Part of the recent trend to go eco-friendly has been the emergence of electrical cars. Electrical cars emit no pollution and eliminate trips to the gas station, saving you money. Instead of going to the gas station though, you will need to find another destination to top up your new vehicle electric car’s batteries. Installing a car charger in your home makes it convenient and efficient to fill up every day.

Most electrical vehicles can be charged over the course of a night. For those commuting daily with an electrical vehicle, this ensures that you are charged and ready to go every morning. A car charger is likely to be installed at the location where the car is parked for the night. This is likely either in a carport or garage, but this doesn’t mean it cannot be installed outside. If you decide that the best location for your charger is not a covered area, (this may be the case for a housing complex installing a station), make sure that you purchase an outdoor charger.

When you are ready to purchase your indoor or outdoor charger, review your vehicle’s owner manual for the recommended charger requirements. The car may require either a level 1 or a level 2 charger and should specify a recommended voltage and amperage. Chargers can be purchased at a variety of different retailers. Some cars come standard with a 120V charger or a faster 240V charger. Once you have determined the specifications for your charger you can purchase the right one for your vehicle.

Electrical car chargers can be used on standard 120V outlets, but for faster charging, 240V chargers can be purchased. Even if the charger you purchased can be plugged into a standard outlet, it is recommended that you have your outlet and wiring inspected by a professional. The charging will increase the load on your electrical system. If your wiring, breaker or electrical meter is too old, you could run into issues. It is advised that if you are using a 240V charger, a dedicated circuit is installed for it.

If you are interested in having an electric car charging station installed in your home, contact Expert Electric. We can help identify the requirements and ensure that your home is prepared to charge your new vehicle.

In most offices, hallways, and other lower level and flat ceiling environments you will find some sort of tube lighting in place. The most common technology that is found to be used is currently fluorescent, but after this post that might slowly change for some because this alternatives to fluorescent office lighting and all of those other uses listed above is going to change your mind on which technology is the truly efficient one.

Although it is completely harmless while in the tube itself, accidents always happen. When a fluorescent tube is broken, a LED fluorescent tube alternative, you will skip this issue entirely because LED technology does not require any sort of mercury to work!

While LED technology is pretty much good to go in a greater range of temperatures, fluorescent lamps only works at it’s peak performance when it is in room temperature type environments. So LED technology is much more flexible in which temperatures it can operate properly at, fluorescents are only suitable for inside only applications. But even then, LED still wins for all of these other reasons listed on this post! And a thing to remember is that fluorescent technology isn’t better than LED is indoors, it’s just that it only works optimally at room temperatures. But when you replace fluorescent light with LED, you still get all the benefits that LED brings and they aren’t picky about the temperature at all.

When you hear the words non-directional, what exactly does that mean to you? Well, in the world of lighting it basically means that such fixture emits lights 360 degrees (or in all directions). This causes 30-40% of all the light being emitted by a fluorescent tube to be wasted due to the trait it carries of non-directional emission of light. With LED, it has directional lighting which allows you to direct the light where it needs to go and isn’t going to waste being emitted 360 degrees.

Let alone all of the other benefits that a a return on investment when you start looking at what contact us with any questions you have!

Spring has sprung. The weather is getting nicer. Time for a new pair of sunglasses?  It was time for me. Even though sunglasses are not a regular topic of our lighting blog, I felt that my recent experience picking out new sunglasses warranted this post. I was disappointed at the number of myths about sunglasses that were told to me by multiple, yes, multiple, supposedly knowledgeable sales people. So, I figured that it might prove useful to others if I shared my experience and busted these myths with this sunglasses buying guide. 

Myth #1: UV Protection In Sunglasses Not Important

Fact: The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can do several very bad things to your eyes and the area around your eyes: harm the lens, retina, and whites of your eyes, cause corneal sunburn and blisters, increase your chances of getting cataracts, have been linked to macular degeneration (vision loss due to damage due to a small spot near the center of the retina called the macula), cause skin cancer around your eyes including your eyelids, and help cause unwanted wrinkles and skin thickening around your eyes. WOW!  There’s a lot more but it would take more than this short response to get even more technical.

Myth #2: Sunglasses With Glass Lenses Remove All UV Radiation

I visited a small boutique optometry store and spoke to someone with 40 years of experience. He told me that if a pair of sunglasses has glass lenses, then they remove all UV radiation. Not true.

Fact: Glass of almost any kind (building windows, car windows, a pair of clear glasses) can remove some but not all of the UV radiation that reaches your eye. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is made up of three segments: UVA, UVB, and UVC. Fortunately for all of us UVC radiation is blocked by the earth’s atmosphere, ordinary glass blocks out UVB radiation (the main sunburn ray that causes skin cancer and sun damage) but allows UVA to pass right through (UVA rays penetrate the skin more deeply and can also cause skin cancer, wrinkles, and premature skin aging). However, it is possible to add a special UV-blocking film to ordinary glass or use specially formulated glass (or plastic) to block out 99.9% of UVB and UVA radiation.

Myth #3: Polarized Lenses Also Mean UV Protection

Two representatives in the optical department of a national chain of retail stores told me that if a pair of sunglasses has polarized lenses, then they also provide UV protection. Not true.

Fact: These two features of sunglasses are entirely different from one another; one feature does not imply the presence of the other feature. Polarized lenses minimize direct and indirect glare from the sun; they allow you to see more clearly when the sun’s rays are reflected off flat, smooth surfaces like water, road pavement, and car hoods. Polarized lenses are not designed to reduce the ultraviolet radiation that reaches your eye.

Myth #4: More Expensive Sunglasses Have The Best UV protection

Fact: This is not always true. Relatively inexpensive sunglasses can sometimes block 99%-100% of UV radiation but they are not easy to find. However, you should be careful about still another problem – inexpensive sunglasses sometimes are non-uniform in thickness and have poor optical quality. This can mean that they sometimes distort the shape or clarity of an object, depending on what portion of the lenses that you look through.

Myth #5: Sunglass Tint Is Not Important

Many people think that the tint of the sunglass lenses is not that important. That it is purely an aesthetic decision based on your personal preferences and the “cool factor” you’re looking for.

Fact: The tint or hue of the sunglass lenses plays an important role in the perception of colors. Yellow or rose tinted lenses generally can make it difficult to distinguish different colored traffic lights. Gray, green, and brown lenses, however, minimize color distortion and are a better choice when you’re driving a vehicle. Some specialized sunglasses can have a special tint that are designed to enhance your performance of a specific task or sport; e.g., at least one sunglasses manufacturer has created a whole array of lens hues, one of which can possibly improve your tennis game by enhancing the color of the tennis ball.

Myth #6: Size Of Sunglasses Not Important

Most people choose the size of their sunglasses on whether or not they think they look “cool.” Thus, they think that size is not important.

Fact: Size, at least when it comes to sunglasses, does matter. It’s this simple: The larger the sunglasses, the broader the protection of your eyes, eyelids, and the skin around your eyes against UV damage. However, you can have all of that and still look “cool.”

Enjoy your spring and summer and enjoy your new sunglasses.