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!

A new thing we will be doing every here every month on the MyLEDLightingGuide’s official blog is curating things from all around the web relating to the LED lighting industry. Here are the types of articles and pieces of content that will often be featured on our monthly link roundup:

This post will be covering all of the happenings from the past month, September of 2016. We also plan to give a brief summary of each piece we include, just to get a better idea of what it’s about, who it’s for, and why it might be valuable for you to take a look at.

Without further ado, here is the first addition of A Month in The LED Lighting Industry Link Roundup…

High Bay Luminare and Lamp Market Expected to Reach $20.4 Billion by 2024

For anyone involved in the lighting industry, even remotely, this is great news to hear. As LED products become cheaper and cheaper overall, the resistance from facility managers to make the investment in LED fixtures is reducing. This trend seems to be growing, and there is seemingly only a positive future in LED; especially in the commercial lighting world.

As LED Streetlights Spread, Some Critics Look for Dimmer Switch

While some concerns relating to the light that LEDs give off is bad for street lighting scenarios, cities are still picking up the technology for obvious reasons (from cost reduction to higher quality lighting). On the contrary, critics are looking for these LED street fixtures to be dimmed down a bit, all for some fairly valid reasons that you will discover in this piece of content.

How LED Lights Influence the Bats Activity

To finish off this seemingly street light themed roundup, this post discusses the influence LED lights are having on bat activity. Is this a way for those with bat issues to deal with it or not? In short; they will reduce some issues you may have with bats and related night time animals. But check this one out to get a better understanding on how it may help.

Interesting Reads:

Here are some not-so-relevant but still relevant articles that we think are highly interesting and definitely worth the read.

First Pro Basketball Game Held on LED Court in Japan

LED sign lighting provides years of illumination and low energy costs. sign modules that consume 50mA of power each. Required materials differ depending on sign size, module size, length of wire between modules, current draw, and lumen output.

Materials:

1. First, measure your sign. Although we recommend spacing module rows 3 inches apart, it’s ultimately up to you. If you want a brighter sign, place them closer together and vice versa for a dimmer sign. With the recommended 3-inch spacing, a 4-foot square sign would need 150 modules (15 rows of 10). Again, the quantity of modules needed  is based on many factors and can differ.

These LED sign modules are available in custom lengths of up to 20 modules per strand. Order 60 feet (4 feet x 15 rows) of stranded modules, and cut the strand after every 10 modules. Each strand can be cut to make two rows.

2. Next you’ll need to order a power supply that’s rated for the combined wattage of all sign modules. To ensure that you don’t overwork the power supply, confirm that the total wattage of your modules is at least 20 percent less than the power supply’s rated wattage.

An easy way to calculate this is to multiply the total wattage of your combined lighting by 1.2. In the 4-foot sign diagram, there are 150 modules with a current draw of 50 milliamps (mA) each. Since current draw is given in milliamps, multiply that number by voltage and move the decimal 3 places to the left to get wattage. This module consumes 50 mA and has 12 VDC operation, so it consumes 0.6 watts (50 x 12 = 600). Next, multiply 0.6 by 150 to get a combined wattage of 90 and multiply that number by 1.2 (90 x 1.2 = 108) to determine which power supply you’ll need. Since the result was 108, you will need at least a 120-watt power supply.

3. Next on the list is wire to connect all your sign module stands to the power supply. For a 4-foot sign, you’ll need 4 feet of 18-gauge two-conductor wire to serve as your main line plus enough to cover the distance between your power supply and where it will be wired into an electrical system. You’ll also need dual-channel T-tap wire splice connectors for an easy connection to your main line.

Before you begin working on your sign, turn off power to the area.

4. If there isn’t one already, drill a hole in the back of your sign as an exit point for your wire.

5. Use a tape measure or ruler to plot your row spacing. Leave space on one side of the sign for your module-to-main-line connections. Mount the sign modules using their double-sided adhesive and/or screw holes.

6. Insert the end wires of each sign module row into the T-tap splice connector, and clamp the other end of the connector onto the main line. The splice connectors eliminate the need to strip wire insulation.

7. Use double-sided foam tape to secure each T-tap splice connector to the inside of your sign.

8. Reattach your sign’s front cover.

9. Connect the main line to your power supply, wire the supply into your electrical system, and restore power to the area.

For technical questions, don’t hesitate to call us toll free at 866-590-3533. Our customer service and technical support teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.

One of the best opportunities to save money is to convert Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium High Mast lights over to LED. A typical high mast light consists of a tall pole, 50-150 tall and contains multiple fixtures attached to the pole, typically 4 to 12. The lower poles may be equipped with 400W Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs, the taller poles typically are installed with 1000W Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium bulbs.

We get a lot of calls for fluorescent light repair here at Expert Electric. But before calling, always remember that if your fluorescent light fixture is burnt out or flickering, first change the bulbs (fluorescent tubes) to see if this corrects the problem and also save yourself some money. If you are not comfortable changing the bulbs due to location or any other safety concern, we would be very happy to help you. If your fluorescent fixture still does not light up after changing the bulbs then the problem is most likely faulty ballast, or less commonly a possible wiring issue.

Fluorescent light is the product of two components: the lamp and the ballast. The role of the ballast is to boost voltage for short duration; the ballast will then maintain a constant applied limited current to properly operate the lamp. You must use the proper ballast for each type of fluorescent bulb. Bulb types are T12, T8, and HO. While it is tempting to install higher efficiency fluorescent lamps (like T12s or T8s), we must pay special attention to the type of ballast installed in the light fixture or those bulbs will not operate properly.

The ballast technology has improved a lot in the last 15 years.  If you are not upgrading your ballast you won’t see the potential energy savings that efficient fluorescent lighting can provide. The new electronic ballasts operate differently from older electro-magnetic ballasts. They don’t just save you money but out-perform magnetic technology in several ways.

Higher Efficiency: New electronic ballasts provide you with more light and cost less to operate, saving you money and helping the environment. Dimming is also easier with electronic ballasts.

More Control: Electronic ballasts can be manufactured to under drive or overdrive the lamps they support, producing more or less light. This allows you to adjust which areas need more light and which need less light. The lighting pattern can now be changed due to work patterns and specific lighting requirements.

Dimmer Switches: Dimming is also easier with electronic ballasts. Preset your dimmer and it can cut your light by 50% and this will save you money as well.

Less Heat Emission: Electronic solid-state ballasts produce less heat than electromagnetic type ballast. What this means is if you are operating cooling equipment, such as food coolers or air conditioning during summer the electronic ballasts will help you save on cooling costs.

The best part is that with the higher frequency electronic ballasts, there is no flicker or buzz. There are many benefits to high efficient ballasts and we recommend you take advantage of them.