You have seen the news and have heard about the government’s move to make those cheap light bulbs a thing of the past. You are probably wondering why this is necessary and what is all the fuss about these CFLs you have seen in place of those other incandescent bulbs? Your Los Angeles electrician is here to explain why this is one trend you want to be a part of. The team at The Electric Connection can help you make the transition from the outdated bulbs to the new, more energy efficient CFLs.

One of the major complaints about the CFLs is the expense. Yes, they are more expensive. You can expect to pay anywhere from $3 to $5 for a single bulb. Before you let that deter you from jumping aboard the CFL bandwagon, read on. You have probably noticed the bulbs are sold in singles more often than the 4-pack we have become accustomed to buying. When you start using CFLs, you will understand why. The bulbs last 10 times longer than one of the incandescent bulbs. That means instead of changing a bulb every couple of months, you will go a year or more in between bulb changes.

The initial expense is also not so bad when you factor in the savings on your electric bill every month. Assuming $20 of every $100 of your electric bill is for lighting alone, you could save about $15 each month on lighting costs. CFLs use 75 percent electricity than the almost obsolete incandescent bulbs. This also translates to a reduction on energy, which is always a bonus for the environment. If you have an outdate fixture that does not work with CFLs, call an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners can update the lighting in their home and ultimately save money. Give The Electric Connection a call today and start saving money on your monthly electric bill.

The alfresco areas on your property may be open-to-the-sky, semi-enclosed or entirely covered. These spaces add to the expanse and functionality of the indoor spaces and make your yard more functional. Having an outdoor feature like a patio or deck is a great way to make optimum use of the outdoor areas on your property.

But you also need to have the right type of lighting systems installed, if you want to use these areas optimally after dark as well. When you are getting your patio designed and installed, it’s a good idea to get the outdoor lighting planned and installed as well.

A skilled and experienced electrician will be able to provide ideas and designs on the type of lighting installations that can be added to your yard spaces. When you have well-illuminated outdoor areas on your property, you are more encouraged to use them and it adds to the safety of your home as well. Here are some tips to light up your patio and garden spaces:

The right type of lighting can have a significant impact on the way the spaces look. Even the most well-designed and well-installed patios and landscapes can look lack-lustre and drab if they aren’t illuminated well. Outdoor lighting is about getting the mood and ambience right. A skilled electrician would be able to advice you on which types of fittings and fixtures, colours, placement and sizes will complement the look of your home and the landscaping. There are a number of different types of light fixtures that can be installed on your patio, such as:

As you can see, there are a number of different types of lighting that can be added to the patio and garden space to add to their functionality and aesthetics and create the right mood and ambience.

Last night, thousands of walkers and hundreds of runners in Edinburgh kicked off the Courtesy of NVA.org.uk

A bunch of research went in to creating this light up gear to meet the NVA’s head designer James Johnson’s following standards:

For the runners, the design team wanted something dramatic, so they ended up going with concentrated point source LEDs, which looked great both close and at a distance. The LEDs allowed them to mix color and adjust intensity of the lights remotely. The runners themselves had to be in tip-top shape, able to run 10 miles at a 9-10 minute pace in all kinds of weather. Therefore, as to not hinder them in their physical feat, the design team fashioned a webbing suit out of the LEDs, complete with a radio and battery pack. Check them out:

The only shortcoming of these suits was that they couldn’t be powered by the runner’s motion. After attempting to harvest energy via knee braces, they determined any impediment to the runner’s motion dramatically affects his or her performance.

For the walkers, Johnson and his team wanted to build something subtler, to provide adequate safety lighting, but not to distract from the viewing experience. They decided to go with staffs/walking sticks illuminated by a combination of electroluminescent tape, fiber optic fabric, and diffused and non-diffused LEDs. Each staff housed a micro-computer that would synch up the flashing patterns with the Orchestra’s score, with changes triggered by movement and altitude. And here they are:

The research team was able to use motion to generate power in this instance, since walking is a more leisurely, steadier movement. To harness the power of movement, two LEDs, two high power Neodymium magnets, and a copper coil go in the top of the staff, then as the walker strides along, striking the stick against the ground, one of the magnets oscillates through the coil, creating a small electrical current. One LED lights up when the magnet travels down, and the other when the magnet travels up, producing a twinkly effect.

The runners also received a smaller version of this staff in the form of a baton.