As Texas struggles with 2012 predictions of problems reminiscent of last year’s power outages and power grid malfunctions, residents are scrambling to find a Dallas electrician that can provide answers and help them create contingency plans to ensure they are minimally affected. Electric Man, a reputable Dallas electrician provider for over 27 years, provides some insight into the situation facing Texans today and what they can do to avoid costly and inconvenient side effects stemming from such possible scenarios.

A Look Back At 2011

Texas residents suffered damaging and costly electrical problems in 2011. Three major blackout incidents, two of which happened in the winter months of February and December respectively, left residents without heat and without power for hours and, in some cases, days at a time. Equally distressing was the 71-day drought that had Texans begging their local Dallas electrician for relief, as 100-plus degree heat waves weakened the power grid once again and left residents without air conditioning or electricity.

2012: Not Much Better

Unfortunately, 2012 does not seem to be the year for relief. Experts warn that several factors point to an even more severe blackout and power grid problem in the state of Texas for 2012.

 These factors translate into miserable, costly blackouts and power grid failures throughout North Texas.

Dallas Electrician Company Provides Solutions

There are some solutions for customers looking stay ahead of the game when it comes to protecting their home and appliances from the inconvenient and sometimes dangerous conditions that stem from power grid failures. With the help of a knowledgeable electrician, Dallas residents can acquire an indoor generator, which can serve as an effective emergency power source for your home or business in the event of a blackout.

One of the most convenient features of these indoor generators is that there is no need to use electricity to recharge the battery bank that runs the generator. Without the mess of a fuel-powered engine generator, customers can count on reliable and steady power output and a quiet supply of power for your appliances. Furthermore, the convenience of a solar-power or wind-power battery charge ensures that customers need not worry about using electricity to recharge generator batteries.

For over 27 years, Electric Man has been a leading provider of Dallas electrician services for residential and commercial customers. There is no job too big or too small. Call Electric Man today at 972-792-7270 and connect on our social media sites…

This week, I participated in a weekly twitter chat calledTweetChat, with whom I have no affiliation but do use) Wednesdays at 2 p.m. EST and use the hashtag #KBTribeChat. Information about the interesting conversation. One of the questions was about using lighting to personal kitchens and baths. Of course, this got me very excited. I inadvertently learned that Twitter is great if you have a little that you kind of want to say. It’s terrible when you have a LOT that you REALLY want to say. That 140 character limit becomes a cruel, tyrannical constraint. So I thought to myself: You’ll just have to wait until you get back home to the blog, where you can write actual paragraphs, to answer this question. Ahhh. It feels good now to have a little room to stretch out.

So, how can you use lighting to personalize a space? Here are 4 things to keep in mind.

1) Fixture and Light Source

constant-current LED driver or constant-current driver is used to regulate the amount of current that is supplied to an LED or LED array to maximize LED lifetime. If current is not regulated, LED brightness can fluctuate and life span can be shortened. The constant-current driver is used for LEDs or light fixtures that require a stable output current and operate within a range of voltages. Most finished LED products already have a constant-current driver or resistors to regulate current. If you’re building an LED fixture or replacing a constant-current driver, it’s important to verify that the output current and voltage of the driver is compatible with the LEDs’ current and voltage. If your LED product already has a constant-current driver or uses resistors in the LED array, you might need a constant-voltage power supply.

If your LEDs are dimmable and you want to change their brightness, choose a Magnitude Dimmable Power Supplies. These dimmable power supplies work by varying the power on the AC input side of the power supply by means of a TRIAC dimmer. This change in power on the AC input side will vary the voltage on the DC output side and control the intensity of the LEDs. TRIAC dimmers are common hardware store and household dimmers, which include brand names such as Lutron and Leviton.

Pulse-Width Modulation Dimming: Pulse-width modulation (PWM) dimming can be used to control dimmable power supplies such as Mean Well LPF Series. This type of dimming control adjusts the output current based on the duty cycle. As the duty cycle increases, current will increase and the LEDs will be brighter. Conversely, if the duty cycle decreases, the current will decrease and the LEDs will be dimmer. Pulse-width modulation for these drivers is based on a 10-volt signal level with a frequency between 100Hz-3KHz. The MLD-5A are compatible for this application.

Resistive Dimming: Resistive dimming can be used to control dimmable power supplies such as 12-Volt Mean Well HLG-40-240 Series or 12-Volt Mean Well HLG-600 Series or here.

The efficiency of a power supply or driver indicates the percentage of power that goes toward making your LED product function. An efficiency of 80 percent or higher is recommended for operating LEDs. 

When choosing a driver or power supply, the size of an LED product’s housing or area of installation is important. If you wish to put a constant-current LED driver inside of a product, the driver must be small enough to fit in the product’s housing. Similarly, if the driver or power supply is used outside of the product’s housing, it should fit the area of installation. Drivers and power supplies are available in a variety of sizes to suit your needs.

A Class 2 driver or power supply is in accordance with limited power levels defined by the National Electric Code (NEC) and fulfills the requirements of Standard UL 1310. Output is limited to 60 volts DC and 100 watts. Because power sources with this rating have limited output, it might not be possible to power as many LEDs or lights as those that don’t have a Class 2 rating. However, these power supplies and drivers provide protection from fire and electric shock.

A Class II rating refers to a double insulation layer between AC input and DC output wires. These drivers and power supplies do not require a ground connection.

Everyone’s aware that the electric companies keep raising the prices per kilowatt-hour (kWh), and we all know, too, that there’s no chance of rates going down and that they’ll just keep going up.   There is a way, however to avoid paying the higher prices, which is to get solar panel installations. This is one sure step that we can take to help make the cost of paying the electric companies prices per kWh less.

Every family wants to pay less for their electricity, and although the cost to install solar panels is an initial investment, it will pay off in the long term for a business or homeowner. Often homeowners can pay in monthly installments for their solar installations, and this helps to reduce the impact of the expense for the cost of solar panels.

With solar panel installations, homeowners will often save up to 1/3 of what their normal electric bill was before their solar panels where installed. With this type of efficient technology,  homeowner will no longer need to worry about spending more money on their utility bills each month, and they will be able to sit back and enjoy the savings.

Let’s face it, we all know there’s nothing better than being able to save money on a regular basis,  and what better way could there be to save than on our electricity bill each and every month. With the money that homeowners save by having solar panels installed, they will be able to save that money in the bank, or put it towards something else that they need for themselves or their family.

To learn more about solar installations, you can do a quick Internet search for “solar panel installations.” Please feel free to call us for more information.