It’s full-on spring, and there seems to be a lot of activity in the landscape lighting world. That’s probably because landscape lighting is generally a great and affordable way to significantly improve the curb appeal of your home. Landscape lighting ideas abound on the internet, and, since it’s a popular season for landscape lights, I thought I would curate for you some of the best landscape lighting I have seen out there on the Web.

1. Wall Grazing at Its Finest

Wall grazing is a lighting technique in which light is cast up or down a wall in order to let the light and shadow play off the wall’s texture. Wall grazing works especially well on this wonderfully textured stone wall. Interesting walls like this almost demand uplights to play off their texture.

2. Cinematic Pond Beacon Situation

Very bright light on this structure in the middle of a pond creates a dramatic, almost cinematic effect. Bright uplights on the trees give some context to the attractive structure.

3. Variations on a Path

Using different styles of path light can make the walk to the house much more interesting. Never assume it’s law that all your path lights match. Mixing it up a little gives the eye a lot more to look at, and the outdoor lighting design looks more calculated, in a good way. Instead of the string of path lights that come in a pack, this is conscious design that makes every trip to the front door pleasant.

4. Variation on Variations on a Path

Another way you can break the monotony of path lighting is to place your path lights according to the visual features along the path, like plants or garden ornaments. Setting up the path lights to be spaced a little farther apart and placing them in different proximity to the path – now directly on the path, now set back near some interesting plants – leads the eye farther down the path, which creates a spectacle and gives the eye much more to admire.

5. Path Lighting without all the Path Lights

Landscape lighting doesn’t always have to include path lights. Here, adequate illumination and very attractive lighting design is achieved by uplighting trees and using downlights mounted on the house.

6. Moon Lighting: A Supernatural Experience?

Moonlighting is a technique in which lights are hidden higher up in trees to create an ambient effect. Pretty cool!

7. Under Counter Lights

One really cool outdoor lighting effect is under counter lighting. Led rope, tape, or LED tape rope hybrid can be run under the edge of counter, stone wall ledge, bar, island, or bridge to create a wonderful lighting effect. This is one application in which LED landscape lighting works really well.

8. Water + Lighting =  Awesome

What’s cooler than light fixtures giving an almost otherworldly beauty to outdoor water features? This is my personal favorite kind of landscape lighting. It just provides such a reliably relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. If your home is your sanctuary, you might want to consider this one-two-three punch of water, sound, and light.

9. Shadowy Magic

Moonlighting can also be used to create cool shadows on the path. See that light mounted up in that tree? It mimics the light of the moon, creating interesting shadows on the ground and enough ambient light to see where you’re walking. Great lighting design.

10. Lit Up Night Time Oasis

There are a lot of interesting things going on here. The space feels large and luxurious, in part because that uplight at the back draws the eye directly to the back edge of the space, making the whole spread look larger. The path lights around the perimeter draw attention to the landscaping. Of course, the star of this show is the cove lighting used around the bridge, making it look almost as if it is floating on light. Yes to this.

11. Epic Landscape Lighting in a Park

I mean, this pretty much speaks for itself. The high powered uplights illuminating the tall canopy creates an amazing effect. Not only is it beautiful, but it also represents the dual purpose of landscape lighting: To beautify and to make safer. Urban parks can be dangerous, but this one looks even more welcoming at night.

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!

When you leave your house to go to work or out with friends, there’s always that worry in the back of your head of leaving your door or windows unlocked. Maybe you forgot to turn a few lights on or off when you left or perhaps you left your straightener on and forgot about it. Thanks to the technological advancements with smartphones, you can easily control devices in your home with just a touch of a button or a swipe of the finger. If you are worried about doors being left unlocked or lights not turning off, all you have to do is check the settings for your home via your smartphone. Put your worries at ease with installing smart controls to automate your home.

If you are not sure about installing smart controls for home automation, check out these benefits they can provide:

Security Camera Access

We love our pets and we hate leaving them by themselves when we have to leave. Having home automation updates installed will give you access to camera feeds for your home. If you are worried about your pets, kids or house being broken into, you can check the status of your home through your smartphone. Security cameras can protect your family by recording clips when detecting movement or at specific times of the day or night.

Easy Temperature Adjustment

It’s easy to forget to adjust your thermostat before leaving for work. When you come back home, it can be too hot or too cold and you end up waiting for the temperature to adjust in an uncomfortable home.  With a home automation system, you can adjust the thermostat a few hours before heading home. This also saves on money and energy and gives you a nice welcome after returning from a hard day’s work.

Provides Security with Automated Door Locks

This is one of the greatest benefits of an automated home system. Automated door locks help keep your home safe while you are not there. If you forgot to lock your doors while you headed to work, you can have the convenience of locking them via your smartphone. This is also a great benefit if your kids are home alone. Making sure the doors are locked while you are away is an added comfort for them and gives you peace of mind.

Saves You Money

A home automation system can help save you money in the long run. You will see your monthly utility bill decrease as a result of having control over household appliances left on in your family’s absence. The convenience of an automated home system can give you complete control and help you cut back on unnecessary costs as well as benefit the environment around you.

There are many benefits to having an automated home system installed. All of these benefits include two common factors: safety and security. You get peace of mind knowing that you can check on your home and family from the convenience of a smartphone. An automated home system lets you be in control of your home and saves you money on utility bills as well.

Our Top 3 Home Security Cameras

Southern California has always been an ideal area for harvesting solar power but the financial situation continues to improve for solar installation in the area. If you’ve been waiting for the right time for solar panel installation at your home or business, the time has arrived. Here is a quick breakdown of the positive economic situation for home solar systems in California.

If you want to better understand the beneficial atmosphere for solar panel installation in your area, give The Electric Connection a call. We’ll help you navigate the sometimes confusing world of solar panel installation and get you on your way to energy independence and long term savings. Why wait to realize a greener and more fiscally sound future?