Categories Commercial, Lighting, Residential

4 Upgrade Lighting FAQs

4 Upgrade Lighting FAQs

Our focus on comfort and energy savings is like never before. We want our homes, offices, and retail businesses to be inviting and eco-friendly.

But there’s an excitement surrounding interior lighting décor that’s energizing. Some trends are revealing unique concepts in home interiors and commercial properties’ lighting. If you’re thinking about upgrading your lighting this year, it’s a big project and one that will pay off in several ways.

The ROI (return on investment) of commercial lighting improvements is measurable:

  • Energy efficiency (reduced energy costs)
  • Increased office/workspace productivity
  • Lower maintenance with LED upgrades

Homeowners can see those ROI benefits in residential lighting upgrades, too.

There’s also something Amerlux calls “the possibility factor.” When you upgrade any area’s lighting, you increase the number of ways it can be used. Some things that weren’t possible before the upgrade now seem to be viable.

Here are four upgrade lighting FAQs (frequently asked questions) we recently received:

4 Upgrade Lighting FAQs

1. Q: Are there any new tax credits for upgrading lighting or electrical systems?
A:
The two tax incentives that expired have been extended and are retroactive through December 31, 2020. There will likely be tax incentives available this year as well.

  • 179D is based on energy-efficiency and square footage. It applies to commercial buildings and homes that are 4 stories or more. It’s good for:
    • Additions
    • Lighting upgrades to existing buildings
    • New buildings
    • Renovations
  • 45L is a $1,000 or $2,000 tax credit for homes that meet Energy Star® requirements or that have energy use 50% lower than comparable properties.

2. Q: I’m a new facilities manager. Is there anything special I need to know about lighting upgrades?
A:
The most important thing to know is commercial lighting installation or upgrades are not a DIY (do-it-yourself) project. If damages occur because of unlicensed non-professional work, the insurance company could deny coverage.

Specifically, facilities managers should study and know:

3. Q: What are some of the residential lighting trends for 2021?
A:
Some of the residential lighting trends to watch (or even better, consider for your home) include:

  • Colored glass
  • Geometric shapes
  • Horizontal lighting
  • Invisible, “hidden” lighting:
    • Floor lamps
    • Multilevel lighting
    • Positional luminaires
    • Recessed fixtures
  • Light scenarios:
    • Color temperatures
    • Different types of light sources (chandelier, lamp, sconce, etc.)
    • Installing touch control panels, motion sensors
    • Natural light maximization
    • Relocation of switches/dimmers, control panels
    • Several light source groupings
  • Mixed materials
  • Pendants
  • Portable lights
  • Rustic
  • Sculptural fixtures
  • Shades of black (especially matte black fixtures)
  • Vintage

4. Q: What lighting improvements are most Arizona homeowners making?
A:
In 2020, lighting and overall electrical improvements (like installing more outlets) trended. Popular lighting upgrades continue to be security lighting and “smart” lighting. Installing outdoor motion/security lights, walkway lights, and being able to operate light fixtures from your phone improves safety (and can be fun).

This Year’s Lighting Décor Possibilities Are Energizing with TIO Electric

Turn It On Electric works with interior designers, other contractors, and home improvement weekend warriors. Together, we can effectively and safely create a new look for your home or install exciting lighting in your new home build.

If your questions weren’t included in these upgrade lighting FAQs, please let us know. Contact us to learn more about ways to upgrade your lighting this year.

Categories Lighting, Safety

Hire an electrician to add overhead lights

Hire an electrician to add overhead lights

“Color temperature” is the way we describe the appearance of the light emitted by a lightbulb. The temperature is measured in degrees (Kelvins) from 1,000-10,000. When adding interior lights to homes and commercial properties, decorators choose color temperatures to deliver ambience or purpose.

Some of the Kelvins to consider if you plan to add overhead lights include:

  • 1,000K – Candlelight
  • 1,800K – Vintage/Victorian
  • 2,700K – LEDs
  • 3,000K – Warm white
  • 5,000K – Daylight
  • 10,000K – Blue sky

How to Add Overhead Lights

When you want to add overhead lights to a room, consider the room’s purpose and location. For example, you can enhance overhead light fixtures’ illumination with natural daylight.

To add overhead lights to larger rooms you may be able to mix-and-match. You could use warm white (3,000K) for the primary lighting and smaller, cool white (4,000K) light fixtures above workspaces and task sites.

Kitchens are a good example of ways to integrate and add overhead lights effectively. Warm, welcoming overhead lighting is perfect for the heart of your home. Then add overhead lights to your task areas; the sink and the counters. (The best “overhead” lighting for kitchen counters are under-cabinet lights.)

10 Types of Overhead Lights

The type of overhead lighting you choose is as important as the type of bulbs. Together, they form a partnership to convey a mood; a “feel.”

  1. Chandelier – Adds a focal point to any room
  2. Flush – Flat attachments mounted directly to the ceiling
  3. Hanging – Pendant lights are trending; mini-pendants are perfect for smaller rooms and hallways
  4. Indirect – Often LED lights; when mounted on or near crown molding offers a classic-but-modern upgrade to rooms
  5. Inverted pendant – Ambient light source also called “bowl pendants”
  6. Island – Similar to track and rail lighting; often hangs lower
  7. Recessed – Mounted in the ceiling
  8. Semi-flush – Fixtures hang 4\”-8\” from the ceiling
  9. Track and rail – Accent/task lighting mounted on a ceiling rail or suspended
  10. Utility – Usually flush-mounted, using LED bulbs

FYI:

  • A flush ceiling fixture directs light down. A semi-flush fixture directs light down and up. The illuminated ceiling helps a room appear larger.
  • Recessed lights require a minimum of 6\” clearance above your ceiling, however, newer models of lights may need less – check with us first.
  • In your dining room, the chandelier bottom should be 30\” above the table. If it’s hung too high, it makes the room look smaller; too low and it gets in the way.

2 Reasons Why You Need an Electrician to Add Overhead Lights

Here are two reasons why you need to hire a licensed electrician to add overhead lights – or to do any electrical wiring job – in your home or business.

1. Danger

An apartment manager hired an unlicensed electrician to upgrade washer/dryer 3-prong receptacles to 4-prong. The “electrician” replaced the receptacle without hooking up to a ground. A dangerous situation was created.

2. Death

The apartment tenant then decided to DIY (do-it-yourself) install his washer/dryer. He accidentally installed one of the “hot” wires to the ground screw. It sent 120 volts of electricity to the frame of the dryer. He then touched the water line for the washer while touching the dryer frame.

If the receptacle had been properly wired in the first place, it would have tripped the circuit breaker.

TIO Electric: Licensed, Bonded, Insured

Before you add overhead lights, let’s discuss staging and wiring. We want to be sure your ceiling can support the type of lights you’re considering. Turn It On Electric professionals are trained to complete every type of light installation.

When safety is important, contact TIO Electric. For us, your safety is always important.

Categories Electrician, Lighting

The best way to add lighting to a room

The best way to add lighting to a room

You’d think windows would be the best way to add lighting to a room. But knocking out walls is expensive and the sun doesn’t always cooperate anyway. The most reliable and effective way to add lighting to a room is to do it yourself.

4 Ways to Add Lighting to a Room

With every room in your home or apartment, ask yourself what you want to achieve. Do you want a comfortable setting for watching television? Do you want a room that is inviting and impresses visitors? Do you want to add accent lighting to a room or do you want the lighting itself to be the focal point?

  1. Choose colors and tones wisely. Whites accentuate light but appear “cold.” Colors give lighting warmer, more inviting hues.
  2. Every room should have at least 3 sources of light. Rooms should offer general (overhead), specific (table or floor lamps), and ambient (wall sconces, candles) lighting.
  3. If you have natural light, the best way to maximize it is to keep your windows clean! Sounds simple, but it’s one of the things homeowners tend to neglect.
  4. Mirrors and metallic accent pieces reflect light and add much to maximize ways you add lighting to a room.

Room-By-Room Light Additions

Kitchens can represent form and function if you have the right lighting.

If you love working in the kitchen, you know how under-cabinet lighting is an amazing tool for food prep. Pendant lamps are fun and versatile, and they work well above sinks, islands, and tables.

“Consider uplighting your kitchen for a luxe touch that’s worth every penny,” says home interior writer Melissa Epifano. It offers a soft glow to the room. It also highlights designer cabinetry and other attractive areas.

Whether it’s a formal or casual livingroom, when you add lighting to a room it becomes your own statement. “Table lamps are great, but…a large lantern, oversized pendant, or sculptural floor lamp” can add a focal point, says Epifano. Definitely consider dimmer switches for kitchen, bedrooms, and living room. Dimmer lighting sets the mood perfectly.

Nothing is more fun than a chandelier. The designs today are so exciting. You can choose from understated elegance or light-sculpture chandeliers for livingrooms.

Don’t forget the bathrooms. If your bathroom is where you partially dress or apply makeup, vanity lighting or adding mirror lights are best.

Bathroom overhead lighting, with its harshness and odd shadows, are detriments to your daily preparations. Ask about daylight-simulating light bulbs. This offers the best possible way to add lighting to a room in which you apply makeup.

TIO: The Best Way To Add Lighting To a Room

Plugging a lamp into a socket is safe enough (unless that socket has too many power strips and extenders attached). But for beautiful, professional ways to add lighting to a room, you should partner with your local electrical services company.

If you live in an older, historical home, the behind-the-scenes wiring can be tricky. And with today’s technologies, lighting additions can be more – and do more – than turn on and off. Turn It On Electric lighting pros are safety-minded, licensed, and bonded electricians.

We’ll work with your new-home or renovation contractors and interior designers to deliver the look you want. We can also team with you and your ideas. Let’s look at the possibilities! We can add lighting to a room, several rooms, and make plans for external lighting upgrades in the new year.

Contact TIO Electric and share your lighting ideas with us.

Categories Electrician, Lighting, Outdoor

Photocells for Christmas lights turn on/off automatically

Photocells for Christmas lights turn on/off automatically

The holiday season is right around the corner, and no matter how you celebrate, you are in for a lot of fun. From delicious dinners with your loved ones, to exchanging gifts to decorating your home, there\’s a lot to look forward to during this time of year. However, it can also be a lot of work, leaving you stressed and exhausted at the end of the day. Photocells for Christmas lights can take one of many tasks off your plate to lighten the load just a bit. 

Alternatives to Photocells for Christmas Lights 

Christmas lights are notorious for using up a lot of electricity, sending your energy bills sky-high at a time when you\’d likely rather be spending your money on other things, like gifts for your friends and family. With photocells for Christmas lights, you can easily control your lights automatically to minimize energy usage

If you don\’t have photocells for Christmas lights, you\’ll have to turn your lights on and off yourself. For most people, the likelihood of forgetting to turn the lights off at least a few times over the course of the season is incredibly high. The longer the lights stay on before you remember to turn them off, the more you\’ll pay for electricity. 

You may have the option of adding timers to your lights, but they can sometimes be confusing to operate. This is especially true if you have Christmas lights from different brands, giving them different types of timers. If you like to hang a lot of lights, a single timer probably won\’t be capable of controlling all of them, requiring you to install even more timers. 

Simplify Your Holiday Season with Photocells for Christmas Lights 

To save yourself the stress and hassle of operating your lights manually or with timers, try photocells for Christmas lights. Photocells are small light-sensitive panels that meausre the ambient light around your home. When it gets dark outside, photocells for Christmas lights trigger the lights to turn on. Then, when the sky begins to lighten again in the morning, your lights will turn off automatically. 

While this may seem like only a minor benefit, it can go a long way towards simplifying your life during this incredibly busy season. And when you combine it with our under eaves outlets, it can really simplify the season. Not only that, but it can also help you save money by not running your lights when they are not needed. You can then put those savings to better use in caring for your loved ones or giving back to your local community. 

Other Uses for Photocells 

Christmas lights are prime locations for photocells, but you can use them on other types of lights as well. Try photocells on your landscape or pathway lighting to add curb appeal in the dark. 

While you\’ll often see photocells for exterior lights, they can also work well in indoor settings. For example, under-cabinet lighting in your kitchen or bathroom will do well with photocells to control their operation. The same goes for nightlights and other light fixtures in children\’s bedrooms. 

Install Photocells for Christmas Lights at Your Phoenix Home

When you are ready to add photocells for Christmas lights to your holiday decorations, the Turn It On Electric team is here to help. We are proud to serve customers throughout the Phoenix area with our dedicated electrical services. We invite you to reach out to our team at any time to learn more about our Christmas light service. We\’ll get your home decked out and ready for the holiday season, so call now to get started. 

Categories Electrician, Lighting

Add overhead lights to any room

Add overhead lights to any room

Most of us have had the unfortunate experience of being somewhere with poor lighting. Whether at a friend\’s home, a lodging establishment, or even your own home, bad lighting can have a serious impact on your mood. Lighting that is too bright or too dim for the task at hand can also make it challenging to get through your daily activities and hobbies. If you add overhead lights to your space, though, you can not only illuminate the room, but also create ambiance and set the mood. 

Create the Perfect Lighting for Events 

With the holiday season coming up, you may be considering hosting your loved ones for a meal or other get-together. The right overhead lighting can fill in any gaps left by floor lamps, table lamps and other light fixtures. Take care when you add overhead lights that they are not the only lights in the room. This can create harsh shadows, particularly on faces, so you\’ll want to include additional lights at varying heights to complete the lighting design. 

To create a festive mood for any occasion, you can add overhead lights with dimmers, enabling you to adjust the brightness to suit the vibe you want to achieve. Many modern overhead lights also include smart capabilities, allowing you to program various lighting designs for future use. You can even program some of them to change automatically throughout the day as the natural light changes. With some lights, you can change the colors as well to create a truly festive, fun atmosphere for your party. 

Focus on Your Hobbies or Work with Overhead Lighting

If you\’re like many Arizona residents, you\’ve been spending more time at home these days and may even be working entirely from home. This may have brought to your attention the need to add overhead lights to make it easier to get your work done. When you are struggling to see detail in your work or hobbies, even simple tasks can suddenly become incredibly challenging and far less enjoyable. 

When you add overhead lights in your work area, you can target the areas where you need it most so that you can focus on important tasks. Again, be sure to round out your lighting design with a desk lamp, floor lamp or other fixture to prevent extreme shadows that can obscure your work. 

Improve Your Interior Aesthetic 

You don\’t just need to add overhead lights for specialized tasks and occasions; great overhead lighting can transform the entire look of your space, no matter what you are doing.

To determine where you could get the most benefits from adding overhead lights, spend a bit of time in each room in your home at several points throughout the day. This will give you a better sense of how the lighting changes in each room as the sun moves across the sky. 

Take note of any areas that seem especially dim or where your mood seems to dip. With better lighting, you\’ll not only beautify the space, but also make it more enjoyable for spending time in. This way, you can actually relish spending time at home, as the lighting will be much more conducive to positive moods. 

Trust Us for Your Overhead Lighting Needs 

When you are ready to add overhead lights to your Arizona home, the experienced electricians here at Turn It On Electric are here to help. Reach out to us today for a free consultation to discuss your lighting design. We\’ll be happy to add overhead lights for you, running any new wiring as needed. Call now to get started