Cities like Colorado Springs, Denver, and Pueblo are constantly expanding and urbanizing—you can always spot a new neighborhood development on your commute to work. New homes are sprouting up all the time, and people are buying. However, sometimes new isn’t always better (or cheaper). There are a lot of great, older homes throughout Colorado cities, and are often a better choice when it comes to real-estate investments. If you currently own an older home, or you are considering purchasing an older home, you’re going to want to check for these common electrical problems that could cause issues in the future in terms of both safety and money.

Generally, homes that were built after 1940 are in the clear—they are usually safe and the electrical systems were installed up to code. Homes built prior to the 1940s should be evaluated, however, as many of the electrical wiring could have deteriorated or may not be able to power a home in this era of modern day technology and appliances. Regardless of when your home was built, it might be a good idea to have an electrician come out and evaluate the wiring systems in your home and ensure that your family will be safe. Here are some things that you can look for yourself when it comes to old wiring in old homes:

Old Cables

Metal cased, fabric covered, or frayed wires are signs that your wiring is outdated and unsafe. Many times during the early 1900s, electrical wiring was “protected” by metal jackets or canvas-like cloth, which can cause problems if the insulation in your walls has been damaged or aged, or even if the metal electrical cords were placed on inadequate grounding. If the wires get exposed, or start to fray in these two locations (next to insulation or on top of a poor electrical foundation) this could be a serious fire hazard waiting to happen. You know you need to call an electrician and get your wiring replaced when you can see any scorch marks on switches or outlets, when you see torn, damaged, or missing insulation, or when you see exposed wires that could potentially cause a fire.

ZINSCO and FPE Panels

Zinsco Panels

While popular around the 1970s, Zinsco panels are almost obsolete today. However, older homes can still have these panels as a part of their home’s electrical system. Not every Zinsco panel needs to get replaced, but it would still be a good idea to get it inspected, as these panels have circuit breakers that have been known to melt into the main bus bar and cause a fire.

FPE Panels

Federal Pacific Electric panels were distributed throughout thousands of homes in the 1950s to the 1980s, and have an unfortunate reputation of being extremely hazardous to the safety of you and your home. These panels have been known for their inability to trip the circuit breaker when the circuit is overloaded or short. When the breaker doesn’t trip, it instantly puts your home at a fire risk because the circuit is taking on much more than it can handle and has no way to shut itself off.

If you recognize either two of these logos on your electric panels in your home, call an electrician immediately to get them inspected.

Old Fuse Boxes—Below 100 Amps of Power

Houses built before the late 1940s and early 1950s were not expected to handle the amount of electricity that we use in modern time. That being said, the homes were installed with a circuit box that can only power 60 amp service (four fuses), or sometimes even 30 amp service (two fuses). This means that your older home may not be able to power all of the appliances and electronics that you have in your house. If your breaker is tripping constantly, or your electric bill is through the roof, this may be a sign that your older home needs an electrical inspection to update the amp-service. Older electrical panels are also at risk of starting a fire. If you are unsure whether or not your home is experiencing this, call an electrician to be safe, and they will be able to give their expert opinion on whether or not you need to upgrade your electrical panel in your older house.

These are just a few signals of outdated electrical work in an older home, but each one is a serious risk to the safety of you and your family. If you have an older house, be sure to get it checked out and evaluated for safety. The same goes for those who are looking to buy an older home in the Colorado area, as the electrical work could be outdated and dangerous.

The year of 2017 brings along more advancements in the commercial lighting space. And in a world in which things are changing so rapidly with lighting technology in virtually every way, it can be difficult to get everything you need to know in one place. For this reason, we’ve created this post in hopes of helping you get a rough guideline of the actual stadium lighting costs for the current year, 2017. Along with that, giving you the outlets to research more on the topic and get you one step closer to getting the most efficient and ROI focused technology illuminating your fields.

This post will be broken into two parts; the typical costs associated with the physical light itself and everything related to buying stadium lights. Secondly, the typical costs to powering your lights and how certain technologies may save you more money than others and how you can go about getting the highest return on investment when choosing a lighting technology and brand to go with.

To start off, we are going to cover the technical terminology of stadium lighting.

Firstly, stadium lighting is the simple term for high mast lighting. other technical terms, there are far too many to cover here. But, we think you should know the definition of lumens as we will be using it quite often. To explain, a Click here to view more about the pros and cons of both and which one is better for you.

All in all, it is too variable to give a definitive price to all situations. Keep in mind though, that a comparable LED fixture could cost double but, cut energy consumption by nearly 75% in some cases.

Since we seriously believe LED is the best option for stadiums and sports fields to illuminate their place, we are going to use that as our example (and recommendation).

Let’s keep it simple so you can use our example to get a rough idea what it will cost to run your lights.

Let’s say you have 10 lights. Currently, your high masts are metal halide and use 1,500 watts per fixture. Now, let’s say you are looking for a more efficient technology and you come across LED. You find a comparable light which will output the same amount of light (or lumens), and only consumes 400 watts per fixture.

In total, the metal halide lights are consuming 15,000 watts in total (when in use) and the LEDs would (if chosen) be using only 5,000 watts. That is 3 times less energy, which can lead to some great savings. This reduction from 1,500 watts to 500 watts per fixture is the exact reason fields both small and large fields are converting to LED over other technologies like metal halide and HPS.

For example, we often find that fields that convert to LED with us from metal halide or HPS high mast pole lights realize a payback of their investment in as little as 1 year. Additionally, since LEDs last much longer they get to realize these cost savings for much longer and thus; a much higher ROI over the lifespan of the light.

Additionally, since LEDs last longer they enjoy an additional benefit of less maintenance requirements. This allows more cost savings as an indirect benefit of LED high mast lighting.

Tips for Reducing Costs

We hope this post has answered your questions regarding most sports field lighting costs, if not, either use our contact information above or leave a comment below and a commercial lighting professional will personally reply to your questions and input.

Although the great bamboo may look more like a tree and its strength and height do measure up, it is actually classified as a grass plant.  It is the largest of the grass plants and one of the fastest growing plants on earth. Bring the natural essence and lucky aura of the bamboo plant into your environment.

New lamp styles weave natural bamboo into ingenious illumination.  Here are some of the top pics to update your home or office environment with the latest nature-loving styles:

•ELK Lighting brings the “Modern Organics” collection to light…

Bamboo rings graceful and light in the “Modern Organics” wall sconce from ELK Lighting.

Bamboo strands present a natural linear elegance to the “Modern Organics” pendant from ELK Lighting.

•Wildwood Lamps emboldens portables with a natural bamboo flair in grand fashion…

“Intricate Bamboo Splits” table lamp from Wildwood Lamps

“Inlaid Bamboo” table lamp, a handsome combination with real wood and bamboo from Wildwood

•Oggetti Luce rocks the bamboo-style with glass hand-screened in Germany…

The “BAMBDRUM” pendant  features elegant shoots of bamboo hand-screened in Germany and available in white or green glass from Oggetti Luce.

The “BAMBOO” table lamp from Oggetti Luce

•Minka Aire’s ceiling fans breeze in naturally with comfort and sophistication…

All-weather bamboo blades make the grade with Minka Aire.

•From Murray Feiss, natural bamboo pendants are attracting major attention…

“Denmark” pendant orbs in natural bamboo from Murray Feiss

•Justice Lighting’s bamboo-embossed series yields the most flattering illumination…

“Limoges” wall sconce features bamboo glass embossed in porcelain from Justice Lighting

•Meyda Lighting’s bamboo chandelier makes a giant tropical presentation…

“Banana Bamboo” chandelier from Meyda Lighting

•Frederick Ramond’s “Zen” series is still growing strong…

“Zen” LED natural bamboo chandelier from Fredrick Ramond is the ultimate in eco-friendly, sustainable design.

Visit a Capitol Lighting showroom or 1800lighting.com to see these and more custom crafted lighting designs inspired by nature.

Give your home or office environment a lift with new white lighting designs.  Bring in clean sophistication and timeless style: White on white illumination is perfect for the holiday season!  See the latest floor lamps, table lamps, wall lighting, chandeliers and home decor in a hue that looks fresh year-round…

1.  “Around the World” floor lamp from Van Teal, a striking 77-inch tall decorative tripod composition

2.  “Atilius” table lamp from Uttermost, tailored and elegant in Gloss White glass on crystal foot with a double-backed rectangular box shade

3.  “Spago” mini pendant from Fredrick Ramond, an artistic handcrafted woven metal orb of “Cloud” white surrounding an opal-etched glass shade

4.  “Cove Neck” White outdoor wall light from Nuvo Lighting, a handsomely combined mix of Asian and American style with textured glass

5.  “Walker” table lamp from Chelsea House, a dynamic white ceramic with Silk Egg shade

6.  “Sancerre” chandelier from Golden Lighting, stately in a White Gold finish with strands of delicately draped crystal beads

7.  “2 Seventy Series” island light from Nuvo Lighting, frosted acrylic spirals encase energy-efficient LED

Lighten up on Black Friday with new white lighting designs, chandeliers, lamps and home decor.  Visit 1800lighting.com for the best and brightest ideas in home decorating and illumination for the holiday season.

During a lightning storm, the safest place to be is indoors. However, there are still several safety precautions one needs to take to stay safe in your own home. The three most common ways lightning can enter your home are through a direct strike, through inner/outer wires and pipes, and through the ground.

To know how at risk your home is during a storm, you can use a guideline that meteorologists call “The 30-30 Rule.” If you see lightning and then hear thunder within 30 seconds, move indoors and take necessary safety precautions. This typically indicates that a storm is fewer than 6 miles away, which is close enough for a lightning strike. Then, stay indoors for at least 30 minutes after you hear the last clap of thunder at the end of the storm.

The following guidelines can give you additional protection against electrical injuries during harsh, stormy weather:

Injuries caused by lightning strikes are more common than most people realize, but the above considerations and safety guidelines can help secure both you and your home during inclement weather.