Houston Outdoor Lighting, Indoor Art Lights, Landscape Lighting Designs, Home Automation Blog

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Residential Power Surge Protectors

Residential power surge protectors offer the best buffer against transient power surges that can quickly destroy appliances, light fixtures, and expensive electronics in the home. Transient power surge is the biggest enemy of any device that operates off a printed circuit board. While the dangers of such an electrical spike are obvious to anyone who has witnessed the power of lighting and lived through a subsequent power outage, few people are aware of just how extensive the damage to their home wiring and appliances can result from such a power spike. Things that people would normally not consider to be vulnerable to power surges from emergency power generators and utility poles can be destroyed in an instant, and without warning.

This is because technology has evolved to such a level of sophistication over the years that all appliances are now manufactured with printed circuit boards. These circuit boards better regulate electrical usage, extending the lifespan of the appliance and reducing energy usage in the process. However, these are very sensitive pieces of equipment at the same time. A transient power surge can quickly destroy the circuit panel in any home appliance and render the device permanently inoperable.

When we consider as well that many lighting control systems, such as Lutron wall box dimmer controls, are also built with circuit panels, we see that even more havoc can be wrecked in a home by a single lightning strike. Lighting does not have to strike the home itself, either. It only needs to hit a nearby transformer to send an overload directly into the house. A residential power surge protector is the only safeguard against the catastrophic failure that inevitably results.

Protecting your residence and home automation equipment has become increasingly complex over the past 30 years. It takes a trained, experienced expert to calculate the size and placement of the surge protector. Size in the electrical world has nothing to do with physical dimensions. Instead, it has to do with the ratio of power delivered to the home factored by the number of electrical devices drawing power from the electrical service panels. This equation, as simple as it seems, becomes much more complex when dedicated circuits are added as variables. Many high-end electronic systems, such as plasma TVs, computers, stereos, and home theaters all require their own dedicated circuit to operate.

Residential power surge protectors installed by ILD consistently block spikes of up to 300,000 amps. While there are no absolute safeguards against the raw powers of Nature, these commercial grade units represent your best bet in protecting your investment in Houston home theaters, home appliances and electronics. Furthermore, they take up far less space than retail units, because even though they are far more powerful, they are 50 percent the size and therefore much easier for our team to install.

If you are interested in a standby electrical generator or a whole house surge protection system, we invite you contact us at 713-863-1133 or us our online request design consultation form.

Since 1980, Illuminations has grown to include a team of over 50 talented and dedicated employees. Specialty divisions have been created to focus on such disciplines as lighting design, electrical contracting, landscape lighting and home automation. Having specialists in each of these disciplines, while remaining true to the mission of offering home owners the "complete picture" of lighting design, is key to continued success at Illuminations Lighting.

We are located in Houston Texas but provide lighting and house lighting plans in Austin TX, El Paso Texas, San Antonio TX, College Station Texas, Beaumont TX, Dallas Texas, Midland Tx and points beyond.

Labels: Emergency Power Generator Installation, Home Standby Generator Installation, Home Surge Protection, Houston Surge Protection Company, Residential Surge Protection Systems

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Houston Indoor Lighting Maintenance

Indoor residential lighting maintenance involves periodic quality checks to ensure against degradation of quality. All lamp bulbs have a lamp life, and many begin to diminish in color rendering capability and lumens output as they approach the end of their life span. For example, low-voltage Mr16 lights used in most residential lighting plans feature dichroic reflectors designed to draw infrared and heat backward. This creates a cool-burning light source that is ideal for fine art lighting. As these fixtures age, though, the dichroic reflectors degrade and shift color to red or green. You might not notice this yourself because this shift occurs gradually and incrementally. Your eyes will adjust to these increments and often fool you into thinking that the lights are operating normally. If lighting professionals check these lights under your residential lighting maintenance agreement, they can quickly spot the discrepancy and replace the fixtures under the cost-effective rate specified in your agreement.

Another optional service you can invoke under a residential lighting maintenance contract is upgrade services. There are probably fixtures in every room that can be upgraded from high-voltage lamps to low-voltage lamps. This will immediately result in lower electrical costs and less frequent replacements. Our professionals will also take the time to inspect previously installed low voltage lighting fixtures to make certain that they are working up to specification. Any adjustments that need to be made will be made during each lighting maintenance service visit, and any problems we discover will be itemized for your review. Our professionals have been trained to not only point out trouble spots, but also to recommend replacements and alternatives that will last longer, produce a higher quality of light, and cost less power to operate.

Home decorative lighting and recessed lighting fixtures are thoroughly inspected every time our team visits your home. Major fixtures such as chandeliers have a plethora of lamps in them that can and will individually burn out. Homeowners who relamp these fixtures often inadvertently purchase the wrong replacement bulbs. Every light fixture has a label that says you cannot exceed the wattage. However, this label often may be overlooked, misinterpreted, or the label on the replacement bulb may appear confusing to the consumer. Self-relamping with the wrong wattage, of course, is probably not going to hurt your fixture, but it will hurt the quality of your lighting. Our team will check all the lamps in each major fixture under your residential lighting maintenance plan, making sure in the process that each one is consistently lamp with no wattage variance. We also check to make sure that everything is working up to safe operating specifications and aesthetic expectations. Consistency is king when it comes to low voltage recessed lighting fixtures, because being the energy consumers they are, no additional problems should be allowed to abide unchecked that could cost the homeowner a great deal of money down the line if things get out of hand.

Read more about our maintenance agreements for residential indoor lighting design, outdoor landscape lighting, and Houston home repairs in our article database. Call 713-863-1133 to speak to a lighting professional about a service agreement customized specifically to your residence and lighting requirements.

Illuminations Lighting Design is a full service design build firm specializing in residential and commercial indoor lighting and outdoor lighting, electrical service and maintenance as well as home automation, home theaters, emergency generators, surge protection systems, phone systems and lighting control systems.

Labels: Home Lighting Services Houston, Houston Electrical Repairs, Houston Indoor Lighting Maintenance, Houston Lighting Repairs, Landscape Lighting Maintenance

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Houston Exterior Lighting Contractors

Building facades, home exteriors, driveways, exterior buildings, and exceptional landscape features are just a few of the things that our expert team of exterior lighting contractors can bring to life in an entirely new and multi-dimensional manner.

The entrance to any property is the equivalent of a first impression when meeting a new person. It sets the tone for the experiences and events that one can expect on any particular premises. Hotel facades and country clubs are two examples of properties that require exceptional attention from professional exterior lighting contractors. Hotels and restaurants are almost always found in groups, and competition for guests is fierce. Illuminations can assist hotel and restaurant clients by magnifying keynote architectural features and developing an aesthetic presentation that mirrors the unique atmosphere and exceptional service offerings of the establishment.

This same principle applies to outdoor community lighting of streets and driveways for large custom homes and exclusive country clubs. Exceptionally high-end properties of this nature are highly individualized and require the assistance of exterior lighting contractors who know how to isolate and magnify the most distinguishing natural and architectural elements of the edifice and literally put its best face forward to the nighttime world.

As important as exterior lighting is to the entrance and facade of any building, it is really only the beginning of planning outdoor landscape lighting. The goal of the professional design contractor is to create an outdoor living experience that rivals the quality of indoor living. One very powerful way to do this is to enhance commercial and residential properties with outdoor tree lights. Mercury vapor lamps are concealed using proprietary, tree-friendly installation techniques that create a type of illumination that very closely resembles moonlight. This adds a vertical element to landscape lighting by making the tree canopy visible at night, and it adds mystique and ambiance to pathways and seating areas.

Another way to add vertical presence to exterior lighting is to install special building lights on offices, hotels, restaurants, club houses, and private homes. ILD contractors first examine the distinguishing features of the building first in order to determine what makes it unique in comparison to nearby structures. Our cross-training in outside tree lighting, architecture and building techniques enables us to quickly spot these points of differentiation and bring them to the forefront of viewer awareness. Landscapes on commercial lighting projects are similarly studied to see which natural forms are distinctive and deserving of special attention. Water elements such as ponds, fountains, and pools are given priority attention because of the many effects that lighting and water create when they synergistically combine forces.

For over 25 years, exterior landscape lighting contractors from ILD have added value to both commercial and residential properties by magnifying key elements essential to real estate value and the epitome of the luxury outdoor human living experience.

Illuminations Lighting Design is the only “One Stop” destination for lighting design, engineering, landscape lighting services and installation in the state of Texas, and remains unrivaled by any lighting firm in the United States for interior lighting design, commercial lighting and resort lighting. As homes grow larger and needs become more complex, having a single resource provides home owners with peace of mind. This translates into a smoother process, reduced costs and a better product.

We are located in Houston Texas but provide lighting and lighting design in Austin TX, El Paso Texas, San Antonio TX, College Station Texas, Beaumont TX, Dallas Texas, Midland Tx and points beyond.

Labels: Exterior Lighting Contractor, Houston Electrical Contractor, Landscape Lighting Contractors, Outdoor Landscape Lighting Contractor, Outdoor Tree Lighting Experts