Categories Electric Bill, Lighting

LED lighting for your kitchen remodel

LED lighting for your kitchen remodel

When remodeling your kitchen, it\’s the ideal time to think about lighting. Your kitchen should have the right kind of lighting to allow you to do everyday tasks as efficiently as possible. LED lighting is a common choice for kitchen lights, thanks to its many benefits.

Brighter Lighting

Think about the kinds of tasks you do in your kitchen on a regular basis. Tasks such as cutting vegetables or cooking on the stove can be dangerous when you have a poorly lit kitchen. LED lights provide brighter lighting than incandescent bulbs and other traditional kitchen lights. Having a brightly lit kitchen makes food preparation tasks much safer for you and your family.

Brighter lighting is useful if you or your family members take care of other tasks in your kitchen as well. Your kids might do their homework at a built-in desk in the kitchen, or you might go through mail or pay bills at the kitchen table. Having LED lighting in these areas puts less strain on your eyes.

Cost Savings

LED lights use bulbs that last a lot longer than incandescent bulbs and other types of bulbs. This means you don’t have to worry about changing the bulbs often. You’ll be spending less money on LED bulbs overall, which helps save on the cost of lighting your kitchen.

With LED lighting in your kitchen, you’ll be using less energy than with traditional bulbs. This results in lower energy bills from month to month, which is another way to help you save money.

Enhanced Appearance and More Space

LED lighting fixtures are available in stylish designs that can improve your kitchen’s appearance. Instead of an outdated traditional fixture, for example, you can have a more contemporary LED fixture installed.

Some of these LED lighting fixtures, such as LED strips, can be placed in out-of-the-way places that don’t take up kitchen space. You can have these fixtures installed under your cabinets, for example. Having them installed in these areas means you’re not giving up any countertop space or overhead space.

LED Lighting Ideas

You can have LED lighting installed in several areas in your kitchen for brighter lighting. Some common places to have this type of lighting installed include the following:

  • Under cabinets: Under-cabinet lighting with LED lights provides task lighting for food preparation and other daily activities. These lights go on the underside of your cabinets so that you’ll have plenty of light shining down on your countertops without having to sacrifice any space.
  • Recessed lighting: This type of lighting can be used to highlight certain features of your kitchen or to create the right ambiance. You can have recessed LED downlights placed over glass cabinets for accent lighting. Another option is to have them installed over the main areas of your kitchen to create more even lighting.
  • Over cabinets: LED lighting placed over cabinets can add visual appeal to your kitchen. These lights are suitable if you have open space between the tops of your cabinets and your ceiling. You can have LED lights installed in these areas to accentuate certain design features in your kitchen.

When you\’re ready to install LED lighting in your kitchen, contact Turn It On Electric. We will work with you to incorporate the right kind of lighting in your kitchen.

Categories Maintenance, Safety

Electrical Wiring 101

Electrical Wiring 101

The wiring in your home is nothing to mess around with. Poor wiring can be a matter of life or death, and it can lead to serious injuries or death from electrical shocks or fires. Here are some things to know about working with the electrical wiring in your home.

Three Components of Basic Home Electrical Wiring

Your home’s electrical wiring has three basic components:

  1. Service entry point. This is where your utility’s electrical line connects your home’s load center to the main grid. The area should be free of obstructions and water that can penetrate the wiring and cause a shock hazard.
  2. Panel or Load Center. You may know this as the fuse box or circuit breaker box. It’s your home’s command center for all electrical wiring. All the wiring in your home starts at this panel. During major remodeling projects, like a new addition, new wiring runs from the panel to the new area.
  3. Branch circuits. Your home contains many circuits that come from the breakers or fuses to the various areas of your home. By having multiple circuits, you’re able to turn off power to specific areas when performing electrical repairs.

Dangers of Aluminum Electrical Wiring

Newer homes have wiring that is made from copper and feature ground wires for safety. Homes built during the 60’s and 70’s generally have aluminum wiring instead of copper wiring. This can be extremely dangerous. Because aluminum is soft, brittle and prone to oxidation, it is 55 times more likely to cause an electrical fire than copper wiring. If you know or suspect that your home has aluminum wiring, contact the professionals at Turn It On Electric to inspect it for safety issues.  Keep in mind, aluminum can be safe but it is best to have it maintained and inspected by a professional electrician.

Wiring to Switches and Receptacles

When connecting electrical wires to a switch or receptacle, connect the:

  • Hot wires to the brass screw terminals
  • Neutral wires to the silver terminals
  • Ground wires to green grounding screws

Electrical work is governed by a national codebook. However, some municipalities have stricter requirements due to weather or temperature extremes. One example is the use of pigtails when connecting more than one wire to a single terminal. While it’s good practice, it’s important to know the requirements of your specific municipality prior to completing any electrical work.

Know Your Municipality’s Electrical Code

All municipalities have codes and regulations regarding residential wiring. These rules are there to protect the public from the dangers of electricity. Some projects are suitable for homeowners with a basic knowledge of electrical wiring, including replacing an outlet or lighting fixture. But others, like running a new line or entirely replacing your home’s wiring, will require the work of a professional and licensed electrician according to most codes.

Turn Off the Power When Working With Wires

To be safe, it is always best to leave electrical work to the professionals. But if you absolutely need to replace an electrical outlet or lighting fixture, you must remember to turn off the electricity to the area where you are working. Otherwise, you are in danger of an electric shock or sparking that can cause a fire or worse.

  • Turn off the electricity from the fuse/circuit breaker box and lock it so there can’t be an accidental turn on.
  • Test the wires to make sure the electric is off.
  • Do not touch any wires until you are sure that power is off.

Do not put your or your family’s safety at risk. Whether your home needs an entire electrical rewiring or you just have a few electrical jobs on your to-do list, contact the professionals at Turn It On Electric.