Recently, Digital Trends profiled a Paolo di Trapani, and his work has a lot of people excited. For all the rapid progress that has been made with LEDs, no one else has made this important step towards recreating natural light.

The article explains how lighting innovations have allowed people to use artificial light in a number of amazing ways. We can change the color temperature of a light bulb with a smartphone, and we can grow food indoors, but we haven’t yet been able to mimic the way the atmosphere scatters the sun’s natural light…until now.

According to Digital Trends, di Trapani’s technology scatters the light of a panel of white LEDs with “a clear plastic panel studded with nanoparticles that are invisible to the naked eye.” What’s a nanopartical? A nanoparticle is what it sounds like: A really small particle. Nanoparticle research is currently hot because there are tons of ways that nanoparticle research could be applied in biomedical, optical, and electronic fields.

It’s incredible the way lighting can change outdoor spaces. As is the case with indoor spaces, spending comparatively little on lighting can produce dramatic results. A DIY outdoor lighting project might be just the thing to make you fall in love with your home all over again. But before you begin an outdoor lighting project, it’s important to think about your options. Here are 10 tips for 10 approaches to outdoor lighting.

1. Using Outdoor String Lights

Outdoor string lights are just great. But there are so many different kinds! Some have bare bulbs; some have lanterns. Some are LED; some incandescent. Some are white; some are colored. Make sure you research your options and choose the ones that are right for YOU!

2. Taking DIY Outdoor Lighting to the Next Level

Sure, you can install a standard low voltage lighting fixture and be justified when you say you Did It Yourself, but have you ever considered making your own DIY outdoor lighting fixtures? Mason jars seem to be the ingredient of choice when constructing your own outdoor lights. The internet is full of instructions for making DIY outdoor lighting fixtures, so do your homework and find the perfect project to make your outdoor area more luminous.

3 . Making it Modern

Let’s get weird! Isn’t that what modern outdoor lighting seems to say? I guess it depends on whom you ask. Modern outdoor lighting usually consists of interesting light fixtures with unusual, playful designs, and they can really make your outdoor vibe more interesting and thought-provoking.

4. Showing Off Textures

Sometimes you start with a particular light source in mind. These days, that light source is often LED. If you’re sure you want to use outdoor LED lights, you have a wide variety of outdoor LED light fixture types, from LED rope to LED tape to LED path lights, step lights, puck lights, recessed lights, and string lights. LED outdoor lights are highly efficient and look great. And some, like the one above, run on solar power! That means free!

8. Decking Out the Deck

If you are focused specifically on outdoor deck lighting, make sure you think about caution. Outdoor deck lighting should entail step lights if there are steps and should include lights around the perimeter of the deck. LED tape or rope, colored or white, are often great for running on the underside of deck railings.

9. Using Timers

It is a cold October evening and you are preparing dinner. You are in full motion with all your appliances working overtime to get the meal done as soon as possible – and the power shuts off. Not only are you frustrated because you are set behind schedule but now you have to try to fix the problem. This happens to people on a daily basis and is a nuisance that can be avoided with the right electrical usage and correct setup. Lets walk where you should go from here.

As we have discussed in the past, the electrical panel (or breaker) is an integral part of the home’s electrical system. It regulates all incoming electricity and manages it throughout your house. When a breaker shuts a circuit off, or it “trips”, it is protecting you and your home from a potentially dangerous situation. The breaker will shut off that circuit because it has detected high voltage, high temperature, or another internal problem. If the breaker does not trip the circuit that is affected can overload and create an electrical shock or electrical fire.

To get your electrical breaker back on, identify the circuit that is in the off position and flip in back to the on position. With a properly labeled electrical panel it can be easy to quickly identify the affected circuit. If the breaker feels hot the touch or the circuit immediately trips again, do not attempt to turn it back on and call an expert electrician. Sometimes a circuit could trip due to a high amount of usage and may only be a minor problem with no repercussions. But if the breaker immediately trips when turned backed on or it trips regularly, there is a larger cause and the problem should be addressed as soon as possible.

There are a number of reasons why breakers could trip. The circuit that is being turned off could potentially have too much load and being overloaded. There could also be a problem in the wiring itself that is causing electrical surges and shorts that the breaker is detecting. It could also be a problem with the breaker itself. The panel may be old and reaching the end of its functionality. It may be time for the panel to be replaced.

It is not a good idea to keep turning on your breaker if it continuously trips. If you cannot identify a pattern in your routine that is causing the trip you should contact an Expert Electrician. They will be able to tell you if the problem is originating from the wiring or within the panel and even fix the problem for good.

Don’t put up with tripping breakers, it will become more than just an inconvenience. Get the right help and have peace of mind that your home is safe and dinner will get finished on time.