Are lights on your dorm room checklist? They should be.

College dorm rooms are not known for their style and charm. They serve but one purpose for the budding student – a place to study and (occasionally) sleep. Equipped with little more than a bed and a desk, an empty dorm room requires some essential supplies. I’ve put together a list of several different types of lights — some fun and some functional — that need to make it on your back-to-school checklist.

The ever-popular rear bike light from REI that will at least make you more visible when cycling across campus at night, just not nearly as awesome as synchronized LED bike tires.

Shop for Dorm Room Lights

Generators can serve as literal lifesavers in the event of an emergency—providing power, light, and heat whenever a disaster strikes. But to be able to do its job, it has to be ready to go right when the situation demands it. This means making sure it’s well maintained, and repaired quickly when service is needed. Of course, this also means that you need to know when your generator needs repair service. Keep reason for 3 reasons that this may be the case.

When our electrical professionals inspect your generator, they’ll take a close look at your wiring, buttons, and any other electrical components. If any of these show a sign of damage, then the unit likely needs to be repaired.

Indications can include frayed wires, loose connectors, buttons that stay stuck when you press them, or electrical overloads that shut the generator down at improper times. Additionally, the voltage on the generator battery needs to be tested to make sure it’s not in disrepair.

The longer your generator lasts, the more likely it is to develop a leak from a hose, a line, or storage pan. Leaks can include oil or fuel—depending on the type of generator you own—in addition to coolant designed to keep the engine block from overheating. Check around the appliance for puddles and be sure to give us a call if you notice any.

If you’re lucky, you won’t have to use your generator for years (but it’s great to have that peace of mind when you do need it!) Unfortunately, however, when generators sit for a long time without being used, the battery can be drained, and other parts of the engine can start to fall into disrepair. This can be avoided by investing in yearly generator maintenance.

Explosion proof fixtures are a necessity for environments which output potentially explosive or flammable fumes, produce dust of dirt in the air, or similar situations in which a gas could enter the fixture and cause damage to the light or well-being of the facility.

If you are currently running or working with a facility which requires these explosion proof light fixtures, the list of 3 must-haves below will clear the air and hopefully set you on the right track to ensuring you have the proper setup and design.

First on the list, we are going to talk about the actual technology within the fixture and why it is so important.

While a big part of vapor proof lights is the actual fixture and its design, we think the luminaire within the fixture is equally as important.

We simply can’t recommend any other technology other than LED because we truly believe in it. To give you a little bit of insight on industrial LEDs, here are some of the reasons why companies of all sorts are converting to LED:

As you can see, just from these three main benefits that all sorts of facilities are realizing can really be game changing in terms of savings.

For these reasons (and more), we thought it was a must to have it first on the list.

Interested in learning more? Find Class 1 Div 2. For this reason, we suggest you always inquire with a reputable and knowledgeable company that offers and deals with explosion proof lighting when inquiring about your lighting project.

If you can’t find a reputable company to ask your questions, just LED explosion proofs offer the long-term solution is clear.

Especially when you consider in rebates, your initial upfront investment can be reduced greatly. While these rebates do vary from place to place, they are most often available when you buy DLC qualified fixtures. Not only are DLC qualified fixtures going to make you more eligible for rebates through your utility company, but they also provide other benefits. The biggest benefit of buying DLC qualified lights is they have ben tried and tested and, in most cases, do what they claim. In a busy world of lighting, not all products do exactly what they say. This is most common when a light is not qualified by something like the DLC.

Our main advice is this; to get the best value buy only DLC qualified fixtures. If you don’t, you may actually end up spending more upfront (by not getting any rebates) as well as more energy usage overtime, due to a less efficient build.

Another major cost saver can come through retrofitting. The only time you can retrofit is if your fixture is still functional and can fit a LED retrofit in it. If you do not match these requirements, then a full replacement will (typically) be required.

If you can, we suggest you retrofit. It saves money in two ways: retrofit kits are cheaper than full fixture replacements and the cost to retrofit is typically less time consuming and thus, less expensive.

In Summary

We know that a sensitive environment can be stressful to deal with, especially when it comes to the lighting system and the safety of the facility.

The above 3 must-haves are just the beginning, and each situation can vary greatly. As always, we suggest you consult with some lighting professionals to truly discover what you may require for your facility and operations.

With all the bad weather we have been hammered with this winter, our electric power stations have been maxed out trying to keep up with the demand for electricity.  With the cold, another problem has been water pipes freezing at the electric generating stations causing them to have to shut down for repairs.  Long story short, over 55 million people in America this year have dealt with power shortages.  Either being rolling blackouts, or simply no power for days.  I have received multiple inquiries from customers wanting to know if there is an alternative means to keeping the electricity on in their home without using a gas-powered generator.  Their reasons for not being able to use a gas powered generator ranged from “I live in a HOA where generators are not allowed on the outside of our home and I can’t put it on the inside due to noise and fumes,” to “I don’t have any place outside to put the generator that guarantees it won’t be tampered with or stolen.”  Some of my customers that live in condos or town homes only have a balcony which really “limits them on space.”