Many people in the Alpharetta area have barns without pole barn lighting. It is still fairly common to see pole barns with no artificial lighting or traditional sodium lights installed. Both options can lead to unsafe situations.

Pole barns have many dark nooks and crannies and often have sharp objects stored in them. Sharp objects plus dark areas is a recipe for injury. To prevent potentially dangerous conditions, you should have a lighting system installed. It is especially important to get these lights installed before winter, as the days are shorter and nights are longer. The pole barn will be left through those long nights without natural or artificial lighting unless you have an electrician install illumination now.

Here are the options:

● Fluorescent Lights. Fluorescent lights are a good option for a relatively small space, especially if the ceilings are low. Fluorescent lights are cheap to buy and run. They are also fairly energy efficient, which means your electrical bill will be lower.

● Halide Lights. While fluorescent lights have long been popular for many residential and commercial applications, halide lights are relatively new. They have been around a few years but are not as common as fluorescent lights due to their more specialized nature. Though halide lights are stronger than fluorescent lights, they do have a few drawbacks. They are more expensive to buy and operate, and they take a while to reach full power after being turned on. Nonetheless, they’re likely the best option for large pole barns because of their power.

Many homeowners start to get nervous when cooler weather starts to set in. Thinking about the rising heat bills is stressful, especially if you have holiday shopping to do. But don’t panic just yet: there are plenty of simple actions that can result in major savings! If you follow these 6 tips below, you’re likely to see a positive change in your energy bill.

Now that you’re prepped for a cozy but low-cost winter, relax and enjoy the season! If you need help installing any new energy-efficient lighting in your home or business, Bryant Electric Service is here to assist you.

Nearly every single person living in the United States relies on the electrical grid. It's how electricity gets from the power plant to your home, powering your devices and appliances. With no grid, none of the electrical work in your home will function – no television, no air conditioning and no electric lights. Our grid is changing, however, taking advantage of evolving technology on both the distribution and consumer side of the equation. Read on to learn more about how our electrical grid will evolve to meets the needs of the 21st century.

How to Balance Supply and Demand

The electrical grid is not a single object, but rather a giant network of power plants and transmission lines that spans the entire nation. In order for electricity to flow from the generating stations into your home’s electrical work, the grid needs to be able to meet the demand at any given time and place. This can be an enormous challenge – if there is too little production, consumers can be subject to annoying and damaging brownouts. Ramping up generation to meet variable demand is expensive and inefficient, however.

Some utilities solve the problem with time-of-day pricing, charging more during the day and less at night to smooth out demand. Smart technology, however, will allow us to fine-tune the grid even further to increase efficiency, improve communication and mitigate blackouts or other power outages.

Smart Meters and Dispersed Generation

Smart meters are one of the first steps toward our new grid. These meters track residential electrical consumption in real time and can communicate with the utility company instantaneously. They can allow producers to better predict demand, respond immediately to dips and spikes, and further refine variable pricing structures that incentivize people to use less electricity during peak hours. Smart meters also give homeowners the power to see where and when they are putting the most stress on their electrical work, allowing them to adjust their behavior strategically.

Changes are coming to the generation side as well. Traditionally, the electrical grid is powered by large, centralized power plants, but residential solar installations mean that generation is becoming more widely distributed. Wind generation is also becoming an ever-larger factor in our nation's energy supply. This means that the grid needs to be updated to become more flexible and adaptable, but there is a large payoff in sight – the more dispersed that power generation becomes, the more resilient the grid will be in the event of an outage, with smaller regions able to supply themselves with emergency power if they are cut off from the centralized system.

Makes Tomorrow's Energy Grid Work for You

No one knows exactly what the power grid will look like 100 years from now, but the nation is well on its way to updating its electrical infrastructure to meet the needs of this century. If you have any concerns about how your electrical work will interface with the power grid of the future, or need any other work done on the wiring and circuitry in your home, call an expert electrician today.

Dallas Electrician and Small-business owner sets out to change the world one outlet at a time

Americans dream of throwing off the shackles of the workaday world and trying their hand at something new. That something new often takes the form of owning your own business and that’s exactly what Dallas Electrician, Nick Schaeffer set out to do in 2004.

Back when Nick was still working for other companies, he thought that there had to be a better way to do business; he looked at how his company handled their customers and employees, and thought that the people deserved better. That’s when Nick started ElectricMan Inc. His dream of having a family owned business, and applying the knowledge he gained as a Master Electrician, were the perfect opportunities for Nick to open ElectricMan inc’s doors to local customers. Further, Nick strives to meet his customers’ expectations and do their electrical repair in a quickly and efficient manner, while preserving a strong customer service mentality at an affordable price.. He wanted to be able to meet his customers and do their electrical repair quickly, while still having a strong customer service presence.

After he left his job, he bought a van and outfitted it so he and his electricians could better serve his customers. After spreading the word to his friends and family, word started spreading and the ElectricMan name began coming up more often within the North Texas community. And in 2005, due to the overwhelming amount of phone calls, Nick hired his first employee and bought a second van.

Texas has long been a thriving hub of small business, currently there are over 1.7 million small businesses in the state. And of those businesses, nearly 400,000 have employees. So not only was Nick helping his family, but he was helping other Texas families by adding jobs.

Nick believes that a family owned business is important to his customers, and people don’t want to have to turn to a huge, faceless corporation every time they need something. People want options and when they can call their local electrician, they want him to be local and able to come out and do the work the right way. ElectricMan started with the slogan, “Whenever there’s an emergency, its Electric Man to the rescue!”And that stays true today, whenever customers are in need, they know to call ElectricMan, and he will go above and beyond to make sure his customers are taken care of right.

ElectricMan Inc. achieved success through constant attention to customer service and through their family owned business values. Nick’s wife Michele, his sister in-law El, his daughter Lauren and his father-in-law all work at the business in various capacities. But, they all work as a family and they are dedicated to see ElectricMan Inc. grow to become something their whole family will be proud of.

Nick may not have set out to change the world but his principles of family owned business and employing local Texans has fostered an environment for success. And the entire ElectricMan family is proud of it.

In these modern times, where a lot of stress is put on the importance of recycling and saving resources, one may wonder if it’s wise to use reconditioned electrical equipment. After all, it is a great way to save money and use materials that would otherwise be thrown out. But one also must consider safety which is key when you are thinking about any kind of electrical materials. Well, that truth is, there are some times when it is safe to use reconditioned electrical equipment, and other instances when it is not. Read on to find out the best ways to determine whether the reconditioned electrical equipment you are using is safe.

Many people believe that reconditioned electrical equipment is not safe. The truth is, sometimes it can be even safer than its original state. This can be the case when old parts are replaced with newer components that are safer and more efficient. However, that doesn’t mean that all reconditioning is done safely. Determining whether or not your replaced parts are in accordance with safety standards. A few prerequisites must be met by the company that is updating the equipment.