Around the world, every city offers something different. Though they all have hustle and bustle, lots of buildings, and usually traffic, when you’re on their streets you would never mistake San Francisco for Cairo, Toronto for Tokyo, or Berlin for Rio de Janeiro. But what about from space? During the day, these cities tend to blend in with their surrounding countryside. However, when lit up at night, it’s easy to see how varied these cities can be.

Is it possible to tell anything about the life and culture of our cities when viewing their lights from above? You might be surprised at how much.

Landmarks

Can you guess which cultural icon jumps out of this landscape?

Now, take a look at this photograph of Denver, a much newer city. The streets are mapped out in a much more orderly, grid-like way, aligned North-South and East-West.

The majority of urban areas in Tokyo use green mercury vapor lamps. Only the most newly built areas glow the standard orange.

Development

When examining a city’s lights from above, you can also learn about development, community growth, and infrastructure. Check out this unique photo of two cities from two countries side-by-side – the border towns Cuidad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas.

The licensed electricians at Expert Electric receive a lot of questions about how motion sensing lights work and where to install them. Since our team has plenty of experience installing motion sensing lights in residential homes and commercial buildings, we figured it would be beneficial to help answer some of the more popular questions we receive. Keep reading to learn more about how motion sensing lights work, where to install them and how to install them.

Many of us are familiar with motion sensing lights as they have been around for some time now. They frequently make appearances in spy films and may even have been installed at your workplace. Nowadays, motion sensing lights are becoming an increasingly popular security measure in both commercial business buildings and residential homes. These motion sensing lights work by detecting infrared heat waves that can be found on moving objects. In order to ensure that the sensors are not triggered by non-human objects, it is necessary to dial them to a specific sensitivity setting that usually falls between 8 to 12 micrometers. To ensure that sensing lights are installed and working properly, it is best to contact a licensed electrician.

For residential homes, it is important to install motion sensing lights in different areas around the outside of the home, in both the front and back yard. For the front yard, consider installing the motion sensing lights to cover walkways, driveways, entranceways and stairs. For the backyard, it is important to cover any similar areas as well as patios, hot tubs, swimming pools and gates. Don’t feel that you should limit yourself to these areas. The placement of motion sensing lights is based upon each individual home. A good rule of thumb is to cover the most common pathways to home entrances as well as dark and hazardous areas throughout the property. The same goes for commercial properties although these properties will likely require a larger scale of motion sensing lights due to their size and valuables on hand. For questions about where to install motion sensing lights on either residential properties or commercial properties, contact the expert electricians at Expert Electric.

For commercial buildings and businesses, it is recommended that a licensed electrician takes care of the installation of motion sensing lights. This will ensure that the lights are working properly to protect the building and its valuables. Nowadays installing motion sensing lights in residential homes can be a simple process; however, dialing in the sensitivity settings so that the lights are not being prompted by non-human movement every hour of the night can be tricky. A licensed electrician at Expert Electric can have your residential motion sensing lights up and running in no time, allowing you to sleep safely and peacefully, free of frustrating false alarms.

Depending on what sparked your need for an electrical repair, you might be wondering if you can DIY a solution or whether you need to call a professional. If the fix just means changing a lightbulb or resetting the breaker, sure, go ahead! However, if your problem requires potentially exposing yourself to a live current, the job is probably best left to an electrical repair service. There’s a reason electricians are rigorously trained and licensed — the job can be dangerous.

Do you oftenHere are the signs you need an electrician

At the least, making a mistake while doing DIY electrical repairs could mean subjecting yourself to the discomfort of an electric shock … at the worst, fatal electrocution. Even if you do manage to get the job done, poor wiring or improper installation could also create a fire hazard down the line. There are some jobs it just makes sense to pay someone else to do.