Watts In Your Home

Electricity’s Effect on Humans

Phillip Germany II — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:30:24 +0000

When working with electricity safety is very important. Safety should not be taken for granted.

People are electrocuted when they become part of a circuit. If you are in the path of current flow you will get shocked. Your body can become part of the circuit in several ways:

1) Grounded This occurs if a person completes a circuit to ground. For example if you touch a light post that has not been properly grounded you become the one of the grounding path for current flowing back to the source.

2) Between two conductors in series This occurs when the body is the only path that current can flow through to return to the source. For example, a person coming in contact with two grounded appliances.

3) Between two conductors in parallel This occurs when the current divides among paths to return to the source, and your body is one of those paths.

Damage to the body is determined by the amount of current, intensity, the amount of time current flows thorough you, the person, and the path current takes through your body. In essence you become a giant resistor. Body resistance is roughly from 800-1500 ohms.

Lighting tips

Phillip Germany II — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:48:37 +0000

A well lit home can lift your spirits and even make a gloomy space glamorous. The following are a few simple tips that can give your home a different look and feel.

1)Layering your lighting to include accent, task, and ambient light creates an even look and affects the mood and atmosphere of your home.

2)Use task lighting when details are important. Use ambient lighting to illuminate an entire room.

3)And use accent lighting to highlight certain features.

Lighting is important so use it to enhance your home and life.

Lighting Control

Phillip Germany II — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:36:00 +0000

Imagine waking up, its 5:30am and still dark. With the push of a button you light a path to a softly lit bathroom that brightens several seconds after you enter. As the sun rises you look outside and notice the landscape lighting turning off automatically. As you enter the kitchen you press a button that adjusts the motorized shades to block the glare from the morning sun. As you leave for work you press a button that turns off all the lights and lowers the shades to block the heat from the daytime sun and keep the home cool. All of this can be accomplished by using a lighting control system.

Lighting controls are electrical devices that are used to operate lighting to achieve a desired effect. Lighting controls can operate lighting by turning them on or off, adjusting the the light level to a desired brightness, or operate lighting in a pattern to match your lifestyle.

Simple Protection

Phillip Germany II — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:34:02 +0000

Most homes especially older ones have 2 prong receptacles. This means that the receptacle can’t accommodate a 3 prong ground plug which most equipment has. Instead of using one of those 3 prong adaptors you can install a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI).

This is a receptacle that protects people by interrupting the flow of electricity when there is a fault in the circuit.

A GFCI is useful and accomplishes several things:

It gives people circuit protection. It also protects equipment.

It accommodates 3 prong plugs.

It keeps you safe from shock.

A GFCI can be found at any where electrical items are sold. They are easy to install, but if you are unsure obtain the services of a qualified electrician.

Safe Outlets

Phillip Germany II — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:05:00 +0000

Safety is important in your home especially when you have small children. Children are curious and love to explore. They will do things they are not suppose to do in a split second. Because most receptacles are on or near the floor they can be danger points where children can insert objects into them and get injured. In these cases tamper resistant receptacles are the solution.

If a child inserts an object into one of the slots on the tamper resistant receptacle it will stop the flow of electricity by preventing a protective shutter inside the receptacle from releasing. This will prevent injury to children if they insert objects into one slot. They’re a better solution than using those plastics inserts. While this is a great solution accidents can occur so childern should be watched at all times. So be safe and use tamper resistant receptacles.

Layered Living

Phillip Germany II — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:27:49 +0000

A well lit home can lift your spirits and even make a gloomy space glamorous.

Layering your lighting to include accent, task, and ambient light creates an even look and affects the mood and atmosphere of your home.

Use task lighting when details are important such as reading or doing paper work

Use ambient lighting for general illumination to illuminate an entire room or space.

You also can use accent lighting to highlight certain features in your home such as art or sculptures.

Lighting is important so use it to enhance your home and life.

Bye Bye Light Bulb

Phillip Germany II — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:27:55 +0000

The Energy Independence and Security Act passed by Congress in December 2007 will render the incandescent light bulb ( the regular plain screw-in bulb used everywhere) obsolete. However a lot of people are unaware of this. The Clean Energy Act as its called, requires new energy efficient standards for regular light bulbs, phasing out most of the inefficient bulbs today. This makes the incandescent bulb a thing of the past. The phase out will occur in stages: Jan. 1,2012 for 100w, Jan.1, 2013 for 75w, and Jan. 1, 2014 for 40w and 60w.

This federal legislation forces people to adapt to more efficient lighting technologies such as compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs). As for CFLs a lot of homeowners were switching to them anyway. They’ve come a long way in recent years. There coming down in price and some are not giving off that harsh cool bluish light. These lighting technologies can play a big role in reducing electricity cost and power plant emissions.

Natural Lighting

Phillip Germany II — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:58:09 +0000

Lighting a home well presents challenges to most homeowners. The key is finding the balance between natural and artificial light.

Using daylight to light your space is a great way to save money on energy while giving you enough illumination to perform your tasks.

If the lighting is too intense, you can use blinds to soften the light and create a tranquil feel. So remember natural lighting is a great way to enhance your home.

Count The Cost

Phillip Germany II — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:56:23 +0000

Residential landscape lighting adds safety, security, and beauty to any home. It makes it possible to enjoy the outdoors at all hours. Aside from the initial costs of a lighting system the electrical cost of operating the system is low. For instance lets say you have a system where the watts adds up to roughly 600 watts and the lights are on for four hours each night. We must divide 600 by 1000 to covert watts to kilowatts which gives us .6.

If we multiply .6 by four hours a night and then multiply by thirty nights every month you get 72 kilowatt hours. If the utility charges 5.6 cents per kilowatt ( the rate my utility charges) the cost of operation is $4.03 per month. Considering the many benefits and aesthetic improvements landscape lighting brings to a home the cost is pretty low.

Outdoor Flare…Part II

Phillip Germany II — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:45:50 +0000

In the last entry you read about several creative lighting techniques to beautify your landscape. Here are several more techniques to give you more options to beautify your outdoors and make you the envy of your neighborhood.

Path lighting- This technique is mainly for illuminating walkways, pathways, or driveways. The beam spread of the fixture Illuminate the walkway or pathway evenly so there is little to no dark areas.

Spread lighting- This technique is used to draw visual interest to shapes and

textures on or near the ground such as low shrubbery, garden flowers, bricks, or sculptures.

Grazing- This technique is great for walls that has a textured surface such as brick or trees with a unique bark structure. In order to enhance the subject the lighting must be at an angle.

Accent- This technique uses accent fixtures to highlight special features of a landscape such as trees, sculptures, or water features. Many fixture types such as well lights and spotlights are employed to achieve the desired effect.