Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

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.

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.

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.

Electrical contracting is, by its nature, a bespoke profession – that is, every installation features its own unique design quirks requiring customization. At the same time, though, contractors also now are often dealing with the need to do more with fewer workers. As a result, prefabrication is becoming a bigger part of many companies’ operations.

I was talking to my brother, Mark, on the phone last night. We’d been trying to connect all week and finally got the chance. I’m in Arkansas and he’s in Arizona, so the time difference can be a pain.

We just missed each other the day before because he was over with the neighbors across the street.

There’s no getting around it. A lot of people spent a lot more time in their homes the past few years. And while some of it was by choice, not all of it was.

I retired from electrical work and work my copywriting business totally from home now.

That was a choice.