Halloween is less than one month away! If you’re thinking of decorating your home for the holiday, nothing can help turn your house into a festive sight like lighting. In minutes, you can turn your quaint cottage a ghoulish green, make your bungalow glow orange, or paint your front lawn an eerie yellow. Suddenly, your charming home becomes mysterious and thrilling to trick-or-treaters and passersby.

If the motor seems to be fine, attempt to reconnect it to a load. For motors spinning in the wrong direction that are three-phase, swap any two leads either in the starter or in the motor connection box to reverse its rotational direction. Motors that struggle with a load may have something plugged up or jammed in the load itself. A mechanic may be required to check fans, belts, or pumps that are powered by a motor. When a motor trips the overload device, attach an anmeter to measure the current during startup and operation. Check the FLA on the motor nameplate to see what the expected current draw should be. If it is high, the motor may simply be overloaded. If not, the overload protection device may be set too low or may need replacing.

By following these basic ac motor troubleshooting tips, any electrician can quickly determine the cause of most problems in an AC motor.

You already have a smart phone – maybe even a smart thermostat. What's next? Believe it or not, refrigerators are next in the line of devices with advanced features and technology to improve our domestic lives. A new smart fridge, manufactured by GE, is scheduled to come on the market this spring.

Welcome to the Future

For the average household, the refrigerator is the third-largest energy drain after the HVAC system and the hot water heater. That means there's a lot of room to improve on efficiency.

Your garden-variety refrigerator really only has one setting to manipulate: the temperature. And the EPA recommends setting it between 35 and 38 degrees, so there's not a lot of leeway in that regard before you risk spoiling your food. The real value in a smart fridge  is in its communication with you, reminding you to adjust your behavior and not waste any unnecessary energy.

For example, if you leave the door open, a smart fridge can alert you to close it rather than wasting all that cold air. If it's time to clean the coils, it gives you a heads up, so it can continue to operate at peak efficiency. If the power usage suddenly spikes for no apparent reason, the fridge lets you know so you can have it serviced to correct the problem.

The EPA is encouraging manufacturers to include such smart features in their products. “These features would offer consumers more ways to reduce the energy consumption of their refrigerators and freezers, help lower their utility bills, and better protect the environment and the climate,” the agency says. “Refrigerators and freezers with connected functionality will also be “smart grid”-ready, meaning that with consumer permission, they will be able to respond to utility signals, including curtailing operations during more expensive peak demand times.”

Savings Beyond Belief

If your refrigerator is more than a decade old, it's costing you more money than it should in electricity usage. If it's more than two decades old, it's really draining your finances. That good news is that the new models are so efficient they could pay for themselves in utility savings within a few years. New federal standards kicked in for refrigerators last fall, which means that the latest models are performing at an all-time peak.

When you go fridge shopping, make sure you purchase a model that bears the Energy Star logo, which means it performs at least 10 percent above and beyond the minimum federal efficiency requirements. “We can all do our part in meeting the challenge of climate change,” said Janet McCabe, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, in a press release. “By choosing Energy Star appliances, families can save energy, save money, and reduce carbon pollution.”

If every fridge and freezer in the country were updated to meet just the minimum requirements, homeowners would save a cumulative $890 million annually on their energy bills. Even if your share is just a small fraction of that, every bit counts.

RGB LED strip lights are a great way to add a pop of color to your above-ground pool. These low-voltage LED lights can be applied to the inside rim of your pool or around your pool deck. With RGB LED strip lights, you can choose from a ton of dynamic color-changing and single-color modes with adjustable brightness and speed control. They’re great for parties or late-night swims and can be easily installed. We’ve included installation instructions for our waterproof LED strip lights. Some cities require above-ground pool lighting to meet National Electrical Code (NEC) Article 680 standards, which would limit possible pool lighting installation locations. Before you purchase LED pool lights, check your city’s code requirements. We also recommend that you have a certified electrician install your lights.

1) Before ordering your LED strip lights, measure the diameter of your pool and multiply by 3.14 to find its circumference; this number indicates the total length of strip that you will need. The 21-foot pool used for these installation instructions has a circumference of 65.94 feet and requires 4 runs of 16-foot LED strips.

You will also need to measure the distance between where your power supply will be and both sides of your pool where the amplifiers will be installed (see the setup and wiring illustration below). These distances will tell you how much 18-gauge wire you’ll need for connecting the amplifiers to power. Make sure to account for the distance of any dips or turns that the wires may take along their paths.

Lastly, measure the approximate distance that will be between your controller and where your strip lights begin. This distance will tell you how much 22-gauge wire you’ll need for connecting the controller to your strips. You will also need two small sections of this wire for connecting your first and second strip lights to the amplifiers.

2) Before you’re ready to install your LED strip lights, be sure to drain your pool. Begin by creating or locating a dry area away from your pool for the power supply. The power supply should be contained in a weatherproof box. Power supplies should be installed between a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) protected circuit and the pool’s junction box. It’s crucial to use a GFCI protected circuit as it shuts off if current flows where it’s not supposed to.

Wire the included plug to the power supply, but do not connect to power until the installation is complete.

3) Connect your RGB LED controller to the power supply. Cut the barrel off of the controller wiring. Strip back the remaining wires, and connect its wires to the power supply.

4) Cut the LC2 connector off of the remaining end of the controller, and strip back the wires. Run 22-gauge four-conductor wire to connect the controller to your low-voltage pool lights; use dolphin connectors to join like-colored wires. Connect your first two LED strip lights to the controller by joining each set of like-colored wire with a dolphin connector. You should be connecting four wires of each color (red, blue, green, and black) together. For added protection, cover all wire connections in this installation with electrical tape.

5) You will apply strip 1 clockwise around your pool rim and strip 2 counterclockwise. If you have a flat surface, use mounting clips to secure the strips in place as you go. If you want to mount the strips under your pool rim, drill small holes in the trusses approximately every 2 feet. Use cable ties to anchor the strip to the truss. You can also use speed nuts or cotter pins for strip anchoring to avoid drilling holes.

Solder a small section of 22-gauge four-conductor wire onto the strip’s end terminals. To reseal the LED pool light strip, slide wires through the holes of a 10-mm end cap, fill the cap with silicone, and slide it into place on the end of the strip. Be sure to cover all of the exposed conductive traces to ensure water resistance. Allow a minimum of two to three hours for the sealant to cure.

7) Once the new end wires are attached to the strip, you will mount the amplifier. Use the double-sided 3M foam pad to mount the amplifier in the middle of strip 1 and strip 3. For best results and added security, apply 3M adhesion promoter to the amplifier and its installation location on the pool wall.

8) Using a dolphin connector, join each like-colored wire on strip 1 to the same color on one end of the amplifier. Do the same when connecting strip 3 to the other side of the amplifier. You should be connecting three wires in each color (red, blue, and green) together on each side of the amplifier. The black strip wire will be joined with white amplifier wire. Note that the separate group of just black and red wires are meant to be connected to the power supply. Follow the same instructions for connecting strips 2 and 4 to the amplifier on the other side of the pool.

9) Use 18-gauge wire and dolphin connectors to connect the amplifiers to your power supply.

10) Plug the power supply’s attached cord into an outlet, and enjoy your LED pool lighting system! Refill your pool with water, but make sure to leave space between the water line and the lights.

For more LED pool lighting options, see our entire selection of waterproof color-changing LED strip lights.

For technical questions, don’t hesitate to call us toll free at 866-590-3533. Our customer service and technical support teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.