Tag: lighting

3 Ways That Dimmers Can Save You Time and Money

Oct 02, 2020

3 Ways That Dimmers Can Save You Time and Money

  • Electrical
Dimmer installation in des moines by Integra Electrical

All About Dimmers

Integra Electrical

Home maintenance can add up in costs, and it can be difficult to cut down on your utility bills. Emergencies can happen at any time, and appliances simply aren’t built to last forever. The good news is that there are a few tricks every homeowner can use to save money and keep your home in tip-top shape. Most probably don’t think of their home’s lighting as a way to cut down on costs, but dimmers can save you money. Your home’s lighting can not only be energy efficient, but customizable and cozy.

How Dimmers Can Help Your Home

You might not think it, but the quality of lighting can increase your home’s value and comfort tremendously. Installing dimmers adds a variety of different lighting settings to your home to save money and add ambiance. Like any electrical appliance, however, your lighting is complicated and it can be difficult to get just the right amount of lighting. Dimmers give you that trial and error without having to have a licensed electrician replace and install multiple light fixtures. If you’re considering adding some dimmers to your home, here’s how a few dimmers can help you.

  • You save money. Dimmers are economic in that they consume considerably less energy when you dim the lights. Traditional light switches only give you the option of shutting off a light or turning it on, which means either you use 0% energy or 100%. A dimmer switch gives you full control of how much energy you want to use in a light switch, which can decrease your utility bills, saving $30 a year.
  • Your light bulbs last longer. On top of consuming less energy, a home with dimmers means fewer trips to the hardware store to replace your light bulbs. Generally the less light is used, the longer the bulb lasts. 
  • They provide a variety of lighting. Besides saving money, the best perk of a dimmer is flexibility. Installing dimmers to your lighting enables you to adjust different light fixtures in your rooms for different effects. Dimmers are also easy to use because they can be programmed to change at certain times or controlled with an app or touch screen. Whether you want to accentuate some art, add ambiance, or sleep a little better at night, dimmers help to make that happen.

What You Need to Know About Dimmers

Dimmers not only improve your home’s quality of lighting, but they also come in a variety of switches and can add different effects to each room. While it might be tempting to try and install a dimmer switch on your own, your lighting is complicated, and best left to a licensed electrician to install. If you’re ready to upgrade your home’s lighting, there are a few important factors to consider first.

  • The type of switch. A dimmer is not only flexible for your home’s lighting; it’s also flexible in what type of switch you can use to adjust the lighting. An integrated switch, for example, allows you to create multiple lighting presets for one room which is controlled either by a button in the wall or a wireless controller. There are touch dimmer switches that are controlled with a simple tap of your finger and some can even switch back to a prior light setting. For something less sophisticated, there are manual switches like a slider or a rotary switch, which allow you to manually adjust the lighting.
  • The type of dimmer. You can also decide how complex you want your lighting control setup to be. A single-pole dimmer controls the dimming and lighting for all your home’s light fixtures. Three-way or four-way dimmers are used for light fixtures to be controlled by one dimmer switch with additional on and off switches. Multi-location dimmers enable you to use multiple dimmer switches to control multiple dimmers. 
  • What you want in each room. It’s important to remember that dimmers not only save you money but offer a variety of uses for each room. Having dimmers in the bathroom, for example, allows you to turn down the lights first thing in the morning for your light-sensitive eyes. Dimmers are especially best for bedrooms as the dimmed light helps prepare your body to wind down for sleep. Kitchens which can be a popular room to hang out can benefit from dimmer lights, as good lighting makes for a good-looking kitchen, which saves you money and adds curb appeal. Even outdoor lighting benefit from a dimmer switch, especially when you need a little extra light in the evenings.

Your Home Deserves Better Lighting

Saving money is tough, especially when it’s time to pay the utility bill, but installing dimmers is one helpful trick that benefits homeowners. Dimmers add a nice variety of lighting for decoration and ambiance for comfort and help cut down on utility costs. Upgrading your home’s lighting, however, is best left to a licensed electrician, who not only can help you pick a dimmer that will work best for your home, but ensure your new lighting is installed safely. Call an electrician today and get the best lighting your home deserves.

By zach@admachines.com

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8 Kitchen and Bathroom Lighting Upgrades

Sep 02, 2020

8 Kitchen and Bathroom Lighting Upgrades

  • Electrical
kitchen and bathroom lighting upgrades

Ways To Upgrade Your Home Lighting

Integra Electrical

One of the biggest concerns that you should have as a homeowner is finding the right additions to add more appeal to your residence. For most homeowners, making upgrades in both their bathroom and kitchen is important due to the amount of use these areas get. Lighting is one of the main issues that should be addressed when trying to make these areas more functional. Without proper lighting upgrades, you will experience issues like an overall decline in the room’s atmosphere or the inability to function in either room due to a lack of visibility. Below are some of the lighting upgrades you need to consider for your home’s bathroom and kitchen.

1. Track Lighting

If you are looking to increase both the appeal and visibility in the bathroom or kitchen of your home, then track lighting is a great option. Track lighting is easy to install and will provide a higher degree of illumination. The addition of track lighting will allow you to point the lamps in any direction that you want, which only increases the level of customization you can take advantage of.

2. Self and Cabinet Lighting

One of the most poorly lit areas in a bathroom or kitchen is around the cabinets. Trying to find spices or even towels without the proper amount of lighting can be nearly impossible. Installing under cabinet lighting is the best way to solve this problem while adding an ambiance to the kitchen and bathroom areas in your home.

3. Chandeliers are a Great Addition

Creating an environment in your bathroom or kitchen that is luxurious and classy is easy when finding the right chandelier. In smaller bathrooms and kitchens, having a chandelier is essential due to the space that it can save you. If you have no room for floor lamps in these areas, a chandelier is a great option due to the amount of light it can produce and the appeal it is able to add. When choosing a chandelier, you will need to contemplate just how grandiose you want it to be. There are a variety of different chandeliers on the market, which means you can achieve the customized look you need with ease.

4. Recessed Lighting

Are you looking for lighting fixtures that can help to make your bathroom or kitchen appear bigger? Recessed lighting is a great option when trying to accomplish this task. Adding recessed lighting will result in what is called wall washing. This term is used to describe a lighting fixture that offers increased illumination to the walls in a particular room. Most homeowners who have sloped ceilings will benefit the most from the installation of recessed lighting and the subsequent wall washing effect it will produce.

5. Dimmer Switch

If you are looking for more control of the lighting that you have in your bathroom and kitchen, then a dimmer switch is a great option. Not only with the installation of this switch allow you to adjust the brightness of a room, but it will also allow you to save energy in the process. Generally, bulbs will last 25% longer when used in conjunction with a dimmer switch.

6. Change Light Bulbs

When trying to improve the ambiance and illumination that you have in the bathroom or kitchen in your home, you may want to change out the existing light bulbs. You need to make sure that the bulbs you are using are the right wattage. Using a higher wattage than recommended can lead to the bulbs burning out quicker.

7. Bathroom Mirror Lighting

One of the most used methods of illuminating a bathroom is via a mirror with lights built into it. Not only will these mirrors help you to navigate your way to the bathroom during the night time hours, but they can also offer a level of appeal that is unrivaled. When trying to get the right backlit bathroom mirror, you will have to take some measurements to ensure you get the proper fit. Due to the complexity involved in installing these mirrors, you will need to hire a professional with plenty of experience to help out.

8. Accent Lighting

In some instances, the reason for installing additional lighting in the bathroom and kitchen of a home is to highlight some of the structural features it has. Using accent lighting will allow you to draw attention to the best features in your home while creating an ambiance in the process. If you are unsure what type of structural elements you need to highlight with accent lighting, then having a professional familiar with home illumination give you guidance is vital.

Investing in new bathroom lighting will not only add more appeal to your home, but it can also increase the value. Choosing energy-efficient lighting can also help you to save money on utility bills over time.

When you need lighting repairs or installation, call the experts at Integra Electrical! 

By zach@admachines.com

5 Reasons to Get LED Lighting for your Iowa Home

Sep 27, 2019

5 Reasons to Get LED Lighting for your Iowa Home

  • Electrical
led lighting in Iowa by Integra

LED (Light Emitting Diode) lights are a type of lighting that is becoming more popular in the residential market. The reason for their rising popularity is that their technology is becoming cheaper to produce yet more reliable and effective. Today’s commercial models are more energy-efficient, last longer, and take less maintenance than conventional light bulbs. The Department of Energy estimates that by 2027, widespread LED usage could save about 347 terawatt-hours per day, which equals a savings of about $30 trillion dollars at current electricity prices. Reasons like these provide good examples of why you should get LED lighting for your Iowa home.

Here are five reasons to change to LED lighting for your Iowa home:

 

They’re environmentally friendlier

While older lights have their share of disposal issues, LED lights are much more simple to dispose of. Fluorescent lights, for instance, creates light by running electricity through mercury vapor. By doing this, the lamp creates ultraviolet light that makes the phosphor-coated lamp glow. However, the mercury in the lamp means you can’t simply dispose of it. Instead, you have to take special precautions when it’s time to get rid of them. With LED lights, you can simply recycle them without any sort of special considerations.

 

They’re more energy-efficient

LED lighting uses about half the electricity used by traditional incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent lighting. This means LED lights can save plenty of money on electricity costs. The savings can be even greater when replacing lights that are on most of the day. A major reason for LED lighting’s efficiency is because it’s a directional light that only brightens up a semicircle, as opposed to the 360° range of normal lights. Directional lights help cut back on wasted energy, but can be bundled together to provide the same spherical coverage of a classic light bulb.

 

Great CRI

Color Rendering Index (CRI) measures a man-made light’s ability to show an object’s natural color compared to natural light. Low CRI lights, like sodium vapor lamps, often make objects look a yellow/orange color. However, LED lights have a CRI ranging from about 65 to 95, which is considered excellent. If you’re designing your outdoor lighting, your lighting’s CRI rating can be an important consideration.

 

They’re safer

A common hazard with most lights is that they produce a lot of heat. To compare, LED lights emit very little heat while incandescent light bulbs turn over 90% of their energy into heat. This means that not only does about 10% of their energy actually go to lighting up your home, but they can also get dangerously hot. Also, LED lights use less energy and can work on low-voltage electrical systems. These systems tend to be safer in case something goes wrong.

 

They have long lifespans

Some of the highest-quality LED lights can take around 30-50 thousand hours of usage. Compared to the 1,000-hour lifespan of incandescent light bulbs, this is a huge jump. Even compact fluorescent lighting can’t compare, with a lifespan of only 8,000-10,000 hours. Also, it’s worth noting that LED lights don’t suddenly “burn out” like normal light bulbs. Instead, when they near the end of their lifespan, LED bulbs will instead start to dim, giving you heads-up that you need to replace your lights. LED lights can help you make your home’s lighting lower maintenance.

 

What makes Integra Electrical my best bet for buying new lights?

Electrical systems may be complicated—but that doesn’t mean electrical service has to be. When you call on our Integra professionals, we keep things simple by providing superior service at a price that you can feel good about. At Integra Electrical, we believe that affordability and safety should never be compromised. Bridging the gap between fair prices and valued service, we provide the consistent and customized solutions that Central Iowa homeowners and businesses deserve.

We believe there’s more to business than making a profit. We are a value-driven business dedicated to delivering honesty, integrity, and exceptional service. People first, we commit to providing for you, our customers, our employees, and our community. You deserve the comfort of knowing we’re available whenever you need us. Someone is always answering our phones 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With our affordable services, you’ll discover that bringing back the light can make all the difference in your home. Call us today to learn more about getting LED lighting for your Iowa home!

By zach@admachines.com

5 Reasons to Get Recessed Lighting in Iowa

Aug 30, 2019

5 Reasons to Get Recessed Lighting in Iowa

  • Electrical
recessed lighting in Iowa by Integra

When it comes to what makes up a room in your home, there are many different things to consider. One of these factors is the lighting. A room’s lighting can change a lot about how a room looks, works and contributes to a house’s overall value on the market. One kind of lighting, recessed lighting, is a kind that is implanted in a room’s ceiling to avoid hanging units. While they aren’t for every room, recessed lighting can give a sleeker look to a room. At Integra, we can give you some reasons to consider asking us about getting recessed lighting for your Iowa home.

Here are five reasons to consider getting recessed lighting for your Iowa home:

 

Waterproof

Recessed lighting is one of the few types of lighting you can purchase that is waterproof. Granted, this won’t be important most of the time. However, this feature makes recessed lighting one of the few types of lighting that can be used in shower stalls. This also makes it more useful in bathrooms in general. Also, the casing used for recessed lighting makes it more resistant to dust.

 

Perennial style

Style and fashion can seem like a complex subject that has no rhyme or reason. Fortunately, recessed lighting, unlike track or monorail lighting, is effectively trend-proof. The sleek, modern look of recessed lighting has never truly been in style. Consequentially, these lights will never go out of style. You won’t have to worry about guests or house buyers considering your lights tacky.

 

Larger-looking rooms via wall washing

Wall washing is a lighting effect where you can cast more light around the room by using the correct trim. To properly make use of wall washing, you need a professional designer’s eye and the right parts. Both of these are things we here at Integra can provide. With our help, wall washing can make your rooms look bigger and brighter.

 

Good for low ceilings and small rooms

Recessed lighting not only makes rooms look bigger, but it can make them physically bigger. Normal hanging light fixtures can take up precious space in smaller areas and hit you in the head if you’re not careful. In rooms where space is a premium, such as basements, having lights that don’t hang down can give you more room.

 

Complete coverage

Normal ceiling lights in the center of a room can keep the center well-lit. However, this lighting has difficulty reaching the edges of the room, leaving the edges looking dimmer. With recessed lighting, you can carefully arrange your lighting to get complete coverage of your room.

 

What makes Integra Electrical my best choice for lighting installation?

Electrical systems may be complicated—but that doesn’t mean electrical service has to be. When you call on our Integra professionals, we keep things simple by providing superior service at a price that you can feel good about. At Integra Electrical, we believe that affordability and safety should never be compromised. Bridging the gap between fair prices and valued service, we provide the consistent and customized solutions that Central Iowa homeowners and businesses deserve. We believe there’s more to business than making a profit. We are a value-driven business dedicated to delivering honesty, integrity, and exceptional service. People first, we commit to providing for you, our customers, our employees, and our community. You deserve the comfort of knowing we’re available whenever you need us. Someone is always answering our phones 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call us today to schedule service for your home or business. Call Integra Electrical today to learn more about how we can help you with your lighting!

By zach@admachines.com

4 Benefits of Installing Occupancy Sensors in Iowa

May 31, 2019

4 Benefits of Installing Occupancy Sensors in Iowa

  • Electrical
occupancy sensors in Iowa by Integra

You probably have a good idea of how lighting works. When the switch is on, the light is on. However, there are drawbacks to this classic design. Countless times someone leaves a light switch on for an empty room and wastes lots of energy. What if there’s a better way to handle lighting? Occupancy sensors work by turning on lights when someone is in a room and shutting them off when no one is around. Learn from Integra Electrical what you stand to gain by using occupancy sensors in Iowa.

Here are four reasons to upgrade your lighting and get occupancy sensors in Iowa:

 

Energy efficiency

This is one of the most obvious advantages to occupancy sensors. When you don’t have to worry about people leaving the lights on, you can save a lot of money and energy. In addition, having the lights turn off automatically can help cut down on light pollution.

 

Safety

If a burglar is in your home and the lights suddenly turn on, do you think they’ll want to stay? Occupancy sensors can do a lot for deterring burglars and anyone else skulking about at night. In addition, having lights that automatically turn can help keep you avoid having to stumble around for a light switch in the dark.

 

Versatility

Versatility is an oft-ignored advantage of occupancy sensors. Not only are occupancy sensors usable with lights, but they can work with anything that operates on an outlet controlled by a light switch. If you get creative, you can find some good uses for the sensors and reduce your energy bills further.

 

Convenience

There are times in our lives when it just isn’t convenient to flick a light switch. Maybe we’re carrying something heavy, or it’s the middle of the night and you can’t see. Whatever the case may be, occupancy sensors can help solve that frustration.

 

Why is Integra Electrical my best choice for home service?

Since 2007, Integra Electrical has been making a difference by helping homeowners with their electrical systems. Our company puts people first by offering high-quality service at affordable prices. People come first, and we devote ourselves to providing to you, our customers, our employees, and our community. If you’re considering installing occupancy sensors in your Iowa home, call the experts at Integra Electrical!

By zach@admachines.com