It is the time of year parent’s relish—back to school. Summer has come to an end and it is time to gear up for fall sports and cooler temperatures. It is time to open the windows and enjoy the cool breezes that freshen the home and break up that stale humid air that has been trapped inside all summer long. Along with the cool fall temperatures comes the pesky flies. There is a way to keep your house cool, even on those warm days, while creating enough of a breeze flies won’t want to hang out for long. A ceiling fan will help stir the air in your house, giving you that fresh feeling you have longed for all summer and help deter flies. It is time to get a ceiling fan installed by an electrician in Los Angeles like those at The Electric Connection.

A ceiling fan is a fixture that not only serves multiple purposes, but it also looks great in any room. Your fan will help keep you cool in the summer, warm in the winter and give the entire room a nice, fresh feeling. You are probably wondering how a fan is going to keep you warm. Well, when your furnace is on or you have your woodstove going, the heat is floating up to the ceiling. That doesn’t do you any good explains an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners do not want to waste electricity or wood by heating the ceiling.

A ceiling fan helps to push the hot air down into the room, making the room and you warmer. In the summer, the breeze feels nice and the spinning blades pull the hot air up to the ceiling where you won’t feel it. A Los Angeles electrician can explain more about how this works. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your ceiling fan installation.

Pool lighting is one of the most impressive outdoor lighting projects you can take on and can totally change the look and feel of your backyard. Pool lighting is also a great way to show off your creativity, and your lighting system can be customized to create any mood you can think of. The following are some of the best pool lighting tips we’ve found, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box!

Some people may be used to having only one light at the deep end of the pool and a few at the shallow end. While this is certainly an option, it’s not a hard rule! Try adding more light throughout until you get the effect you want.

If you have a sitting area on one side of the pool, make sure you point your pool lights away from it. Pool lights tend to be especially bright, so they should be installed facing opposite where people might be sitting.

Using too few lights, or having lights that only face one direction, can create shadows that highlight flaws in your pool’s liner or surface. Shining lights from multiple directions will eliminate these shadows and make the bottom of your pool look flawless.

The color of your pool liner will make a dramatic impact on how the pool looks, day and night. Light colors reflect light and dark colors absorb it, so go light if you want your pool to look bright and exciting at night and choose dark if you want a more subdued landscape.

Pool lighting is one of those projects that many people either put off or try to cut corners on. But if you want a pool that you can really get a lot out of, we recommend spending the extra money. Even though the upfront costs may be higher, you’ll be able to enjoy your investment for years to come.

Back in April, a young boy in South Florida was electrocuted by a faulty pool light while swimming in his family’s pool. Reportedly, the light had been fixed by a contractor the year prior.

While incidents like this are exceedingly rare, we want to use this as an example of why you should always work with an electrical company you can trust. Lighting isn’t the only danger zone in the pool—other potential hazards include:

At Kolb Electric, your safety is our highest priority. We will acquire all necessary permits prior to your pool wiring job, then finish off with a detailed inspection so you can enjoy your pool or hot tub without having to worry. We also recommend having your pool’s electrical system inspected once a year.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has a detailed list of pool safety tips to prevent electrocution:

If you’re thinking about installing pool lighting in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, call Kolb Electric! We can design a beautiful, long-lasting, and safe pool lighting system that you can enjoy for years.

Image via CleanTechnica.com

In Lighting Tips…

Other Cool Stuff…

As part of the UN Conference For Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro, this Image via UNCSD2012.org

OSRAM introduced a new OLED fixture, called “Rollercoaster” for its interesting architectural design. It features the innovative transparent OLED panels, and OSRAM hopes to begin mass production of these products by 2014. Read more on the fixture Image via LightNOWblog.com

Have you made any lighting changes to your home or building this month? Or have you learned anything new about light? Please share!

It’s impossible to anticipate a breakdown or roadside emergency, which is why it’s important to always be prepared. Already equipped with a spare tire, first-aid kit, and jumper cables in the trunk? They might not be of much help if disaster strikes after dark, and you have no viable light source to illuminate the problem.

We recently added a few new products to the website designed for road safety. Our LED Trouble Light makes it easy to check under the hood, and it’s a handy tool to keep in your car. With 16 LEDs on the side of the thin wand, a flashlight-style spotlight on the tip, and an integrated laser pointer, it’s definitely a sophisticated flashlight.