Electrical Industry Articles and Stories

In these days of COVID-19, a lot of us are spending more time outdoors. It’s the safest place for small gatherings, these days, even as the days start to get cooler. It’s nice to be able to plug in a speaker or TV – maybe even a small table lamp, for the evening – to make those outdoor spaces feel a little more like a living room or den that just happens to be located under the stars. Of course, exterior receptacles require some added protection to ensure their exposed location doesn’t raise electrical hazards.

I'd not thought of this before until I came across some interesting lighting products. Using wireless lighting control indoors is almost second nature to me. I love the technology, to be honest. I can't remember the last time I touched a switch at home to turn lights on or off.

Okay … I haven't fully integrated the kitchen yet … but that's coming soon to a Maurer home near me. The lights I have in there aren't "smart" enough. And they cost me a good chunk of change, so I don't want to trash them.

It's kind of been a theme lately. Smart offices, smart buildings … and smart homes. Believe me, I'm all for it. It's not that I'm to lazy to turn off lights. It's just that, well, sometimes I forget.

Automation and voice control help overcome my forgetfulness.

Controlling commercial outdoor lighting isn’t only important for energy efficiency, it’s also important for human and animal health. Excessive outdoor lighting can affect sleeping patterns, impact bird migration and deprive all of us of views of the nighttime sky.

Correlated color temperature (CCT) has become a hot topic in commercial outdoor lighting, as many have argued LED-based fixtures are just too, well, cool. In part, this is because this newer technology produces a different kind of light than the high-pressure sodium and metal halide fixtures we all became accustomed to during those technologies’ decades of outdoor use.

There are great products that make a contractor's life easier as far as fan and fixture placement is concerned. Whether you're doing new construction or retrofit "old work," there are box options that make installs easier.

And some of them keep the drywall guys from messing with you.