Your landscaping is the first thing people see when they arrive at your house and the last thing they see when they leave. Lighting can make or break the way your house looks and feels. A dark, dreary house is going to look uninviting to some, but will look very inviting for those who will take advantage of the darkness. It is important you make your home inviting as well as safe with the installation of landscape and security lighting by an electrician. Pasadena homeowners can rely on The Electric Connection to help them transform their home’s yard into one that is beautiful and safe.

There are plenty of options when it comes to lighting up your yard and landscaping. You can choose to go with nice and bright or low and subtle. Mounted security lights are an excellent option and can easily be installed by your Pasadena electrician. Many of these lights are equipped with motion sensors. As soon as you step outside or pull your car into the driveway, the area will be flooded with light. This means you won’t have to worry about fumbling in the dark while you look for a switch.

Pathway lights and lights that shine on a particularly special point of interest in the yard are also excellent options. These add a layer of safety as well as make it look a little nicer. Solar lights are easily placed, but your electrician in Pasadena will tell you electric lights are a little more reliable. They also stay bright throughout the night while many of the solar lights will fade and become dim by the wee hours of the morning. Electric lights give you full control and will last for years. Give The Electric Connection a call today and get your outdoor lighting installed before spring arrives.

Since electrical work isn’t for amateurs, many homeowners don’t know much about the electrical systems in their homes. With all the wiring hidden behind the walls, it may be that all you know is what you learned in your pre-sale inspection -- if you remember, that is.

When it comes to electrical infrastructure, one attribute that sets homes apart is the type of wiring in the walls. And for several decades’ worth of older homes, that type is old-fashioned knob and tube wiring.

What Is Knob and Tube?

Knob and tube wiring dates all the way back to the 1880s, but it was still in widespread use as recently as the 1950s. For most of its heyday, it was the most economical choice for wiring a new home, both in terms of installation and cost of materials. But by the 50s, mass production of modern electrical cables offered a cheaper, safer alternative.

This type of wiring consists of two wires -- a hot wire and a neutral wire -- strung within walls and above ceilings using porcelain knobs and tubes. The tubes provided a safe place to run wires through studs and joists, and the knobs supported the wires and made it easy to wrap them around corners.

The wires are protected with sheaths. In the early days, these were made of treated cloth, but electricians eventually switched to rubber. Neither material was designed to last forever.

Is it Safe?

Electrical code prohibits the use of knob and tube wiring in most new construction, and homeowners insurance companies often won’t insure homes until they’ve replaced these systems. While it’s true that it’s not the safest choice, knob and tube wiring can still be used safely, but with limitations and special precautions.

One thing knob and tube wiring still does well is release heat. Because the wires are spread out and suspended in air, there’s lots of room for electrical heat to dissipate, which is good for energy efficiency and the wiring itself. But that also means knob and tube wiring can endanger flammable materials like insulation.

To safely use this wiring in any structure, you must be certain that all wiring is clear of flammable materials and that the system is well maintained.

What About Limitations?

Another risk with knob and tube wiring is that there’s no ground wire, which increases the possibility of electrical shock. It also means you can’t use any electronics or appliances with a three-prong plug, as the third prong connects to the ground wire. This inconvenience is often what motivates homeowners to upgrade.

But even where knob and tube can be made to work, homeowners may want to expand that system to other areas of the home. This often means splicing new wiring and fixtures into the existing system, which can lead to overloaded fuses.

A dangerous mistake is to simply upgrade the fuses when this happens. This will get the juice flowing again, but the wiring can get dangerously hot, and the protective sheaths may have deteriorated over their decades of service. It’s a fire waiting to ignite.

Stay Safe

If your home still has knob and tube, it’s important to have it periodically inspected. Even if it’s deemed safe, there’s no substitute for the safety and convenience of modern wiring. And if you’re not sure what kind of wiring you have, just reach out to your local, licensed electricians for a quick inspection!

The state of Texas takes up about 16.7 percent of the land area of the United States. That is such a large portion that it is important to understand when this state stands on a number of issues. Going green is one of those issues that many people wonder where Texas stands.

When talking about going green, one of the most important questions is whether or not Texas is considering Green Energy in any forms. Since this state boasts of an expansive oil industry, is there any reason to believe that it would even consider green technologies?

You cannot deny that Texas is an enormous presence in the United States, but its very size means that there is room for many different industries and that includes those that focus on improving the state of the planet. The Lone Star state is actually involved in numerous environmentally friendly Green Energy sources, and some of those initiatives have actually been launched by Texas’ own entrepreneurs and energy companies.

Of course, some of those initiatives are not solely motivated by profits. The majority are set in place by those who are interested in doing their part in the fight to save our environment. There is an altruistic element involved in many of these initiatives, and one of the best known is the one that was started by the owner and CEO of Mesa Partners an oil and natural gas producer.

As one might expect, seeing that a good portion of the state receives ample to excessive wind, there are numerous wind power generators located throughout the panhandle as well as other parts of the state. Acres and acres of farm land have been dedicated to producing electric power. This is in part due to the massive efforts of one of Texas’ most influential citizens, T. Boone Pickens who has worked tirelessly to promote wind energy.

Some cities like Houston are even doing their part by promoting the use of electric cars, and they have also adopted regulations that put mandatory water controls on the citizens. Governmental controls aside, many citizens of this fine state are doing their individual parts to make an impact on the environment.

Although Texas may be well known as an oil friendly state, it is certainly not true that it is not friendly to the environment. With 27,000 wind turbines already pumping out power, and the plan to make that number 70,000 by the end of 2012, no one can say that the state of Texas is not going green.