Category Archives: Lighting

You turn your vacuum cleaner on, and your lights dim. Is this something you should worry about, or is it a normal electrical occurrence?

Find out if dimming lights are harmless or if they may indicate a problem with your wiring.  Knowing when to contact an electrician for your Phoenix home can provide you with peace of mind.

Normal Causes of Dimming Lights

If your lights dim briefly as soon as you turn your vacuum cleaner on, then return to normal, this is usually nothing to worry about. In fact, it’s normal for this to occur. Vacuum cleaners use a lot of electricity and starting yours up may cause the voltage to temporarily drop.

This might also happen with other appliances, devices or equipment that use a lot of electricity, such as microwave ovens or hair dryers. As long as the dimming is slight and doesn’t last, this is usually not a cause for concern. However, you can always have Turn It On Electric check your home in order to provide you with peace of mind. You’ll know for sure whether or not it\’s harmless or a sign of trouble when your lights dim.

If you have lamps or light fixtures that dim, check the bulbs before calling an electrician. Bulbs that are nearing the end of their lifespan often flicker or dim. Replacing these bulbs could solve the problem.

When to Worry if Your Lights Dim

If your lights dim drastically, or if they don’t return to normal after dimming, you should have them checked. If you have flickering lights, you should also have these inspected. There are other possible causes that can make your lights dim. These need to be found and corrected in order to prevent the risk of electrical problems. Some of the things that can make lights dim include the following.

Circuit Problems

Overloaded circuits occur when you have too much voltage running through them. This can end up making lights dim in order to accommodate the higher amount of power needed. If you have too much draw on one circuit, it could trip the circuit breaker. If you find that you have to reset breakers often, you should talk to a licensed electrician about installing a separate circuit. This helps break up the amount of power flowing through each circuit, which makes the breaker less likely to trip.

Wiring Problems

Wiring problems in your home, such as older wiring or wiring that is frayed, corroded or damaged, can make lights dim. This is considered highly dangerous, but a licensed electrician can locate the faulty wiring and replace it as needed. If you suspect your wiring may be causing dimming lights, you should have Turn It On Electric inspect it as soon as possible.

Ballast Problems

Light ballasts are responsible for maintaining a steady flow of electricity to light fixtures. If you have a ballast that is damaged or worn out, this can cause dimming lights or too much brightness. Having us inspect and replace ballasts as needed could correct this problem. You’re more likely to have ballast problems if you live in an older home.

Call Turn It On Electric

If your lights dim when you turn on an appliance or your vacuum, it could be the sign of a dangerous problem. Call Turn It On Electric to assess your current situation. We’ll make sure that you don’t have anything to worry about and make any needed repairs promptly.

More than likely your home has different types of lighting, each of which helps you manage and enjoy the many aspects of everyday living. Ambient, accent, and task lighting are the main types illuminating the interior of your home. However, the objective is the same – to make it easy to see regardless of the time or the weather.

Ambient Lighting

You’ll find ambient lighting fixtures on the ceilings in kitchens, baths, closets, hallways and sometimes bedrooms. Builders often install a lone light fixture in the middle of a garage ceiling. Sometimes the lighting fixtures are basic globes, but you’ll also find them as more elaborate fixtures in foyers or adjustable track lights in kitchens.

These light fixtures broadcast enough light over a room to make everything visible. They won’t highlight any particular area. Consequently, they cast shadows on objects that sit on the floor or walls beneath them. Builders or lighting specialists often hard-wire ambient lights to a wall light switch just inside the door for instant lighting.

Best Uses for Ambient Lighting

Ambient lights play an important role in safety and basic home functionality. Naturally dark spaces like kitchen pantries or walk-in closets without overhead lighting are difficult to use even during the daytime.

Ambient lighting upgrades include track lighting in kitchens and chandeliers placed in foyers and dining rooms. Decorative pendant lighting is a more informal style for these areas, as are recessed can lights.

Task Lighting

The effectiveness of task lighting depends on having different types of lighting in the same room. Combining under cabinet task lighting in kitchens or wet bars illuminates the countertops. Task lights are often freestanding in the shape of desk lamps and floor lamps, fixed or swing-arm, however, they can be hung under cabinets or from the ceiling. You should use ambient lighting with task lights to better illuminate the work you’re doing close-up.

Best Uses for Task Lighting

Placed on tables, desks, or next to chairs, task lighting is essential for detailed work like reading and handcrafts. Hung over work tables or desks, task lights provide ample illumination for work that requires accuracy day or night.

Cooking in a kitchen with task lighting is much easier and safer than using ambient lighting alone. While battery-operated light strips or spotlights are available for under-cabinet use, they require frequent battery changes and their mounting brackets wear out over time.

Accent Lighting

Of all the different types of lighting, accents lights are the least common in homes as standard features. Use accent lighting to illuminate artwork, musical instruments, or cabinet displays. People who decorate for the holidays often unwittingly use accent lighting in the yards when they string lights along their roof lines or thread them through their shrubbery.

Best Uses for Accent Lighting

Accent lights call attention to objects that hang from walls or sit on the floor. They can highlight your favorite photographs, artwork, or a piano. Outdoors, accent lighting enhances landscaping year-round and makes the yard more usable after dark by illuminating walkways and steps.

Upgrading Lighting Fixtures

Adding lighting fixtures that will add functionality and beauty to your home and yard require the services of a licensed electrician. At Turn It On Electric, our electricians are licensed and highly skilled. Wiring is a complicated home improvement project that affects your personal safety and that of your home.

To learn more about improving the different types of lighting in your home, contact the pros at Turn It On Electric today.

Have you ever wanted to increase the lighting or reduce shadows in the bathroom or kitchen? It\’s amazing what good lighting can do to help you get ready in the morning. But, to do it right, you may need to change or enhance your existing lighting scheme. As a rule, the original lighting scheme in most bathrooms just meets the basic requirements.

Fortunately, plenty of choices are available that will turn the lighting into an attractive and fully functional system. One that helps you perfect the look of both your personal appearance and the bathroom itself.

Lighting and Bathroom Zones

Some bathrooms are purely functional rooms with lighting schemes to match. An overhead light in a bathroom does allow you to see, but it casts shadows on everything below it. Other than providing basic illumination, this type of lighting does nothing to enhance the room or its occupants.

Master suite bathrooms, especially among newer homes, may contain an enclosed toilet with a lone light fixture on the ceiling. If the ceiling plate is nine feet or higher, even a bright bulb won’t provide enough light in this space.

A master bathroom with double sinks in the vanity typically has a light strip centered between the sinks. This doesn\’t adequately illuminate the whole vanity top. And if the builder installed a sitting desk between the sinks for applying makeup or styling hair, the lighting is likely in need of a serious upgrade.

Large master bath suites may have recessed lighting in the areas over the water closet, the tub and shower, and the dressing areas. While recessed lighting does a good job of illuminating the floor and horizontal surfaces, it does nothing to reduce shadows. In fact, it creates more shadows than any other kind of bathroom lighting.

Lighting Principles to Reduce Shadows

Whether it’s in a photo studio or your bathroom, light behaves predictably. Follow these guidelines when observing the lighting in your home:

• Lights that shine straight down create shadows.
• The further the light is away from the mirror or your seating area, the dimmer it gets.
• Diffused lighting scatters light waves throughout the room and effectively reduces shadows.
• Lighting from the side emphasizes the objects it strikes directly, which is great for detailed work like hair styling or putting on makeup.

Lighting and Electrical Specialists

When you’re considering making upgrades to reduce shadows in the bathroom or a kitchen, the two rooms that must be as functional as possible, it’s a good idea to work with lighting experts who are also licensed electricians. Both rooms have a good deal of exposure to water and safety is paramount. In fact, the National Electrical Code has separate provisions for wiring in bathrooms and kitchens.

The bathroom, especially, is a compact space where sinks, showers, and tubs may be within a short distance from electrical receptacles and switches. It’s also a place where trailing wires from hair dryers, shavers, or space heaters should be carefully considered.

At Turn It On Electric, we know what kinds of lighting fixtures will give you the best results to reduce shadows. When we combine the right light fixture with positioning and globe materials, it has a dramatic impact on your living space.

Lights mounted on each vertical side of the mirror will eliminate the shadows and give you a truer reflection of your appearance. We can also show you other upgrades like dimmer switches that make bathrooms more convenient and enjoyable.

Contact Turn It On Electric for an estimate on new lighting in your bathroom or kitchen today.