In most cases, the water for showers or baths are heated using a water heater in the basement or other area of the home. However, there are certain situations where this is not practical. Especially if you travel, you may come across electric showers.

An electric shower has a special shower head where the water is heated directly at the point of use. There are pros and cons when it comes to these devices. Learn more about an electric shower and find out if one may be the solution to your warm shower needs.

Pros

An electric shower works well in homes that have low water pressure because the electric shower also has a built-in pump to increase the pressure. Additionally, if you are trying to conserve energy, an electric shower uses less electricity than a water heater that is constantly heating the water whether it is being used or not. A final benefit to using this type of shower is that in areas where the temperature is cold, a traditional water heater may not be able to get the temperature as high as it needs to be.

Cons

The only main con to using an electric shower is that it requires some additional electrical work, (Click Here). Luckily, if this is something you want done, contacting The Electric Connection, an electrician Glendale, is an easy way to get the job done. Some people worry that having electrical parts near the shower is dangerous. However, there is a grounding wire, and if the system is properly connected there is no more risk using this shower than there is with any other shower.

If an electric shower is something you wanted to add to your home, call an electrician in Glendale from The Electric Connection today, and let us help you with the choice and installation of an electric shower.

Advanced lighting control systems (ALCS) utilize electronic circuits with a programmable logic controller to automatically adjust lighting levels.  Program a number of variables and light requirements to get the lighting just perfect. This helps in providing the right amount of light where and when it is needed, hence improving energy efficiency and savings.

Advanced lighting control systems provide benefits like automatic scheduling and dimming. Turn lights off based on room occupancy and level of daylight. In so doing, the ALCS adjusts the light levels to match the requirements at any particular time. For example, when a room is empty, lights dim or go off completely. This saves on utility costs.

The sensors communicate with the lighting control system through wired or wireless connections. In some applications, sensors are integrated into the lighting control. While the wired network requires hand wiring of all the devices, the wireless communications use radio frequencies. Therefore several benefits exist over the wired network.

Wireless technology eliminates the need for wiring and is, therefore, cheaper, easy to implement and modify. It provides more flexibility while reducing the planning time for the electrical system. Wireless lighting controls are ideal for hard-to-reach lights. These include places where there are non-accessible or hard ceilings, basements, and other expensive or hard-to-wire areas.

The controller automatically adjusts the level of illumination based on one or a combination of the following variables.

The controls utilize room occupancy or proximity sensors to check for activity in the room or target area. If there is no activity, the controls automatically switch off or dim the lights. The system will then turn the lights to full brightness when room occupancy sensors detect someone within a defined space.

Different lighting levels are required based on the activity. In some applications such as warehouses, there is no need to keep all the lights on when areas are not in use. The lighting control systems will either turn off or dim most of the lights. Some advanced systems provide just enough light in the open spaces. Yet, more light becomes available near shelves where a worker might be picking up or replacing items.

Additional light is required during office hours when people are working. However, this isn’t necessary during the lunch break, or when offices are being cleaned. A combination of controls may be used here. Take advantage of daylight, dim or completely turning off the lights when more natural light filters into the room.

The programmable controls can be used to switch individual or groups of lights depending on time of day. These programs run 7 days a week. Consequently, there’s a separate schedule for weekdays, weekends, and holidays. In an office setup, a timer ensures that all lights, apart from security lights, are turned off at night, during the weekends and on holidays.

Instead of using the lamp at its maximum rating when new, the controls dim the light in certain cases. This reduces the normal wear and tear. As the lamp ages, its level of illumination will decrease. However, instead of the light level going down, the control will decrease the dimming level and maintain the required level of light.

So instead of powering the light at 100% and wasting energy with excess light that is not required, the controller ensures light is powered at a lower percentage. This ensures that required light is provided, but at a lower power consumption.

Factors considered when implementing a lighting system include the need for flexibility, facility size, floor plans, facility use, daylight hours, and building codes. Other considerations include the cost-effectiveness of the system, the ease of use, visual performance and comfort.

In addition to controlling the lights, the advanced lighting control systems help in determining the occupancy patterns. Moreover, the operating status of part or whole sections and the entire system’s performance is monitored. This provides business owners with an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the installation and make adjustments.

Picking the right light bulbs for your home doesn't need to be a challenge. While there are many different styles, brightness options and colors in your local hardware store, identifying the best bulb for a given lighting scenario is relatively straightforward.

One measurement you should pay attention to on the packaging for light bulbs is color temperature, usually represented by a four digit number next to a K (which stands for Kelvin, the unit for measuring absolute temperature). Color temperature determines the softness, or warmness, of the light that is emitted by the bulb. A light with a lower Kelvin number will typically have a yellowish tint, while higher numbers indicate a cooler, or bluish, shade of light.

Here is a basic breakdown of how these temperatures affect the mood and feel of the room they're in: