A recent report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has found that builder confidence is up industrywide when it comes to home construction this month. In the group's Housing Market Index - a monthly study compiled in conjunction with financial giant Wells Fargo - the composite ticked upward three basis points from April to May, now sitting at a healthy 44 for the period.

"Builders are noting an increased sense of urgency among potential buyers as a result of thinning inventories of homes for sale, continuing affordable mortgage rates and strengthening local economies. This is definitely an encouraging sign even amidst rising challenges with regard to the cost and availability of building materials, lots and labor," NAHB Chairman Rick Judson, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C., stated in the group's press release.

For months, activity has been ramping up in the housing industry, with buyers flooding the market faster than home builders could keep pace. With the busy summer real estate season just about to begin, the supply of new residences is anticipated to tighten even more if buyers can't keep up.

If you’re in the market for a new generator, then you’re off to the great start. We offer unparalleled service and exceptional workmanship when it comes to finding our customers a whole house or portable generator for their homes. But there are several things to consider if you want to make an informed decision. Whether you’re on a tight budget or you’re shopping for a comprehensive backup for your large home, it’s critical that you get in touch with a professional electrician early on. Only a knowledgeable and skilled technician can advise you as to which make and model of generator would work best for you.

A lot of time we are asked what is the equivalent LED product to convert from Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium or Mercury Vapor. And a lot of time, we have a product in mind that works based on past experience. But how did we come up with that product, and how did we make the original decision on what was the proper replacement?

There’s a lot of science that goes into light, color, quality, and each light had it’s own characteristics. For example, it takes less LED to replace High Pressure Sodium than it takes to replace Metal Halide. And we are talking a lot more than just lumens. We are talking about color temperature, quality of light and something called photopic / scotopic lumens.

In the world of lighting, we measure foot candles with a light meter, this is called a photopic measurement. The light meter picks up everything, including spectrum’s that are invisible to us. Now, we humans see things to, and this is called scotopic lumens. Our rods and cones read and interpret light. And it does so differently than what a light meter does. So it is not uncommon when we demo a LED Light against a HPS light or Metal Halide, we first ask “Which is brighter” before we show the light meter reading. It leaves a few people scratching their heads. Well, that’s the science of of it all, and fortunately there is some handy tables called SP ratios that allow us to take the lumens of a particular light (photopic lumens) and multiply it by the S/P ratio to get the scotopic lumens equivalent.

For example, the S/P ratio for High Pressure Sodium is 0.40. The S/P ratio for LED at 5000K is 1.8. So if you take 40,000 lumens of HPS and multiply it 0.4, the effective scotopic lumens is 16,000. To get the same amount of lumens from LED, take the 16,000 and divide it by the S/P ratio and you get 8888 lumens. So the 8888 lumens of LED is the photopic measurement, the 16,000 LED lumens is the scotopic lumens measurement. So in an nutshell, you need 8,888 lumens of LED to replace 40,000 lumens of HPS from a scotopic point of view.

Here is a handy chart of common lights and ratios for you to use.

It is true that most of the electrical problems you have in your home will need to be taken care of by a licensed electrician. However, there are various smaller problems that you can easily and safely troubleshoot. Here are just a few:

This can be quite bothersome and yet pretty easy to troubleshoot. Begin by checking that the bulb has been screwed in correctly. It needs to be in all the way. If that is in order, check to see that the wattage is correct for the fixture in which it has been fixed. If the wattage is not right, that can be causing overheating and it can even lead to a fire. In the event that the wattage is correct, just replace the old bulb with a new one. If the light is still flickering, then it is possible that the electrical outlet or the cord has a problem.