Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

Lighting the great outdoors requires a bit more thought now than it did a couple decades ago. The goal used to be simply packing as many lumens as possible into a landscape fixture. That was the entire point. Photocell sensors might have been used to ensure lights didn’t stay on during daylight hours, but keeping outdoor space fully illuminated – even when no humans were around – was seen as a key safety measure.

Uncle Bob and Aunt Betty's two-story farmhouse was a haven for my brother and me during our childhood. While it didn't boast modern amenities, the old-fashioned radiators under each window ensured a cozy warmth throughout the house. These radiators were a blessing during cold winters, providing a spot to dry our snow-soaked gloves.

Yeah, I’m sure you know the saying — “When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” And I’d imagine you probably chuckled, just a little anyway. A friend of mine gave his small boy a hammer for his birthday. And the kid beat on everything, all day long, when Tommy was at work… including the gas meter in the yard.

Up until three years ago, I lived with a couple small boxes of spare fuses that sat on top of the water heater in the basement, ready to be drawn from should the rare combination of, say, the toaster and microwave operating at the same time happen to shut down power to the kitchen.

In a world where electrical efficiency and streamlined design are of primary concern, the mini power center is quickly becoming a staple piece of equipment for electricians, general contractors, and electrical industry experts. It's small, it's powerful, and it's reshaping the way we manage electricity, on the jobsite and in the facilities we serve.

Solar-powered exterior lighting has certainly gotten more popular over the last decade or so, given how inexpensive the fixtures are and how easy it is to install. But there remains a strong market for the hardwired variety in shady areas, where more powerful light is required and when you want to be sure the light works when you need it, even after a cloudy day.