What questions do you want to ask an electrician? If you are in need of an electrician and you don’t know where to begin, these tips may come in handy. Ask an electrician the right questions so you can quickly narrow down your search.

So what exactly should you ask an electrician you’re thinking about hiring? It might be tempting to rush into a decision and then deal with the consequences, but asking several questions can ensure you make the right choice. Hiring an electrician and then later finding out they aren’t the right fit can be a frustrating — and expensive — experience. Protect yourself by making sure they’re the right hire for the job.

In most states, electricians are required to have valid licenses; don’t take this for granted, however. Make sure the electrician you hire is fully licensed because this ensures they have gone through the necessary training and are equipped to handle the job you’re want them to do.

Another important question to ask is whether or not the electrician is insured. The professional you hire will undoubtedly take steps to keep your property safe, but accidents can happen. Liability insurance can cover damages that may occur during the job, and in turn, can protect you from unnecessary headaches down the line.

It’s important to know about the experience-level of the electrician you’re thinking about hiring. Keep in mind even the most thorough education isn’t much use without the experience to support it. An experienced electrician has seen cases like yours before and knows how to help you avoid unneeded expenses and setbacks that a more inexperienced professional might not notice.

We get a lot of calls for fluorescent light repair here at Expert Electric. But before calling, always remember that if your fluorescent light fixture is burnt out or flickering, first change the bulbs (fluorescent tubes) to see if this corrects the problem and also save yourself some money. If you are not comfortable changing the bulbs due to location or any other safety concern, we would be very happy to help you. If your fluorescent fixture still does not light up after changing the bulbs then the problem is most likely faulty ballast, or less commonly a possible wiring issue.

Fluorescent light is the product of two components: the lamp and the ballast. The role of the ballast is to boost voltage for short duration; the ballast will then maintain a constant applied limited current to properly operate the lamp. You must use the proper ballast for each type of fluorescent bulb. Bulb types are T12, T8, and HO. While it is tempting to install higher efficiency fluorescent lamps (like T12s or T8s), we must pay special attention to the type of ballast installed in the light fixture or those bulbs will not operate properly.

The ballast technology has improved a lot in the last 15 years.  If you are not upgrading your ballast you won’t see the potential energy savings that efficient fluorescent lighting can provide. The new electronic ballasts operate differently from older electro-magnetic ballasts. They don’t just save you money but out-perform magnetic technology in several ways.

Higher Efficiency: New electronic ballasts provide you with more light and cost less to operate, saving you money and helping the environment. Dimming is also easier with electronic ballasts.

More Control: Electronic ballasts can be manufactured to under drive or overdrive the lamps they support, producing more or less light. This allows you to adjust which areas need more light and which need less light. The lighting pattern can now be changed due to work patterns and specific lighting requirements.

Dimmer Switches: Dimming is also easier with electronic ballasts. Preset your dimmer and it can cut your light by 50% and this will save you money as well.

Less Heat Emission: Electronic solid-state ballasts produce less heat than electromagnetic type ballast. What this means is if you are operating cooling equipment, such as food coolers or air conditioning during summer the electronic ballasts will help you save on cooling costs.

The best part is that with the higher frequency electronic ballasts, there is no flicker or buzz. There are many benefits to high efficient ballasts and we recommend you take advantage of them.

It’s full-on spring, and there seems to be a lot of activity in the landscape lighting world. That’s probably because landscape lighting is generally a great and affordable way to significantly improve the curb appeal of your home. Landscape lighting ideas abound on the internet, and, since it’s a popular season for landscape lights, I thought I would curate for you some of the best landscape lighting I have seen out there on the Web.

1. Wall Grazing at Its Finest

Wall grazing is a lighting technique in which light is cast up or down a wall in order to let the light and shadow play off the wall’s texture. Wall grazing works especially well on this wonderfully textured stone wall. Interesting walls like this almost demand uplights to play off their texture.

2. Cinematic Pond Beacon Situation

Very bright light on this structure in the middle of a pond creates a dramatic, almost cinematic effect. Bright uplights on the trees give some context to the attractive structure.

3. Variations on a Path

Using different styles of path light can make the walk to the house much more interesting. Never assume it’s law that all your path lights match. Mixing it up a little gives the eye a lot more to look at, and the outdoor lighting design looks more calculated, in a good way. Instead of the string of path lights that come in a pack, this is conscious design that makes every trip to the front door pleasant.

4. Variation on Variations on a Path

Another way you can break the monotony of path lighting is to place your path lights according to the visual features along the path, like plants or garden ornaments. Setting up the path lights to be spaced a little farther apart and placing them in different proximity to the path – now directly on the path, now set back near some interesting plants – leads the eye farther down the path, which creates a spectacle and gives the eye much more to admire.

5. Path Lighting without all the Path Lights

Landscape lighting doesn’t always have to include path lights. Here, adequate illumination and very attractive lighting design is achieved by uplighting trees and using downlights mounted on the house.

6. Moon Lighting: A Supernatural Experience?

Moonlighting is a technique in which lights are hidden higher up in trees to create an ambient effect. Pretty cool!

7. Under Counter Lights

One really cool outdoor lighting effect is under counter lighting. Led rope, tape, or LED tape rope hybrid can be run under the edge of counter, stone wall ledge, bar, island, or bridge to create a wonderful lighting effect. This is one application in which LED landscape lighting works really well.

8. Water + Lighting =  Awesome

What’s cooler than light fixtures giving an almost otherworldly beauty to outdoor water features? This is my personal favorite kind of landscape lighting. It just provides such a reliably relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. If your home is your sanctuary, you might want to consider this one-two-three punch of water, sound, and light.

9. Shadowy Magic

Moonlighting can also be used to create cool shadows on the path. See that light mounted up in that tree? It mimics the light of the moon, creating interesting shadows on the ground and enough ambient light to see where you’re walking. Great lighting design.

10. Lit Up Night Time Oasis

There are a lot of interesting things going on here. The space feels large and luxurious, in part because that uplight at the back draws the eye directly to the back edge of the space, making the whole spread look larger. The path lights around the perimeter draw attention to the landscaping. Of course, the star of this show is the cove lighting used around the bridge, making it look almost as if it is floating on light. Yes to this.

11. Epic Landscape Lighting in a Park

I mean, this pretty much speaks for itself. The high powered uplights illuminating the tall canopy creates an amazing effect. Not only is it beautiful, but it also represents the dual purpose of landscape lighting: To beautify and to make safer. Urban parks can be dangerous, but this one looks even more welcoming at night.