Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

When working as an electrician in a processing plant, I was often called in to work on renovations, new area construction, and emergency repair scenarios. Often there wasn’t permanent power available, so temporary power using extension cords was necessary to power up tools and equipment for the job.

If you’ve been following business headlines (or your 401K’s monthly statements), you’ve likely heard about a lot of layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at some of the biggest tech companies. After flying high during the pandemic, when many of us were living significant parts of our lives online, these firms are finding they might have been overly optimistic that the growth would continue once Covid’s worst days had passed.

If you haven’t tried to block out the peak pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 from your mind, you might remember the ways the work- and learn-from-home trends helped drive home renovation projects during that period.

Next time you’re helping a customer design a new lighting layout (or upgrading an existing one) don’t forget the blinds.

That’s right. Window blinds.

Like companies in pretty much all the building trades these days, electrical contracting firms are becoming increasingly stretched when it comes to getting the staffing numbers in line with their needs.

It truly amazes me how LEDs have transformed the lighting industry in just a decade. In 2012, manufacturers introduced the first bulbs to match the output of a standard 60W incandescent. They weren’t dimmable and could cost $25 or more. Fast forward to 2023, and LEDs now dominate the lighting market, and inexpensive replacement lamps can cost less than $5 and last 10-20 years.