Outdoor Archives - Turn It On Electric

Outdoor, Safety

Spring Landscaping Projects: Call Before You Dig

22Mar2023

Spring is the season that inspires us to enhance our lawns with new plantings and landscaping. Smart homeowners “know what’s below” before they jump into any landscaping project. April has been designated National Safe Digging Month to reinforce the familiar Call Before You Dig program.

April’s Call 811 message promotion began in 2008 by Common Ground Alliance (CGA). According to CGA, over 20 million miles of subterranean utilities in the United States can be destroyed by unsafe digging.

Call Before You Dig Basics for DIY Projects

Even small, do-it-yourself lawn projects qualify for the call-before-you-dig phone numbers (811 or 800-782-5348). When making the call, you should know:

Address where you plan to dig
- County
- Nearest cross street(s)
Exact area in which you plan to dig
Type of lawn project

Arizona homeowners can go to https://www.arizona811.com/homeowners/ and create a ticket at least 2 days before a landscaping project. You’ll receive information about underground utilities and professional locators will mark the underground lines with paint or flags. As you work, keep within 2 feet of your marked underground utilities. For additional information, contact Arizona 811.

Advantages of Professional Landscape Lighting

Understanding how your home’s electrical system works, inside and out, is helpful when planning any home improvement project. Plowing into your yard’s surface with a shovel is not only a bad idea, but it can also be dangerous. You can hit a buried line or pipe when only shoveling a few inches. An underground utility wire is broken every 9 minutes due to inappropriate digging, says the CGA.

Consult with landscape lighting pros before beginning your outdoor flowers, plants, and tree upgrades. They often have ideas and considerations you may have missed. But professional landscape lighting is sometimes seen as an unnecessary expense. You’re adding beautiful plants to your yard. Why spend more?

Landscape lighting increases your property value. Realtors argue it adds more “perceived” value than actual, but Angi.com says landscape lighting can add about $2,500 to your home value. Depending on the type of lighting you choose and the cost, the ROI (return on investment) is viable.

Landscape lighting delivers more than beauty. The value of the increased property and personal safety is priceless.

Professional landscape lighting is worth the investment. The project gets completed safely and quickly. Many outdoor lighting upgrades include digging, and your local Phoenix-area electrician will automatically obtain the necessary information and permits.

Outdoor Lighting Trends

Some of 2023’s most popular outdoor lighting upgrades and installations are:

Lanterns – Wall or independently mounted lanterns can’t be placed without careful considerations: location, size, and style.
Smart security – This trend is more popular than ever before. Motion detectors, scheduled lighting, and backyard floodlights are solid safety choices.
Spotlights – These are primarily used to illuminate plants, trees, and flowerbeds.
String lights – These are most frequently used in backyards, around pools, and patios. But they can add elegance to front yard trees when professionally installed.
Walkway – Flush-mounted ground lights are often considered the most attractive and tasteful walkway lighting installations. There are many styles and types of pathway lights, including:
- Bollard
- Garden
- Post lights
- Sconces
- Step-/stairlights
Wall lights – These lights improve the overall appearance of your home but also can brighten entrances and illuminate dark corners of your house.

TIO Electric Outdoor Lighting Solutions

You can print a free copy of the Arizona 811 brochure. It includes information about laws and liabilities for homeowners.

You won’t need to call before you dig when you partner with your family’s local electrical contractor. We will obtain all information and any permits needed for your outdoor lighting project.

As Phoenix’s LEED-certified electrician, Turn It On Electric offers sustainable outdoor lighting design services for Arizona communities, including:

Anthem
Cave Creek
Chandler
Gilbert
Glendale
Mesa
Paradise Valley
Phoenix Metro
Scottsdale
Tempe
…and nearby neighborhoods

We welcome questions. To schedule an outdoor lighting consultation, contact TIO Electric.

Lighting, Outdoor, Safety

Halloween Light Safety: 7 Tips

30Oct2022

The kids in our community are our most valuable treasures. It’s fun to dedicate one evening every year to treat them. You’ll tell each child he or she is the scariest (pirate, ghost, monster) you’ve ever seen and drop sweet eats into their bags.

You may say, “Have fun!” or if you’re a parent, “Be careful!” as they run down your sidewalk toward the street. But actions speak louder than words. Make Halloween light safety a priority for visiting trick-or-treaters this year. Here’s how.

Increasing Halloween Light Safety

Sunset in your neighborhood will be around 5:37 p.m. October 31, 2022. But trick-or-treaters’ vision may be costume-compromised even before dark: Facial masks, hats, sheets, wigs, and other costume accessories can slip and slide over the eyes. To increase visibility, make sure your outdoor timed lights are operating before sundown.

Here are 7 tips for increasing Halloween light safety so smaller ghosts and goblins can securely navigate to and from your door.

Avoid candles – The flickering glow of a lighted pumpkin adds to the drama of All Hallows’ Eve. And those trendy paper-sack lanterns? Both are hazards waiting to happen. The risk isn’t worth it. You can put LED faux candles inside pumpkins (and sacks, for that matter).
Brighten your bulbs – This is not the night to rely on a subtle glow or tasteful accent lighting. If you can safely switch your outdoor lightbulbs for higher-wattage bulbs, do so.
Child-proof your traffic areas – It’s a good idea to inspect your pathways for potential dangers. A wobbly gate opening can be tightened, and you can put friction tape on front porch steps that get slick when wet. Relocate anything that could cause tripping or falls.
If you haven’t yet, consider a professional landscape and/or sidewalk lighting installation. It is attractive but can also add Halloween light safety and increase property value.
Deter vandalism – Halloween is also a big night for mischief-makers and vandals. After you’ve shut your front door and turned off your indoor lights, be sure your outdoor motion detector lights are activated.
Ensure grounding – Your decorative light strings or fixtures must be plugged into a grounded outlet. If you aren’t sure, simply ask us to quickly inspect for peace of mind.
Look for UL®-compliant labels – When it comes to Halloween light safety, sometimes you get more than you paid for: more risk. Inexpensive decorative outdoor lights may be manufactured out of country and sold online. All decorative lighting should have the Underwriters Laboratories certification. It’s easy to Photoshop®, so verify the logo and information if you’re unsure.
Open your storm door – If your entrance has a front door and a storm door, prop the storm door open. When you’re handing out candy, the storm door can slam on small hands or impede their movements. Prop it open and secure it. Consider adding yellow lights, a spotlight, or glow-in-the-dark caution tape to ensure kids can see it and avoid it.

TIO Electric: When You Need Fast Service

The record for the fastest pumpkin carving was set in 2013 by a New York teen. He completed the requirements (eyes, nose, mouth, and ears) in 16.47 seconds.

For fast service (just not that fast), add our phone number in your contacts under “E” for “electrician.”

If you have any questions, contact Turn It On Electric.

Lighting, Outdoor, Residential

Pool Lighting Ideas to Transform Your Outdoor Space

2Aug2022

Your swimming pool lighting can be so much more than a white light at the deep end! Phoenix is our country’s leader in backyard swimming pools. We are also the flagship for pool lighting creativity! Here are lighting ideas that will enhance the beauty and pleasure of swimming at home.

5 Landscaping and Pool Lighting Upgrades

Did you know…?

Phoenix has more swimming pools than all other U.S. cities.
Swimming is Arizona’s fifth most popular activity.
Seventeen percent of swimmers pee in the pool.

When it comes to lighting pools and pool areas this year, less is not more. Some pool owners are abandoning the sole underwater light under the diving board for exciting illumination. You can install rows of lights along the sides and/or both ends of the pool, for example.

The types of pool lighting options are:

Fiber optic – Safer because they attached to a “dry” power box, but lighting effects may be lessened
Halogen – For a very large pool, halogens are initially low-cost but need frequent changes and can get hot
LED – Brightly travel long distances underwater for the most energy-efficient lighting option
Solar – Not a permanent pool lighting option, but a nice add-on

Swimming pool lights can be categorized as:

Feature lighting – We install halogen or LEDs to dramatically highlight one area. Your slide, a waterfall, or what about a landscaping arrangement of rocks and plants? Feature lighting “spotlights” focal points and areas of interest.
Floodlighting – We recommend flood lights to illuminate even larger areas of your swimming pool area. LEDs conserve energy, last longer than halogen, and replacement bulbs are easy to find. Halogen flood light bulbs are cheaper but won’t last as long as LED.
Flush-mounted lighting – Flush-mounted lights are the most popular option for pool wall lights. These LED or halogen “seamless” lights are a bit more complicated to install but they’re worth it. The illumination is amazing.
Pool garden lighting – Garden lights won’t illuminate your pool area but emphasize the beauty of nearby nature. They can be subtle or pop with look-at-me! drama.
Surface-mounted lighting – LED or halogen surface-mounted underwater lights are attached to the interior surface of the pool’s edge. The downside is, that they break easily because kids tend to climb on them to get out of the pool. That’s why we often recommend flush-mounted lighting.

Pool lighting upgrades will increase your property value, but even if you don’t plan to sell, the enjoyment factor makes them a great home improvement choice. However, you can add floating LED lights that are battery-powered. These are fun and safe alternatives to a pool lighting investment.

Turn It On Electric: Pool Lighting Electricians in Phoenix

Working with electricity around water is never something any homeowner should attempt. All pool lighting options must be installed by a licensed, trained electrician. A pool lighting project in Phoenix is fun and affordable. Let’s explore your options! Contact Turn It On Electric.

Commercial, Lighting, Outdoor, Residential

Phoenix landscape lighting installation

8Mar2022

Landscape lighting offers the best of three worlds. Most of us add landscape lighting to enhance appearance. The security that comes with landscape lighting is a huge benefit. When you line sidewalks and paths, it becomes a safety feature. Phoenix landscape lighting 2022 trends include low-voltage options for every residential and commercial property.

2022 Phoenix Landscape Lighting Trends

Arizona is a “destination” state for so many people. Phoenix has year-round beauty and comfortable weather almost every day. We spend a lot of time outdoors. That’s why landscape lighting is a must for most Arizona property owners.

You don’t want less-than-safe yard lights. Proper landscape light fixtures will resist moisture without overheating.

This year in particular has been one of rebuilding and renewed hope. What better way to celebrate than by opening our hearts and homes to friends and family? Here are six 2022 Phoenix landscape lighting ideas that will brighten your life in 2022:

1. Deck Lighting

The versatility of deck light fixtures and lighting options is amazing. Choose from:

Deck – Attach these to posts or rails.
Downlights – These are placed overhead, maybe in trees to spotlight an area.
Recessed – You can use these for dramatic floor lights (ceilings too).
Spot/well/uplights – These highlight one feature, like a tree or waterfall.
Step – Step lights are valuable walking aids, and they look terrific. You can use surface mounted or recessed.

2. Energy-Efficient

Low-voltage and long-lasting LED lights can last up to 100,000 hours or longer. As always, the upfront cost may cause you to take a step back. But the investment pays off; you’ll get returns in longevity and monthly energy bill savings.

3. Entertainment

Entertainment lights are bolder; brighter than path lighting. Path lights accentuate footfall. Entertainment lighting is placed further away from seating scenarios and aimed to illuminate a larger space.

4. Path Lighting

No one wants to stumble and/or fall. Your need to protect older and younger loved ones never change. And traditional path lighting will never go out of style.

5. Timeless Sustainability

You can choose from designs that won’t date your property. Timeless landscape lighting designs are tasteful features. But choose materials that have longer-lasting durability too. Consider brass, copper-free aluminum, and corrosion-resistant metal fixtures.

6. Tree Lights

No need to wait for winter wonderlands in December! If they’re wonderful in December, why not have that beauty and excitement all year? Tree lighting can also be adjustable for low-lighting or moonlighting.

Solar vs. Electric Phoenix Landscape Lighting

Solar is another landscape lighting trend. It has several advantages: It’s cheaper and low maintenance. Your Phoenix-area electrician appreciates how easily and quickly solar landscape lights can be installed. But…

Solar landscape lights won’t last as long. You’ll need to replace the lights about every 3 years.
The light color tends to be pinkish. Some people are delighted with that. Some people find it off-putting.
You have no control over brightness and on-off settings. When they’re on, they’re on. When they’re bright or dim, it is what it is.
Your illumination is compromised if you have several cloudy days. In fact, when it’s cloudy and dark and you need outdoor lighting most, solar lights may fail.

Hardwired-electrical outdoor lighting is a better investment for your home (and your wallet). A professional electrical landscape light installation will provide the safest possible placement.

Electric landscape lighting lasts about 10 years or more.
They work during bad weather and cloudy days.
You have complete control. Turn off the lights you don’t need. Turn on the lighting fixtures for entertainment. Out of town? Turn off the sidewalk lights and put the spotlights on a timer.

The biggest disadvantage to hardwired landscape lighting is if installed incorrectly, they are easily disturbed. That’s why we discourage DIY (do-it-yourself) Phoenix landscape lighting. It won’t save money if a bad installation fails.

Plan Your Landscape Lighting Project

We have many ideas for outdoor lighting that increase your property value. Let’s put together a plan that will do wonders and work with your budget. Contact Turn It On Electric.

Electrician, Lighting, Outdoor

Photocells for Christmas lights turn on/off automatically

29Oct2020

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.

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Chuck P

01:46 23 Jan 25

Friendly, communicative, and professional.High quality work.

Renee Delu

18:10 11 Jan 25

Mike you are the best!! God bless you for comming out saturday when I blew my fuse trying to vacumm and shout out to Josh who although not have sat office hours called me anyway after I left a voicemail. .Bob Best was here and gave me amazing information that NO OTHER electrician had. .!! I'm happy to say this is an amazing caring company...and I'm a customer for life!! Please recognize and reward Mike And Josh for them saving me on Saturday as my security system had no power and my smoke alarm had been beeping for hours. These men deserve kudos. .if you are looking fir honest and highly qualified electrical work. This is where to go. I'm thankful and grateful. Bob is now an instructor ..I'm happy to know future electricians are being schooled and trained by him. Thanks to you all

Wally Johns

01:31 11 Jan 25

Good work and very polite guys.

Rebecca RB

01:03 21 Oct 24

This company literally saved us! We had some electrical issues discovered that were rather alarming and created an issue with the garage door opener completely lost power as well as our outdoor dusk to dawn lighting and the interior garage lights. Mike the electrician came to the rescue! He listened to the issues in my non electrical language (haha) translated it and solved everything with confidence! Knowledgeable, Friendly, prompt, professional and efficient! Highly recommended! Will definitely call for future needs!

luci redmond

15:28 12 Oct 24

Great customer service & a job well done!

Samuel Heffner

17:04 14 Aug 24

I called TIO Electric because a friend referred them and they did not disappoint. I had an issue and it was rough identifying the source of the problem. Miguel and Conrad worked together to identify and solve the problem quickly. As a services based business it was extremely important to get the repair done quickly and the team stayed to ensure the job was done before they left. I expected to have to schedule another visit due to the complexity of the case, but they understood I needed to be back up and running as soon as possible and got the job done in just a few hours. They were very professional and personable and the cost was in line with what I expected.Update 8/14/24: TIO helped me again. This time with an issue I was having at my home. Marcus was very nice and knowledgable and was able to identify the problem and make the repair in quick time. I had a secondary issue I wasn't too worried about, but Marcus took care of that as well. These guys know what they're doing. Still highly recommend.They did a great job. I would definitely recommend them for projects big and small.

Caren Zellmer

12:46 03 Jul 24

Excellent service!! Marcus has been to our house a couple of times and completed the work doing an AMAZING job. He was very polite, professional and explained every process to us. His work was also completed in a timely manner. It is very rare to find anyone with great work ethic anymore! This company is very lucky to have him. We would definitely recommend and use Turn It On Electric again.

Bob

14:42 10 Jun 22

They were on time, clean, friendly, professional and did an amazing job. I would have to say that the price was fair considering the amount of work done. Highly recommend Turn It On Electrical!

Category Archives: Outdoor