Sticky lighting situation? Solve it with LED tape lights!

Here at Pegasus Lighting, we’re very excited to offer you innovative light fixtures to fit your every need. One product that’s really got it going on in the versatility department is LED tape lighting. If you’ve never seen tape lights before, they’re pretty much what they sound like, strips of LED lights with strong adhesive backing. They come in trimmable reels, are rated for use indoors and outdoors, and are available in white, colored, and color-changing varieties.

Need decor inspiration? Check out this saucy little video to discover all the different ways you can use tape lights for your home, office, interior, and exterior:

When will they catch you?

Decorating for Halloween involves jack-o-lanterns, cobwebs, ghosts, ghouls, witches, skeletons and more. One of the most exciting parts of decorating is putting up lights! Different colors, shapes, and sizes can take a home or yard to another level. Along with this new level of appeal comes a new level of safety hazards, though. To ensure your Halloween goes smoothly for your family, Mr. Electric® wants you to know the precautions you should take to safely power tomorrow.

Before decorating, count the number of outlets available and take note of where they are located so you can plan your displays accordingly. This will allow for a safe distribution of use among different outlets and prevent you from having strings of lights stretching across the floor or yard. Those are both huge hazards that can be avoided by planning.

Carefully look over all of your decorations. Any bare wires, damaged sockets, or loose connections could cause very serious shocks or start fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, about one-third of the house fires involving decorative lighting were caused by electrical failures or malfunctions. You can prevent it by simply taking the time to inspect.

Outdoor lights are made for outdoor use, and indoor lights are made for indoor use. It’s really important to remember this. When decorating, always double-check to make sure that they are meant to be used in that location. The same rules go for extension cords and other electrical decorations.

Just like other electrical appliances in your home, it’s not safe or necessary to have your lights on when you are away from home or asleep. Have them on only when you are able to actively monitor them.

Decorations are so much fun that we often forget that they come with imminent dangers. It’s nothing to be frightened by (like many other Halloween things), but being aware can be the difference between Halloween fun and a night of terror. To explain just how important we think these tips are, we wrote you a haiku.

Halloween is here.

Source:

Alternative Energy for the Win

Many aspects of the federal energy tax credit program have already been curtailed, with credits from most common upgrades having expired at the end of 2013 (but it’s not too late to claim the money if you haven’t already — see below). However, there are some credits still active for alternative energy installations. You are eligible for a kickback of up to 30 percent of purchase and installation price come tax time if you made any of the following additions to your existing home or new construction in 2014:

And it’s not just the purchase price of the equipment -- your credit can cover the labor to set up and install your new efficiency devices as well. Qualifying homes must be located in the United States. Heat pumps, wind turbines and solar all are valid for your principle or secondary residence, with no limit on the dollar amount. Fuel cells have more restrictions — they qualify for primary residences only, and have an upper limit of $500 per .5KW of power capacity. Renters are not eligible for the tax credits.

If you didn’t act this year, you have until December 31, 2016 to purchase and install your new equipment and still qualify for the credit.

It’s Not Too Late

And there’s more good news. The NonBusiness Energy Property Credit is still available on the taxes you fill out this year — provided you made the improvements in 2013 or earlier. If you made qualifying upgrades to your HVAC equipment, insulation, roof, water heater, windows, doors or biomass stove, you can claim up to $500 in credits on up to 10 percent of the costs. These credits are limited to upgrades made on existing homes, and each specific installation has a cap:

Installation costs cannot be included for doors, skylights, windows, insulation or roofing. Also note that the $500 limit is over the lifetime of the Property Credit, so if you already claimed $300 in past years, you can only get a maximum of $200 on this year’s tax return, even if you spent much more than that.

How to Claim Your Credits

To claim your credits, fill out Form 5695 with the appropriate information about your expenditures and include it with your other tax paperwork. Don’t forget to hold on to all your receipts and manufacturer’s certification statements so you can back up your claim if the IRS comes knocking on your door.

It’s a win-win situation — you get your tax credit, you can reduce or even eliminate monthly fuel costs, and you can sleep easy knowing that you are doing your part to help the environment by decreasing the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels. If you are considering a major alternative energy installation on your property, contact an expert today to advise you on what your options are and how to get started.

Aluminum LED profile housings allow you to create customized light fixtures with LED strip lights. Our Klus brand LED channels are available in many different styles, including recessed-, or flexible, O-shaped, and more. Available in 1- and 2-meter lengths, the channels can be easily cut for any application from under-cabinet lighting and bookshelf lighting to showcase lighting and transition strip lighting. They’re available with a variety of lens options, such as clear, frosted, and etched that complete the profiles. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide for using these channels to create your own light fixtures. Please note that your specific channel might vary from the one used in this tutorial.

Materials needed:

1. With a pair of clippers, carefully clip through the clear plastic heat shrink as shown in figures A-C. You will want to take your time and be careful not to cut the strip’s wires while removing it.

2. Lay the LED strip into the channel, and position it along the bottom so that the ends of the strip and the channel are lined up (fig. A). Now, remove the paper from the strip’s adhesive backing (fig. B), and adhere the strip to the LED channel—starting at the lined end and working your way to the other end of the strip. Be sure to leave roughly 1/4-inch free at the end of the channel so that you can install the end cap as shown in figure C.

3. If one of your end caps doesn’t come with a pre-drilled hole, you will need to drill your own to allow the wires of the LED strip light to come through. In this case, we used a Dremel tool, but other options are viable as well. Regardless of the tool you choose, it is helpful to mark the end cap where you would like the wires to come through. Start the hole small, and increase the size as necessary.

4. Place the end cap on the wired side of the strip by threading the wires through the end cap as shown in figure A. Insert the end cap into the end of the light bar, and push firmly until it is fully in place (fig. B).

5. On the open end of the bar, slightly peel up the end of the LED strip (fig. A); this is necessary to install the end cap. Now measure your channel lens, and trim off the excess with clippers (fig. B). Be careful when trimming to avoid cracking the plastic. Excess material can be lightly sanded off. Once the lens has been cut to the proper length, slide it into the channel, and install the end cap as shown in figures C and D.

6. That’s it! Your customized LED light fixture is complete and ready for installation, which we will cover in the next step.

7. Mounting this LED profile is as easy as applying double-sided tape to the back of it and sticking it to your intended surface. Be sure to cut the tape to fit the back of the LED profile and to leave the tape backing on the side not attached to the channel until you are ready to mount it.

For most LED profiles, mounting clips are available for a more permanent installation.

If you have 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.

There are several more reasons why you want to hire skilled electricians in West Chester PA. Some of these include:

1. Expert Installation: Purchase of sophisticated electronic or alarm systems. If you’ve recently spent a pretty penny on such items, you don’t want to risk them being ruined by allowing an untrained handyman to install them.

2. Electrical Troubleshooting: Perhaps the alarm system you’ve had for a while is starting to act up. Or, maybe you are having trouble with your hot water heater. From home theaters to electric stoves, and everything in-between, you need the services of trained electricians West Chester PA.

3. Ensure safety: Hiring a person who isn’t qualified just isn’t a safe decision. Such an individual can cause damage to wiring and electronic devices, both of which can cause overheating or even fire. Home owner’s insurance might not cover damage caused because you hired an unqualified electrician who is not certified.

4. Save Time & Money: A skilled and certified electrician has a wide range of experience in many different kinds of electrical work. They are able to decide quickly what a job needs and can complete the work in a timely manner. If they do need extra parts or equipment, they have contacts with professional vendors who can deliver what’s needed much quicker than a regular big box or department store thus saving you time and money with your specific electrical repair or installation needs.