video in which Kathleen Packard, their Healthcare Market Development Manager, discusses how some innovations in lighting can positively affect the healing process (and save energy and money). Packard describes hospitals as being historically “institutional and very uncomfortable,” and her mission is to educate the public on the “importance of design” to patient health.

intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell in the human eye, which senses light and regulates the body’s systems, including melatonin levels, which are directly related to sleep. Visa’s Amber Night Light, she says, creates ambient light that won’t disturb the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell. This allows nurses to check on patients without disturbing their sleep.

Of course, all this valuable information leads us to the problems solved by Visa Lighting’s healthcare light fixtures. Packard calls special attention to the benefits of using LED fixtures. She reminds us that LEDs are indeed a great option for hospitals because they are energy efficient and therefore save money, reducing the cost of healthcare; they render color well, which is necessary, so that doctors and nurses can accurately assess skin pallor; and, unlike fluorescent lamps, LEDs contain no mercury.

Security cameras provide constant monitoring of your home even when you are not there. Unless you are a superhero, there’s no way you can be two places at once. It’s practically impossible. Security cameras are a great investment that can be your eyes even when you cannot be there in person. You don’t have to install a full security system, as it can be very expensive and intrusive, but installing a couple of cameras in your home can go a long way. Check out these reasons to install security cameras in your home this summer!

Keep an Eye on Your Children

When you leave your kids by themselves, you don’t have control of where they go or what will happen to them. There’s always that fear that something terrible will happen to your kids while you are away. Although that scenario is not likely, it’s good to have a few cameras around just in case. Security cameras can help you watch your children when playing in the front yard or near the street, and this can alert them to strangers approaching or children wandering too close to the street.

You rely on babysitters and trust to take care of your children properly. During an evening out, you can remotely access internally mounted security cameras to monitor how your babysitter interacts with your children. If there should be any issues, you can know about them immediately if you are monitoring in real time, or you can watch taped footage later to ensure that the babysitter is acting in their best interests when watching your children.

Dissuade Possible Vandals and Thieves

Even if you live in the safest neighborhood in Virginia, there are those few criminals that are always around and tend to target the least prepared and most vulnerable amongst us. Security cameras are an excellent way for your home to be on guard against these risks. Those who are looking to break into a home often look for security cameras and observe the property prior to acting. they should see security cameras positioned around the home, it is more than likely that they simply move along to another home that is not as well protected.

Security cameras have an added benefit of protection with the ability to capture a break in or vandal and save the images as evidence. Sometimes security cameras are in place with the added protection of burglar alarms to ensure your home is safe all around. This can be very helpful to police agencies by providing them the evidence they need to pursue individuals who commit crimes in your home.

Monitor Your Home Remotely

If you’re taking a long vacation and are worried about leaving your home unattended for several days, consider installing a few security cameras. Security cameras give you the ability to monitor places like a remote vacation property or your home when you are not there. This allows you to be notified quickly if there is something wrong with your remote home or property and you can alert the local authorities to the trouble. That way, you have peace of mind and can relax and enjoy your vacation!

This year, Pegasus Lighting is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and to commemorate we will be posting articles every month about what was going on – you know, in terms of pop culture – in 1999. Just so we don’t forget where we came from.

Here are 15 things you might remember from 15 years ago.

1) Impeachment Trial of President Bill Clinton Begins in the Senate

A tense moment in U.S. history, Bill Clinton’s Senate impeachment trial began in January 1999. Clinton had been impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. It was only the second time in history that the House had impeached The President of the United States. The Senate trial, however, would end in acquittal.

2) Superbowl Commercials

Sure, there were a lot of interesting things about the game itself, but the commercials are what really bring us back to the 1990s. The Broncos won for the second time in a row. Depending on your football affiliations, this could be an omen or a prophecy for the game coming up soon. Also noteworthy is that in 1999 John Elway was the oldest NFL player to be named Super Bowl MVP.

3) Britney Spears Releases Debut Album

Can you imagine a world in which the name Britney Spears was met only with a “Who’s that?” That was the world of 1998. The world of 1999, in contrast, started off with a teeny bopping BANG, as Britney’s debut album was released, and her infamous single, “…Baby One More Time,” blasted to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Pop music was forever changed in January 1999.

4) Michael Jordan Announces His Retirement…Again

When the world considers you the best in the game, both physically and mentally, retiring is probably more difficult than playing ever was. So it’s understandable that Jordan, late in his career, struggled to call it quits in basketball and sports in general. In January 1999, we had to get used to the idea that watching NBA basketball would no longer entail watching Air Jordan in action.

5) Family Guy Debuts on Fox

Immediately after the Super Bowl in January 1999, Fox aired the first episode of FAMILY GUY to 22 million viewers, immediately generating controversy over its risque subject matter. Since that fateful evening, Seth MacFarlane’s animated sitcom has won 3 Emmy Awards, and FAMILY GUY has become a household name.

7) The Euro Is Introduced

Before January 1999, the word “euro” was mainly used to describe dance clubs or outlandish fashion trends. Now the euro is the second-most traded currency and the second-largest reserve currency in the world. In November 2013, the euro surpassed the U.S. dollar as having the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in circulation.

9) N’Sync Wins American Music Award for Favorite New Artist

It was the era of the boy band, and N’Sync had just displaced The Backstreet Boys as the newest teen idols. The American Music Award, based on a public poll, made it decidedly so. They stopped recording in 2002, but they have sold over 50 million albums so far, so I think they are all doing pretty well.

10) Jon Stewart Hosts His First Episode of THE DAILY SHOW

Up and coming comedian Jon Stewart starts his new job as host of Comedy Central’s THE DAILY SHOW in January 1999. One of his first guests, Michael J. Fox, claims that he has been on THE DAILY SHOW more times than Stewart. One of the central topics of the night? You got it, the Senate impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton.

12) A Ridiculously Large Cocaine Bust

The amount of cocaine captured by U.S. Customs agents in January 1999 would make Tony Montaña of SCARFACE wag his finger in disapproval. 9,500 pounds of the illegal drug were being shipped to Houston on board a cargo ship carrying iron ore when they were stopped and searched near Jamaica. Texas had never had a larger drug bust.

14) He’s Backkkk: Mike Tyson Returns to Boxing (With a Vengeance) 

Remember when Mike Tyson was a boxer? You know, before he became the comedic actor and performance artist with the face tattoo? If so, you’ll recall that Tyson had his boxing license revoked for biting a chunk out Evander Holyfield’s ear. After a two-year hiatus, Tyson returned to boxing in January 1999 in a bout with Francois Botha. Tyson started off the match a little sluggish, according to the commentators, but – oof! – check out that KO punch! Botha needed both a drink and a vacation after that one.

15) World Premiere of Music Video for Eminem’s “My Name Is”

In January 1999, the music video for Eminem’s “My Name Is” premiered, and Eminem became a superstar. The video really got people’s attention. You know how I know? BECAUSE HE IS THE BEST-SELLING ARTIST OF THE 21ST CENTURY!

So there you have it: 15 moments from 15 years ago. Stay tuned for my monthly pop culture updates as we celebrate Pegasus Lighting’s 15th anniversary. In the meantime, what are some moments YOU remember from 1999? What was your favorite music artist? Favorite movie? Tell me in the comments!

Any building, in any industry, in any area of the world, is susceptible to having potentially hazardous and radioactive exit signs installed throughout their building.

This could mean they are in schools, near your office, or anywhere else where a radioactive setting probably isn’t a desired situation to be in.

This is why we thought it was necessary to create this post to help and guide you towards identifying, removing, and finally replacing your radioactive exit signs with new signs that are much safer and even efficient, saving you money over other alternatives.

Firstly before we can remove and replace these seemingly nuclear exit signs, you have to be able to identify if you have them or not. But before that, lets explain what exactly makes these exit signs radioactive.

How are some exit signs radioactive?

Just the same way as some exit signs are safe, it is all in the way they are built. For some reason, whether it be technology of the time or something else, people assumed it was a good idea to create exit signs with Tritium, also known as 3H or H-3. Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, causing exit signs made with this to be radioactive by default. The only seemingly positive upside to these exit signs is that they are non-electrical, meaning they won’t rack up anything in electricity bills.

But before you become alarmed with what we have shared with you so far, tritium emits only a low-energy beta radiation, which in turn causes the sealed glass tube it is in to glow (causing the exit sign to give off the illumination it requires). Thankfully, it is rather well known that this type of radiation can hardly (if at all) penetrate a piece of paper or clothing. So while yes it is a very low level (energy wise) type of radiation, the fact that there are alternatives that will remove radiation entirely from your building is all the reason to uninstall your tritium exit signs and replace them with something more safe, like LED exit signs.

Now that you understand the technology and how tritium in exit signs work a little bit more, let’s go over how exactly you can identify whether or not you have these types of exit signs in your building.

Identifying a radioactive exit sign should be fairly easy. All of these signs are required to have some sort of “Caution of Radioactive Material” warning on the fixture.

If you do find such a warning label, it is safe to say your light is made of tritium. Another tell-tale sign is whether or not your signs are connected to an electrical source or not as tritium signs do not require any such connection.

Once you’ve identified if you have a tritium exit sign or not, if you do happen to have one, you may continue on to removing and replacing it with the alternative exit sign, LED.

As with any lighting fixture, we recommend to bring in a professional contractor to do the job. But as a general guideline, you can typically recycle your tritium signs by returning them to the manufacturer or place of purchase.

If you purchased the building with them pre-installed and are unsure of where they came from after inspection of the signs for any brand markings, you can try two things:

1: Try contacting the previous building owner or collect records of where they were manufactured

2: Recycle them with a third party. like these), buying them, then installing them yourself or with a professional (we recommend a professional).

Here are a few things you should remember and keep in mind when dealing with a building that has radioactive exit signs: