Minor power surges happen in milliseconds and can easily ruin many of today’s delicate electronics. Is your home protected with a whole house surge protector?

Today’s homes and families consume a great deal of power due to the abundance of electronic devices we use to function daily. As a result, damaging power surges are common today even when storms and downed lines are not a factor, with homes near the end of the power line being particularly vulnerable.

Install a whole house surge protector today. Contact Mr. Electric® and schedule the installation of one of these simple, effective devices for the protection of all of your home’s essential electronics.

Is it only the astronomers and avid stargazers who seem to have noticed that our night sky is being swallowed up in a cloud of artificial light?

Glaring streetlights, flashy billboards, automobile headlamps, overly bright landscape and outdoor lighting…. all of these factors have had devastating consequences on our environment.

“Parking lots and gas stations, for example, are now often 10 times brighter than they were just 20 years ago and light pollution continues to grow at 6 percent every year.” Paul Bogart for The Sunday Star-Ledger, A bright idea whose time has come: Turning down city lights. March 3, 2013, P6

Not only does this wasteful illumination block our view of the stars and planets, this overabundance of nightlight disrupts circadian rhythms and negatively affects all life on earth.

“Fatal light attraction” -which is produced by excessive outdoor lighting-is deadly for migratory birds, causing over 100 million bird fatalities across the United States.–www.enlightenmentmag.com, Feb. 2015

So, what can YOU do to make your home more “Dark-Sky” friendly and stop the proliferation of profuse and destructive lighting design?

1.  Become a partner with the International Dark Sky Association.  The International Dark Sky Association (IDA) is a US-based non-profit organization devoted to preserving the natural splendor and beauty of the nighttime sky.  Membership includes all 50 states in the USA and over 70 countries worldwide.

• Contact ida@darksky.org to learn more about Dark Sky awareness and support efforts to preserve and protect the nighttime environment with good outdoor and landscape lighting plans.

2.  Check around your home at dusk and after sunset.

•Make sure outdoor light fixtures are shielded and angled downward to minimize “light trespass” beyond your property.

•Install motion sensors and automated controls on outdoor security lights so they will shut off when not in use.

3.  Talk to your neighbors.

•Educate them about Dark Sky laws and help each other to light responsibly.

4.  Upgrade your home with “Dark Sky”compliant fixtures.

• These outdoor and landscape lighting fixtures are shielded to focus light downward.

•The latest Dark Sky outdoor lighting fixtures are eco-friendly and energy-efficient.

5.  Throw a Star Party

•Enjoy a view of the nighttime sky with friends.

The latest Dark Sky outdoor and landscape lighting fixtures make it easy to get on board with the International Dark Sky movement.

Check out the latest Dark Sky outdoor wall lights from Modern Forms;

“Origami” WS-W27515

“Balthus” WS-W28514

“Kyoto” WS-W22520

For more information:

International Dark Sky Association

3223 North First Avenue

Tucson, Arizona 85719

Warm weather and clear skies means it is finally barbeque season once again! May is National Barbeque Month, and we are definitely in the festive spirit. But before you get ready to fire up the grill and bust out the pool rafts, make electrical safety a priority. It might be time for an outdoor outlet upgrade to keep your parties running smoothly this summer.

So just what do you need when it comes to outdoor electrical outlets? Make certain to have ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) installed outdoors for your outlets to protect from serious electrical problems. It’s also always a good idea to have additional outlets installed if possible, especially if find yourself running extension cords across your deck that have become a safety hazard.

Don’t overlook the manual warning of certain appliances that say “not for outdoor use.” It’s always safer to double-check before running into a problem later on. Make sure that electrical appliances are unplugged and turned off when not in use or left unattended.

Just like your outlets and appliances, extension cords need to be rated for outdoor use when you are using them in your backyard. If you must have extension cords running across your backyard during a barbeque, make sure to keep it out of the walkway and away from where children will be playing.

If a rainstorm begins while you’re working as a master chef outside on your electric grill, don’t be a hero for the burgers. Stay safe and head into the kitchen with a backup plan to avoid the risk of electric shock.

Don’t kick off barbeque season without getting pools and spas inspected by an electrician who can make sure you’re backyard is safe and ready for the summer. This is also a good time to make sure you know where electrical circuits and breakers are in case of an emergency.

If you need any help making your backyard barbeque-ready, our professionals can make your electrical renovations and fix-ups a breeze.

This month of our LED industry link roundup is for the month of October of 2016. Also, we couldn’t forget… Happy Halloween!

This month we’ve seen lots of news about schools converting to LED and how cucumbers are seeing positive results from LED technology, along with some really great news about MyLEDLightingGuide. The news regarding the LED industry is ever increasing in excitement, and as the technology grows, expands, and simply gets better; the news will continue to be better and better.

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

our retrofit kit LEDs without any penalty (because well, the complaint has been dismissed with prejudice by GTL). This allows us to continue selling all of our lighting fixtures as usual, and we will continue to do so with even more persistence now that this has passed.

LEDs Will Light Up Homer Harbor Next Year

Yet another city in the process of upgrading their cities lighting system over to LED technology. Next year Homer Harbor is going to be making the switch over to LED, which will surely inspire even more cities and towns to do the same.

San Francisco to install LED lights in street lamps to minimize maintenance, improve safety

Interesting enough another big city is about to convert over to LED technology. The reasoning for them is to reduce maintenance due to longer lifespans in LED technology as well as to improve safety. Read this article to discover more of the reasoning behind the conversion and what is driving this major city to make the conversion.

B.P. Schools Still Looking for Savings via LED Lighting and Solar

This school is seriously making a huge sustainable decision with LED lighting and solar. That will provide a highly sustainable situation, depending on how much of that solar power goes to powering the school lighting system. Since LED lights use much less energy to run, this could produce a very high ROI situation for this school and any others that follow suit.

Interesting Reads

Here are some interesting reads that we found this month. They aren’t exactly news we should all know about per se, but they sure are interesting for anyone interested in LEDs!

Trials see cucumbers gain from LED lighting

LED plant lighting systems are being tested and proven to show positive results to crops indoors. This post is an interesting read for anyone who’s interested in how LED technology is effecting the indoor grow industry, this one specifically with cucumbers.

Custom Electrical Services your first choice for an affordable electrician.  We offer great rates that are highly competitive.  Don’t choose some hourly electrician that is going to surprise you at the end.  Choose Custom Electrical Services not only for there high quality work but for there flat rates!

Custom Electrical Services offers you a flat rate for there work.  In the end this usually makes them one of the most affordable electricians in the area.  We can come to the place of your project and look at the job in person and give you a flat rate cost!  You will know exactly what your project will cost with no surprises!  If the project takes a little longer than expected for us we cover the cost not you!  A flat rate offers you many advantages.  You know what your project will cost upfront.  We take the guess work out of how long the project will take, allowing you to budget accordingly.

Not only are we an affordable electrician.  We take credit cards too!  We under stand that emergencies happen.  You may not have saved or planed on the expense of the repair.  That is why we take credit cards for our services.

As the saying goes:  If you think its expensive hiring an electrician, try hiring a cheap one!  That is because hiring cheap electricians and electricians doing jobs on the side often end up costing you more money in the end.  They often do the work incorrectly, against code, or are unable to pull the necessary permits.  At Custom Electrical Services we are a real company, have real licensed electricians, carry the necessary insurance, and are able to pull an electrical permit in any location in Iowa.  We also carry an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

We are able to be an affordable electrician for a variety of reasons.  Its simple we keep are overhead low and deal with high volume.  While our process and work is sophisticated our billing does not have to be.  We are the best electrician to call when you are in need of an affordable electrician regardless of the size of the project.  We even work on older homes, and our simply the best at it.  Give us a call now at 515-669-3418 or schedule via our contact page.

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