The living room seems a little dim, you think. Here’s the DIY solution you cook up: you head over to the hardware store, buy a brighter bulb, screw it into the nearest lamp and bask in the incandescent glow. Easy, right?Not exactly. Using a lightbulb with higher-than-recommended wattage for a specific fixture is known as overlamping. This seemingly innocent practice is actually surprisingly dangerous, and is one of the leading causes of house fires in the United States — right up there with candles, smoking and cooking mishaps.

Overlamping is one of the most commonly overlooked mistakes a homeowner can make, and it can be deadly. A 2011 electrical fire that killed 11 people in Brisbane — the according to home improvement blogger Taryn Williford. When you place an incandescent bulb with wattage that’s too high in the socket of a lamp that cannot provide the required electrical output, the ensuing heat and intensity of the bulb can scorch or melt the socket and the insulation of the lamp's wiring.  

Now you have prime conditions for arc fault. An arc fault occurs when a spark jumps through the air between exposed wires. This sounds dangerous, yes? It is — in fact, the National Fire Protection Agency and the National Association of State Fire Marshals electrical power. A CFL often has a tubular shape atop the familiar screw-bottom.

An LED (light-emitting diode) light is directional, rather than radiant. This allows the LED to use much less energy than an incandescent light or even a CFL. LEDs can also directly replace incandescent bulbs in some cases.

CFLs use a much lower wattage than incandescent bulbs and create far less heat, making overlamping situations far less likely. LEDs also use much less electricity and even remain cool to the touch. The risks of overlamping are negligible.

There are drawbacks to any lighting solution. Incandescent (even halogen) lights are energy inefficient. CFLs are made from materials that are terrible for the environment. LEDs burn out at a quicker rate. The right light for you is the light that makes you most comfortable in your home — and that’s a decision you need to make.

If you live in Maryland, Northern Virginia or Washington, D.C. and need schedule electrical repair service online now.

Security cameras provide constant monitoring of your home even when you are not there. Unless you are a superhero, there’s no way you can be two places at once. It’s practically impossible. Security cameras are a great investment that can be your eyes even when you cannot be there in person. You don’t have to install a full security system, as it can be very expensive and intrusive, but installing a couple of cameras in your home can go a long way. Check out these reasons to install security cameras in your home this summer!

Keep an Eye on Your Children

When you leave your kids by themselves, you don’t have control of where they go or what will happen to them. There’s always that fear that something terrible will happen to your kids while you are away. Although that scenario is not likely, it’s good to have a few cameras around just in case. Security cameras can help you watch your children when playing in the front yard or near the street, and this can alert them to strangers approaching or children wandering too close to the street.

You rely on babysitters and trust to take care of your children properly. During an evening out, you can remotely access internally mounted security cameras to monitor how your babysitter interacts with your children. If there should be any issues, you can know about them immediately if you are monitoring in real time, or you can watch taped footage later to ensure that the babysitter is acting in their best interests when watching your children.

Dissuade Possible Vandals and Thieves

Even if you live in the safest neighborhood in Virginia, there are those few criminals that are always around and tend to target the least prepared and most vulnerable amongst us. Security cameras are an excellent way for your home to be on guard against these risks. Those who are looking to break into a home often look for security cameras and observe the property prior to acting. they should see security cameras positioned around the home, it is more than likely that they simply move along to another home that is not as well protected.

Security cameras have an added benefit of protection with the ability to capture a break in or vandal and save the images as evidence. Sometimes security cameras are in place with the added protection of burglar alarms to ensure your home is safe all around. This can be very helpful to police agencies by providing them the evidence they need to pursue individuals who commit crimes in your home.

Monitor Your Home Remotely

If you’re taking a long vacation and are worried about leaving your home unattended for several days, consider installing a few security cameras. Security cameras give you the ability to monitor places like a remote vacation property or your home when you are not there. This allows you to be notified quickly if there is something wrong with your remote home or property and you can alert the local authorities to the trouble. That way, you have peace of mind and can relax and enjoy your vacation!

Homeowners have a powerful tool at their disposal that they may not even be aware of. Lighting can make or break a room. Having new, updated light fixtures in a room can completely change the way the home looks and feels. And although the actual work is not all that labor intensive, it is crucial you have a Glendale electrician perform the work. Working with electricity is something that should be left to the professionals like those at The Electric Connection.

It is amazing to see the difference a single light fixture can make in a room. Changing lights throughout a home is like giving your house a major facelift without any serious expense. There is so much you can do to change the look and feel of a room simply by visiting your local lighting store or your favorite home improvement store. Hanging chandeliers, recesses lights, track lighting and so much more is all available for you to use to your advantage.

You can easily turn a dark kitchen into a brilliant space with plenty of lighting right where you need it. Turn your dining room into a romantic area with lights that are controlled with a dimmer switch installed by an electrician. Glendale homeowners will have the freedom to control how much light you have. That one particular picture in the living room hanging over the mantle deserves some special recognition. Use recess or track lighting to direct light onto a family picture or a prized piece of artwork to really make it pop and become a focal point in the room.

The possibilities are endless. Take a walk around your home and look at your current lighting scheme. Could you do something different? Then head to the lighting store and pick up the fixtures that will compliment your home and décor. When you are ready, give The Electric Connection a call and schedule your appointment for your new lighting fixtures to be installed. It is that simple!

Today, there are three things that are impacting outdoor lighting trends, taller elevations, the shift from brown-based to grey-based exterior materials and the continued desire for Outdoor Living elements and accessories. Together or separate, these changes are having an impact on outdoor lighting.

Taller

For almost ten years now, the height of interior ceilings has been shifting from a longstanding norm of eight-foot to a minimum of nine-foot tall. Many homes and many geographic areas are seeing minimums of ten and even twelve-foot. Homeowners love the expanse this provides. The unintended result of this growth is taller exterior elevations. Because of these increases in the exterior elevation and the commensurate growth of exterior door size and height, the standard, wall-mounted lighting fixtures that flank the doors and garage of a home had grown. Gone are the 8” porch lights of the past. Consumers must seek out taller exterior lighting to compliment the extended expanses outside.

Occurring almost concurrent with the interior ceiling height increases has been a growth in urban infill architecture. Central city lots are not the same as suburban plots. They often were extremely narrow, but also quite deep. The resultant architecture is significantly narrower and usually over two-stories tall. A three-story or four story façade again warrants a taller lighting fixture, but these must also be substantially narrower. For this type installation, seek out narrow and tall lighting.

From Brown to Gray

The dominant color of residential exterior has been beige/brown/tan for an extremely long period of time. Over the last five years, a larger and larger percentage of new homes have been using grey, slate, black and even white. Stones, siding, roofing, trim and windows are all experiencing this shift. Exterior lighting has primarily been some form of bronze. That is shifting now to colors and finishes that work better with the new material palette. Look for more black, variants of grey and even aluminum, stainless and nickel finishes. Each of these will more effectively compliment the new colors.

Keep in mind that there is a fair amount of regionalism in this particular trend. Housing colors in “dessert” areas (Phoenix, Southern California, Nevada, Florida and parts of Texas) where stucco homes are de rigueur will not see this shift. The stucco is naturally beige and roofing must be terra cotta to withstand the elevated temperatures. It is highly unlikely to see the demand for bronze-based finished altering here. Expect continued demand in these specific locations.

Outdoor Living Continues

The trend toward more and more outdoor use of a home shows no signs of stopping. Homeowners want to maximize their living space and extending to the home’s exterior is a natural reaction. There are typically thousands of square feet of living space outside. Why not use it? That space has been filled with kitchen equipment that rivals the inside and seating and tables that delivers the same type of comfort as interior furnishings. Look for lighting to follow this path. Exterior chandeliers continue to grow in popularity. Pendants and linear lighting have recently appeared. Landscape Lighting provided by LED remains a viable way to add interest to these outdoor spaces. Relatively recent additions are battery-operated LED Portable Lamps than can be positioned around the area to add light where people tend to congregate. All of these forms of light are designed to enhance the already inviting outdoor spaces.

It is interesting to note, this is not a regional trend. People in the north are as likely as southerners to equip their homes with these accessories. It is often said that northerners must pack 12 months of outdoor living into four or five months and they do that with gusto! Every outdoor is primed and ready for these products.

Outdoor Trends

A tertiary trend that is slowing gaining foothold is a more contemporary overall design. Initially this started with architect-driven homes and urban infill architecture, but more contemporary or contemporary-leaning residences are appearing. For that reason, an uptick in the demand for modern designs is becoming evident. While small today, it cannot be ignored. More will inevitably be employed in the future.

Outdoor trends in residential exteriors tend to be slow in coming and they typically hold for a longer period of time than interior trends. These shifts have been accelerating for a while now. When they peak, they will hold for a longer period of time. Our love for the outdoor seems inexhaustible.