1.  Invest in a Few Strategically Placed Garden Lights–Do not over light your landscape. Be sure to check the “dark sky”* ordinances in your town so that your landscape lighting design will be within legal limits of illumination.  Try a few garden spread lights to softly highlight flowerbeds, rock gardens and sculpted shrubbery.

2.  Work It Wisely—Put the ultimate control in the palm of your hand. Whether hand-held or on automated timers, outdoor lighting controls are the utmost in energy-saving and convenience to promote safety and security effortlessly and instantly.

3.  Prepare Your Patio for the King of the Grill—Task lighting is often neglected when planning your landscape and outdoor lighting design. While aiming for subtle illumination in most backyard areas, you need shielded, but plentiful focused task light over outdoor cooking stations.  An adjustable spot light installed in a rooftop corner or an attached grill light will help you to see that your chicken is thoroughly cooked and your burgers are not too well-done.

4. Watch Your Step and Provide Shielded Path Lighting —LED path lights and strip lights are available in a variety of colors and sizes to uniquely define and expand the boundaries of your outdoor living space while providing nighttime illumination for safe navigation.

5.  Go for the Life Time Guarantee—Superb new vendors are featuring landscape lighting products guaranteed to withstand the elements and weather naturally overtime without peeling or rusting.  Check out new post lamps from Northeast Lantern–all parts, with the exception of glass, are guaranteed for life!

 Say “Happy Father’s Day!” and bring it on home. Great landscape lighting will truly make his home feel like his castle. 

 Best Landscape Lighting Finds For Summer 

Path Lighting: “Nexus,” new from Hinkley Lighting featuring LED and a Bronze finish; “Dwell”  1547 from Hinkley in a Buckeye Bronze or Hematite finish.

Garden Lights: “Intaglio” Brass Crook Neck 1543 landscape light in Olde Bronze from Kichler Lighting; Tiffany path light in Antique Bronze with Green Faux Tiffany shade (P5271) from Progress Lighting.

Grill and Wall Lights: Barn Lantern from Northeast Lantern available in a choice of unique finishes including: Antique Brass, Dark Antique Brass, Dark Brass and Verdi Gris.

Step and Deck Lighting:  LED-TO24-5 Tape Lights from WAC Lighting, available in Amber, Blue, Green, Red, and White.

 Be sure that your new outdoor lighting purchases are in keeping with the dark-sky outdoor-lighting codes in your community.

*The latest landscape light fixtures are energy efficient and in keeping with new “Dark Sky” regulations.  “Dark Sky” ordinances continue to spread across the country in an effort to reduce light pollution.  Check the latest nighttime light restrictions in your town, to make sure your outdoor and landscape lighting is in keeping with new code laws.  Call your local government’s community planning and zoning office.  Fines for violating dark-sky ordinances may cost up to $100–Consumer Digest Communications, LLC.

The emergence of shielded dark-sky-compliant fixtures makes it easy to update your landscape lighting in keeping with the new laws. In addition to being environmentally friendly, these fixtures reduce glare, and they are affordable and energy saving.

An electric conduit is electrical tubing used for protection and routing of electrical wiring. They can be made from a variety of materials, such as: plastic, metal, fiber and fired clay, all depending on the purpose it is being used for. It is generally installed by electricians at the electrical equipment’s installation site. The regulations governing the conduits’ use, form and installation details are specified by the US National Electrical Code (NEC).

Conduit is used as a general term to describe any system that contains electrical conductors. The conduit systems are installed for the following reasons:

To operate as pull outlets for the conductors that are being installed Make 90° bends in conduit runs

Types of Conduits

Conduit systems are classified based on the material used to make the tubing, mechanical stiffness and wall thickness. The material is selected for mechanical protection and corrosion resistance after taking into consideration the cost factor. There are special guidelines to be followed for wiring equipment in hazardous areas that need prior approval. Based on these factors, we examine a few prominent conduits:

Form 35/5/85 ex. Appleton LB400M

The Form 35 is used for malleable iron unilets as they have high tensile strength and ductility along with high corrosion and shock resistance. With the easy inbuilt rollers of type C (1-1/4” thru 4”) and type LB (1-1/4” thru 4”), these type of conduits help eliminate the damage when cable is pulled through the hubs. Form 5 has inbuilt rollers on all 11⁄4 to 4 C and LB bodies to facilitate wire pulling.

Form 7 ex. Crouse hind LB37

The Form 7 ex. Crouse hind LB37 is compatible with rigid and intermediate conduits for indoor as well as outdoor installation. It is made of cast iron or cast aluminium for a long life. It is extremely suitable for compact installations with rigidly threaded conduits of various shapes and sizes. The Form 7 has an exclusive snap tight and wedgenut cover attachment to provide clear, unhindered cover opening.

Mogul ex. Appleton BLB400m

The Mogul ex. Appleton BLB400m has a large body size that facilitates pulling of large and heavy conductors and are used as cast covers for providing additional wiring area. These are best used for pulling straight, 45° or 90° angle turns as well as for making taps and splices.

Form 8 ex. Crouse LB38

The Form 8 ex. Crouse LB38 is a 1” rigidly threaded conduit without cover and gasket made of Feraloy iron alloy. It is useful for indoor and outdoor use and comes in sizes ½” through 4”.

Form 9 ex. Crouse LB39

Summer storms and problems with the electrical grid can lead to power outages wherever you may live. There was a time when candles and flashlights were really the only way in which to make it through a power outage in one’s home. Thankfully, those days are far behind us at this point. If you are interested in keeping your home powered, despite the fact that you’re receiving no power from the grid, we strongly recommend that you consider the installation of a whole-house generator. More specifically, we suggest that you give the use of an automatic standby generator in  Needham Heights, MA some serious consideration. 

Some homeowners may only be interested in keeping an appliance or two running in the event of a power outage. In such instances, a portable generator may suffice, though these systems are really better suited for the campground or use at tailgating events. For whole-house protection, though, a whole-house generator is obviously the way to go.

What happens when you’re not at home to activate your generator, though? Do you just leave a chest freezer or your refrigerator without any electricity to keep them up and running, even if you’re going to be gone a few days? With the use of an automatic standby generator, you won’t have to worry about integral systems shutting down in the event of a power outage, even if you are not there to start up the generator manually.

A whole-house generator is wired into your electrical system directly, and automatic standby models are designed to detect the loss of electricity to the system. Once it has, the generator springs into action, powering your systems so that you won’t have to worry about spoiled food, failed security systems, and so on.