Everyone has had electrical problems with lamps and lighting fixtures. Your favorite lamp may be flickering off and on. You’ve changed the bulb and that doesn’t fix the problem. Now what do you do? The answer can be as simple as replacing worn out light fixture wiring or it may be more complex than that.

Incorrect use of electricity, inefficient appliances and lighting may lead to high energy bills. In addition, the faulty state of your home insulation will lead to heat or cold air escaping when it should not. Other factors include water leakages in the washroom and kitchen sinks, leaking hot water pipes, etc. Any of these will require more energy to heat or cool the air, or pump water to compensate for the lost amounts.

An electrician can assess your entire home and make a recommendation to enable you to save energy and you may even be able to enjoy energy rebates from making upgrades to your lighting system. Address any electrical problems at this time.

The London Olympics are certainly on the tip of nearly everyone’s tongue (and Courtesy of FrenchArt-Deco.com

This piece, entitled “Swimming Pool” by French artist Albert Decaris won gold in the Engravings and Etchings competition.

In 1949, the International Olympic Committee decided to stop all art competitions, reasoning that it was illogical to let professional artists compete, while only amateur athletes were eligible. Instead, cultural festivals replaced the art competitions, and still do to this day. There’s still a chance for the best of the best artists and entertainers to showcase their stuff on an international stage, and for lighting designers, this is certainly a world class exhibition. 

LED is the light source that’s in it to win it this summer, wowing Olympic fans with spectacular light shows and festive monuments alike.

At the opening ceremony, LEDs were at the center of almost everything. The dove bikes used LEDs to light up their wings as they performed a circuit of the stadium.

LEDs lit the screen showing the Queen’s acting debut, with none other than James Bond.

Even on the sidewalk outside the main Olympic Stadium, there are 20 circular slabs that capture the kinetic energy of pedestrians’ footsteps to light up nearby LED lamps for 30 seconds at a time!

According to OSHA, “Safety related work practices shall be employed to prevent electric shock or other injuries resulting from either direct or indirect electrical contact.”  *   This OSHA rule helps to enforce national guidelines regarding  Arc Flash Protection.

The type of protective outer wear worn depends on the level of flash risk. While working in the lowest risk levels, personnel must wear flame-retardant clothing. The level of protection gradually increases to include rubber gloves and other specialized clothing.  As the  level of risk increases employees must don a specified number of layered, flame-retardant clothing under a multi-layered flash suit complete with hood and gloves.

*OSHA 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 1910, Subpart S

The Denver electricians at Piper Electric Co., Inc. regularly perform arc flash studies in accordance with OSHA regulations to determine the degree of danger involved in industrial settings. The analyses are performed as a means of understanding and preventing possible arc flash hazards. In keeping with National Electrical Codes and OSHA requirements, an electrical engineer surveys the breaker panels, fuse panels, panel boards and switch panels along with motor control centers and panels in the facility. Following the evaluation and calculations, each location receives an ANSI arc flash warning label.  This marking can be generic or very specific, whichever is more relevant. Future revisions of the NEC standard may require more detailed information on this label.  At minimum the label should contain enough information to determine the area where conditions exist that only qualified workers should enter.

To Tampa residents, power outages are nothing new. We’ve dealt with all kinds of crazy storms and annoying weather in our time here, and it can be quite flustering if you’re not sure how to handle things. But if you’re prepared and know what to do, an outage can become little more than brief annoyance. Find out what to do during an outage with the help of the experts at Hoffman Electrical!