Did you know the lighting in your office could be making you feel sick?

Feeling unmotivated and lethargic, suffering from headaches or eyestrain? There are some simple steps you can take to energize the work environment to combat stress and elevate mood by choosing the best lamp for your desk or task lighting needs. 

Healthful illumination is key to an environment partnered with increased productivity and job satisfaction.  The trend today is to improve upon what you already have rather than investing in new construction.  Upgrading your office with affordable and energy-efficient lighting is an investment that leads to outstanding visual improvements and a more healthful work environment.

Employ the Right Lamps for Greater Health Benefits:

Top Picks for Office Lighting:

-Quoizel’s “Zen” collection includes floor and table lamps with Mystic Black finishes and Rattan shades for corporate casual decor.

Generators make an important line of defense against natural disasters and power outages. With a generator, you don’t have to worry about keeping the food in your refrigerator cold, or powering your heating system when the temperatures drop. When installing a new generator, it’s important to select one that is the right size for your home. By size, we mean the power it’s capable of creating, not the physical size (though that can enter into the equation depending on where you plan to put it). In Lynnwood WA, electrical repair services can often advise you on how to size the right generator for your home, but it pays to know the basic before you give them a call.

The first step is to perform an energy audit for your home, determining how much power each appliance or electrical device uses, and then prioritizing them for use during an emergency. Medical devices usually come first on the list, followed by refrigerators and freezers which store your food. Next is your home HVAC system, followed by the lights in your home. Computers, radios and entertainment systems are usually on the bottom of the list: useful for keeping connected with the outside world, but otherwise non-essential in an emergency.

Once you have that list, you can determine two things: how much power is required to run your whole house and how much power is required to run the bare essentials during an emergency. The former number is preferable and if you can afford a generator of that size, then you should probably purchase it. The latter is less ideal but can do in a pinch if you’re on a budget and still want to keep your household running when the power goes out. In that case you need to carefully monitor which appliances are hooked up to the generator so you don’t overload it when the time comes.

Spending time outdoors with friends and family is special. Whether you’re roasting marshmallows around a campfire or grilling hamburgers for a party, fun and laughter are sure to ensue. If you’re the kind of person who loves to spend time outdoors at night, make sure you have adequate outdoor lighting.

There are numerous benefits to outdoor lighting, apart from just brightening your space. You’ll add value to your home and be able to enjoy peace of mind. When you put all that work into making your home look like an architectural masterpiece, don’t let it disappear when nightfall comes.

With outdoor lighting, the possibilities are virtually endless. You can light walkways and driveways; you can implement zone lighting to highlight specific areas of your home; you can light up your deck, patio or pool; and you can install motion detector lights. No matter the location you choose to illuminate, rest assured it will add safety and security to your home. A well-lit landscape will help you feel safer at night and deter trespassers.

Whether you’re entertaining guests on your deck or patio or hanging out by the pool or hot tub, it’s important to have the right lighting to ensure the safety of you and your guests. The last thing you want is for someone to slip or trip and hurt themselves.

Even if having guests over isn’t your cup of tea, you’ll want to make sure you and your family are safe at night. Forgot something in your car? Waited until 10 p.m. to think about checking the mail? Ensure your pathway is properly lighted so that you don’t step on or near a critter or trip over a skateboard.

If you’re looking to enhance your curb appeal, outdoor lighting is the way to go. An illuminated home communicates to passersby that you care for your home, not to mention it’s warm and inviting. If positioned properly, you can highlight the best features of your home, such as your landscaping. When you put time and great effort into turning your landscaping into art, you want it seen at all hours, not just during the day!

No matter your reasoning for wanting to add outdoor lighting, rest assured a licensed electrician can help you choose the best lights for your needs and budget.

Landscape lighting can add beauty to your home as well as provide increased safety on your property.  Lighting design can be used to light pathways, highlight your homes architecture, and deter intruders.  When considering adding lighting to your landscaping, it is important to find the right balance of lighting.  Focus on adding lighting to main activity areas like driveways, entrances, pathways, dark areas around windows, and stairs and main focal points such as fountains, trees, or statues.  The following landscape lighting basics can help make the most of your lighting.

Up-lighting: Up-lighting is placing a light facing upward toward an object to illuminate it.  This works well for highlighting the focal points of your landscape or home.  Use it sparingly to highlight objects around your yard like statues, trees, flag poles, and fountains.

Down-lighting: Down-lighting is used to illuminate large areas.  It works well for illuminating entertainment areas such as a patio or a deck.  It also helps to deter intruders.

Accent Lighting: Accent lighting is an excellent choice for lighting paths and stairs by placing lights along both edges of a path or a staircase.  This looks beautiful and has the added safety feature of helping prevent people from tripping and falling.  Accent lighting can also add focus to low-lying flowers, shrubs, and ponds.

Advantages of Low Voltage Lighting: As part of your basic landscape lighting, you have the choice between using 120v and low voltage 12v lighting.  Low voltage has a lot to offer in terms of landscape lighting safety as well not having to dig 18 inch trenches into your yard. Low voltage lighting can be neatly tucked away, just below your yard’s surface.  It is safer in wet conditions, and it offers more precise lighting effects.  Because the lamps (light bulbs) are smaller, it allows for smaller, less obtrusive fixtures.  It can also save you money by having lower energy costs.  Low voltage lighting requires a transformer to convert 120v to 12v which can cause voltage drop (dim lights) if it is improperly engineered.  For this, it is a good idea to ask a professional electrician for help.

These tips will get you started.  For more ideas, ask a lighting consultant for suggestions, and for any questions, don’t hesitate to contact www.electricmaninc.com to find the answers you need!

Think your home’s lighting is worthy of sharing? Post to our Facebook Fan Page!

About ElectricMan Inc.

ElectricMan Inc. is one of Dallas’ most trusted electricians. Nick Schaeffer, Mr. ElectricMan himself, has quite the resume for a master electrician. He started the company by himself in 2004 and hasn’t looked back since! For more information about Electricman’s list of electrical repair services, please visit www.ElectricManInc.com

Just a few years ago, an energy efficient LED bulb might have cost you $20 or more. But today, you may be able to get as many as six bulbs for that price, and consumers are taking notice.

LEDs were always extremely energy efficient and long lasting -- the high upfront cost was the last thing holding them back from being the obvious choice for most household lamps and fixtures. But while we waited for those prices to drop, many consumers turned to CFL bulbs -- the curly ones -- as a more affordable way to reduce their energy consumption.

Now that LEDs are so accessible, some homeowners are upgrading and wondering what to do with their collection of CFLs, some of which may have thousands of hours of light left in them.

Managing the Mercury

The primary reason why CFLs need to be handled and disposed of carefully is because each bulb contains a small amount of mercury. The mercury content is so low that you don’t need to worry excessively about health risks in the event of a broken bulb, but if thousands of CFLs pile up together in the same landfill, the combined mercury content could prove hazardous. Even in trace amounts per bulb, the risk of soil and water contamination is real.

To avoid this problem, every CFL bulb should be disposed of at a recycling facility, whether it’s broken, whole, burned out or still good.

Recycle Right

Not every recycling facility accepts CFLs. If you have curbside recycling, check the service provider’s website for information specific to CFLs. It may be that they’re able to collect and recycle these bulbs, but only if they’re packaged separately for disposal. Some facilities may require you to deliver CFLs yourself.

In addition to municipal recycling centers, CFL recycling is offered by many business, including hardware and electronics stores. If you’re looking for your nearest CFL recycling location, use Earth911’s recycling search tool.

Accidents Happen

CFLs are made of breakable glass -- a fragile barrier containing the mercury vapor within. Because of the low mercury content, you don’t need to call out the hazmat team if you accidentally break a bulb. But as a precaution, you should still treat cleanup more seriously than you would with an ordinary incandescent bulb.

If a CFL bulb breaks, immediately clear the area of people and pets. If possible, open a window or door to ventilate the room. Turn off the HVAC system so that the mercury isn’t circulated throughout the home.

When it’s time to clean up the mess, leave the vacuum behind. Like your HVAC system, it can blow the mercury vapor around your home. Instead, sweep up all the glass and bulb components into a dustpan and deposit them into a plastic bag.

Use a damp paper towel to wipe down the area, and if necessary, use sticky tape to collect small glass shards. Place all cleaning materials into the bag and seal it up. Afterward, take the bag to your nearest CFL recycling location for safe disposal.

And if you need help with more substantial lighting issues, don’t take the risk of playing with electricity alone -- call up your local, licensed electricians.