Christmas is upon us again and more than any other time of year, it’s the time of year where people put strain on their electrical system.  The lights on your house and the beautiful decorations you’ve been storing in your attic finally are brought out and plugged in for your friends and neighbors to view and appreciate.  And, of course, the vast majority of homes you visit have at least one Christmas tree.  Since most of these things are electrical, it’s probably not a surprise to you that, as a top Dallas electrician, I start getting a lot of calls this time of year.  Though it’s always nice to have the business with Christmas so close, I thought it’d be great to share with ways to avoid wiring problems with your Christmas decorations this year:

             In general, there are a few important tips that can help you avoid wiring problems.  If your lights look frayed or dangerous, they should always be replaced or repaired before using them, frayed wiring are hazardous.  You should take care that your electrical source is safe before you even begin the installation process.  To avoid the potential for overloads, you should have dedicated circuits installed for your holiday decorations.

Most importantly, you should never try to supply power for your lights without contacting a top Dallas electrician to help you install the necessary equipment and make the necessary safety precautions.  Short cuts are potentially dangerous. I can remember one example where a customer had supplied power to their lights by splicing an extension cord directly into their circuit breaker box!  Even worse, they’d shut the breaker box door, pinching the cabling!  Left unchecked, even if this hadn’t started a fire, damage from a power surge or overload could have easily destroyed their whole breaker, meaning they’d have to spend thousands to repair the damage at the absolute worst time of year!

Had you taken a public poll 20 years ago about the future of solar power and solar energy, the public would have likely expected the technology to have made leaps and bounds by 2013.  Perhaps many would have expected to see solar panels installed on most homes and businesses by now, or even being used to power cars (ala the 1996 James Belushi / Halle Berry movie Race The Sun.) In 2013, in a technological age where most people use smartphones as pocket sized computers, why does it seem that solar power hasn’t progressed much at all?

There are many reasons to help to understand this phenomenon, so we’ve listed some of the most popular below:

One of the most obvious issues that may be holding solar energy back is the idea that if there is no sunshine, there is no power being generated.  Because of this, solar energy doesn’t have the capability to stand alone which will surely hinder its popularity.  Modern consumers are of the instant gratification mindset and are not always willing to take the inconvenient option, even if it may have strong benefits.

It’s no question that there are huge amounts of money tied up in the corporations and investors who control the major energy companies of the world.  The electricity companies have an interest in limiting their competition and they have lobbyists in that will work to protect their interests.  There is also strong opposition coming from competing industries like coal and nuclear energy, both of which are heavily financed and politically influential.

Even with the tax breaks and incentives cited as reasons for solar energy development, the upfront  costs for equipment and installation are still excessively high.   It’s often cited that it would currently cost around $20,000 – $30,000 to install a new solar system on an average American home (before incentives.)  The investment can pay for itself over a 20-30 year period of monthly savings, but most households in the U.S. don’t have the means to spend such a large amount of cash straight away.

As many companies have rushed to be the biggest and best producers of solar panel equipment, the market has seen high competition with most of the solar products being produced cheaply in China.  Because of this, there has been wide concern that modern solar panels are expensive, untested, and of low quality.  The National Renewable Energy Laboratory even estimates that solar panels degrade at a rate of 4.5% annually or more!  At this rate, a new solar panel will lose most of its efficiency before it ever becomes financially beneficial.

We will have to wait and see where solar energy goes in the coming years.  Maybe it won’t be popular for several more decades, or perhaps it will never become popular at all.  Either way, energy is a shifting business that constantly pushes and reinvents itself, so it will be exciting to see what the future has in store for the industry.

Photo via Kickstarter.com

Bosua didn’t design this light with merely lethargy in mind – its technological advancements also have the potential to improve your wellbeing. Here are a few things you can do with the LIFX:

While some of these features may seem silly or impractical (I’m sure not everyone reading this has robot dance parties on the regular) I believe there are 2 notable features that make this LED worth a try:

1. Energy Savings. For the equivalent brightness of a 60W incandescent, this light only uses about 10 watts of energy. Plus, by programming it to turn off when you’re gone and dim automatically, you can save even more energy with minimal effort. The creators also say the LIFX will last up to 25 years, so you won’t need to replace them for a very long time.

2. Changing Colors. While at first, turning your lights from blue to red to green might seem a little superfluous, if you spend long periods of time indoors under the same white, bright lights, it can start to mess with your circadian rhythms. Studies like Photo via Kickstarter.com

And if you ever lose your phone, don’t worry, because these lights still work with standard switches too.

The LIFX project is funded through Kickstarter, and light bulbs will start shipping in March of 2013.

For large projects, a simple notepad and pen are not sufficient to provide accurate and timely cost estimates to clients. The good news is that there are some pretty good estimating software programs now available that do the job. Both residential and commercial contractors can save time, money, and win more bids by providing professional job estimates. These programs also offer the ability to manage projects, bill clients, and keep track of change orders. They feature a wide range of options for any size of contractor.

TurboBid is one of the most well received and fully featured estimating programs on the market. It contains a user-friendly graphical interface and offers training courses through their website. The software can connect to national and local material supplier databases to keep pricing updated throughout the bidding process.

Change orders and revisions are simple. The software will generate automatic reports and professional presentations for clients. It also allows fine adjustment of man-hour estimations in different locations of the building. This includes ceilings. The program can account for different worker skill levels and upcoming wage increases for longer projects.

The built-in database includes tens of thousands of parts and full assemblies to allow for quick and easy estimation. The program incorporates national and local electrical code requirements to ensure bids are code compliant. In addition, it has a value engineering feature that suggests code-compliant changes to the customer’s blueprints. This can ultimately save money by adding, removing, or relocating devices.