aren’t on part with, though.

A backup generator is a permanent installation on your property, fueled by natural gas, diesel, or propane, generally. They are able to power whole systems throughout the house, depending upon the size and power of the generator. This means that, rather than running outside in a storm with an armful of extension cords, you can just fire up your generator and live as you normally would until the power from the grid comes back on. This is especially beneficial in any homes where medical equipment is in use, but everyone stands to benefit by having power continue to flow even when the electricity to your home cuts out.

Also, consider an automatic transfer switch for your generator. This may be an individual component, or you may purchase a generator with such a switch integrated directly into it. These switches are able to monitor the electricity in your home, and when the power goes out, they will start right up in order to minimize any disruption to your comfort or convenience. You won’t even have to leave the house to turn your generator on with such a system. To learn more about backup generators or to schedule professional generator services, just dial our number today.