Although any light will help alleviate the strain on your eyes while looking at a screen, there is a right and wrong type and location for the light to have the best effect. As mentioned earlier, bias lighting is placed behind your screen to establish a brighter field of view so that your eyes aren’t constantly trying to find a balance between light and dark. Bias lighting illuminates a room without creating glare or reflections on your screen, shining directly in your eyes, or affecting how you see contrast and colors. Other sources of light, such as ceiling lights or lamps, can do all of the above.

If light is shining onto your screen, there’s going to be a noticeable difference in how the picture appears. Colors won’t be as vivid, and the screen might be hazy. In an attempt to remedy the situation, you could adjust the brightness and contrast. However, these adjustments will decrease the life span of the bulb or LEDs in your screen. The adjustments will also result in increased energy consumption along with a higher electric bill.

Adding light behind your screen instead of in front of it will eliminate any color or contrast issues. Dark scenes or colors will look richer against a white illuminated background. The picture below demonstrates how dark colors are lost against a dark background.

howtogeek.com, “. . .  you want a bulb temperature that is as close as possible (if not identical) to the reference point used in the industry that both manufactures the screens you’re looking at as well as creates content for said screens and that’s 6500K.” He goes on to say that, “The bulbs (be they CFL or LED) inside your HDTV or monitor are calibrated to 6500K, the film and digital video shot is color corrected to have a 6500K white reference point, and the editing suites where content is edited and worked on have 6500K bias light.”

So what exactly does 6500K mean? Correlated color temperature (CRI). CRI refers to how accurately a light source reveals the true colors of objects, people, and surroundings and involves a distinct testing method with comparisons to incandescent light or daylight. A light source with a CRI close to 100 shows colors very similarly to how daylight or incandescent light shows those same colors. To get the best picture, you’ll want bias lighting with a CRI as close as possible to 100.

We carry LED strip lights that are great TV backlighting options and will help you achieve the best picture on your screen.

Our variable color temperature controller and remote. The strip also has a CRI of 91, which will show screen colors accurately. This strip can be purchased in 3.28- or 16.4-foot lengths that can be cut and connected where needed with strip light connectors.

Another great option is our 6500K LED strip with LC2 connector. It has a CRI of 79 and is available in 1.64-, 3.28-, and 16.4-foot lengths. The peel-and-stick strip can be cut and connected where needed with compatible strip light connectors.

A kit in cool white is also available and is a convenient bias lighting solution. It has a 6500K color temperature, 79 CRI, and includes everything needed for installation—power supply, dimmer, remote, connectors, etc.

The strip lights listed above have peel-and-stick adhesive backings and can be cut or ordered in lengths to fit every screen size; strips are marked with designated cut lines. If you don’t order a kit, you will need a power supply and can purchase a controller with remote for dimming.

An easy installation method is to use a continuous length of strip around the back of your screen. For a cleaner look, you can cut the strips at all four corners of your screen. If you plan on cutting your LED strip lights, you will need 4 connectors (already included with the kit). All compatible installation supplies will be listed under the accessories tab on each product page. The following instructions explain how to install LED strip lights by cutting them into sections. Note that installation methods will differ depending on the strip you choose.

1. Cut your LED strip lights into lengths that fit the back of your screen. Because we offer different lengths, you might be able to order separate strips that will fit all four sides of your screen.

As you walk around your house trying to find ways to save a few dollars here and there on your electric bill, you may be overlooking the obvious. Your current light bulbs. You have probably seen the more expensive light bulbs in the spiral shape in the stores but may have passed over them in favor of the less expensive bulbs. Your electrician in Glendale is here to tell you, you may be costing yourself more money by choosing those cheaper bulbs.

The experienced professionals at The Electric Connection can answer any questions you have about energy savings. One of the easiest things you can do is to start changing out your current halogen bulbs for the more energy efficient Compact Florescent Bulbs or what are simply referred to as CFLs. A CFL uses 75 percent less energy than the old standard bulbs.

Your light usage in your home probably accounts for maybe $20 on an average $100 monthly electric bill. So, if you replace each of your current energy hogging bulbs with CFLs, you could potentially safe about $15 on your electric bill. While that is not a massive amount of savings, it will certainly add up. Don’t be fooled by the word florescent. There is no eerie yellow or green glow. They are available in a variety of colors depending on your preference. If you have more questions, you can ask your electrician. Glendale residents may also want to consider replacing outdated lighting fixtures with more modern energy efficient fixtures.

This is a job for a certified electrician. While there, the electrician can install dimmer switches on lights that do not need to be at full power all of the time. These dimmers give you the freedom to have just a little light or a lot, depending on what your needs are. Call The Electric Connection today to learn more about dimmer switches and how they can help you.

1. President Clinton enters cyberspace when he conducts the first virtual town hall. According to an article published in SFGate)

2. Just in time for holiday shopping, Amazon announces that it will expand its offering beyond just books. They’ll be adding software, video games, home improvement products and gifts to their online offering.

3. Football hero Walter Payton (a.k.a. “Sweetness”) dies at age 45 from complications of a rare liver disease. (via EDN)

5. November 19, 1999 The Oddest Day – PGA Tour)

7. Woody and Buzz are restored to fame when Toy Story 2 debuts and becomes an even bigger success than the original. (via Legends of Hockey)

9. Pokemon: The First Movie hits the big screen raking in a whopping $31 million+ during its opening weekend.

10. Encyclopedia Britannica, which once lined the bookshelves of most US households, launches its website … and crashes after two weeks because too many people logged on to its free search. (Photo via Billboard.

1999 was a year of massive growth in the online world. The internet was here to stay, and it’s no surprise that this was the year that Pegasus Lighting took our business online. In November 1999 , the world’s greatest technology companies gathered in Las Vegas for the 20th Annual Computer Dealers Exhibition (COMDEX) to learn about the latest innovations in computing. Our last four November pop culture items were highlighted or debuted at this event.

12. Microsoft’s Bill Gates is the Keynote speaker at COMDEX and introduces Windows 2000, promising that it will be much more reliable than its predecessor, Windows 98.

13. The QBe (pronounced “Cube”) tablet is exhibited with plans to start shipping in Spring of 2000 at a price of $4,495. (via unveiled by Ericsson as a lightweight wireless headset that can work from “up to 10 metres away from phone.”