Tennessee has relied on power generated by burning coal for decades, but it seems like that's finally going to be coming to an end in the not so distant future. Solar power hasn't been ingrained into Tennessee yet, but the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) has big plans to change that in the next couple of decades.

Several proposals have been drafted in regards to the state's source of energy and what impact it's making on the environment and the earth as a whole. These proposals are pushing that by the year 2022, solar power in Tennessee will be working with a developed 200 megawatts of energy, which will also cut the use of burning coal and cutting back on the carbon footprint. The ultimate goal is to have a long-lasting, renewable, and natural source of energy be used and coal-burning becoming obsolete as it decreases significantly in the next couple of decades.

There are many different factors that the ADA affects. The ADA, known as the Americans with Disabilities Act, is set in place to make sure that people with disabilities are given equal access and proper accommodations are set in place. It can get precise with specific regulations to make sure spaces are safe for all walks of life, and lighting is no different. 

ADA regulations state that lighting fixtures must be no more than 4-inches from the wall and be mounted between 2-feet 4-inches to 6-feet 8-inches above the floor. Many fixtures now are being sold with ADA approval, and when paired with these specific guidelines, it gives the maximum amount of room for those with disabilities. This bit of information is highly crucial for the installation of lighting fixtures in public and commercial places. It allows any person(s) with or without disabilities to easily access essential parts of the building without coming into a roadblock of sorts. 

Nashville is a scenic country wonderland, especially during the summer. But boy, can it get hot! One of the first things most people want to do in the summertime is to escape the heat and crank up the a/c, but that can waste a lot of energy. There's got to be a way to enjoy the summer days and nights here in Nashville and still conserve energy while being comfortable. We figure out the top 3 ways to save energy this summer while still enjoying all that your backyard of Tennessee has to offer. 

Becoming a new homeowner is exciting. You get to have your own dream house to do whatever you want with. This is especially exciting for those homeowners who love a little DIY and don't mind getting their hands dirty if they have to. It's also a great idea to be prepared in your new home for any minor fixes. So what kind of tools should a new homeowner have on hand that can benefit their desire to DIY and also keeps everything in working order? Here you will find the answer in the top 3 tools every new home should have!

Of course, there are many other tools that it would be a good idea to have tucked away for a new homeowner. Whatever choice of tools you decide on, make sure to have these three essentials, and you'll be prepared for almost anything! 

As a business owner, there are three main factors to consider when upgrading your commercial lighting: 

-Light Quality
-Cost Effectiveness
-Environmental Concerns.

Solar power has become increasingly popular in the last decade.  A lot of people have decided to take that leap and stop using power companies to light up their home. Instead, solar panels are installed on your roof or in a large open area near your home, and the sun is now your power company. An utterly renewable energy source that can cut your energy bill in half. But what exactly does using solar panels do for the environment? The list goes on and on, but we'll just name a few key benefits for your today!

It's renewable! As stated before, your getting your energy from the sun so there is no chance of you running out of power after the panels soaked up all the sun during the daytime. This means no fossil fuels are being used and your carbon footprint will shrink!

For many people, there isn't anything more beautiful than the night sky. All those stars, constellations, even planets lighting up the sky like a gigantic Lite-Bright is a breathtaking sight. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't ever get to see that beautiful sky thanks to light pollution. Major cities keep lights on 24/7 365, and it completely drowns out a naturally lit up night sky. It seems almost hopeless to see the stars in a big city - that is until they discover dark sky lighting!

Dark sky light fixtures combat light pollution by containing the light it puts out. This means that all these specific fixtures have covers on the tops and sides of them as not to let the lights pour out and up into the sky. It is also a smart idea to install motion detectors for these lights and not a basic switch. This will ensure that no light is wasted if you forget to turn it off, as it will shut off on its own. It can also double as an alert when someone or something is near that part of the house. 

Going green has become more than a trend, it's slowly becoming a way of life for many people. If you're in the market to start building a new home and want to go about it the most environmentally friendly way possible, then you'll find some useful information here. There are innovations in green building construction every day; here you will find 5 top tips to make sure you're getting the most of an energy efficient home. 

Going green can be a fun project and a crucial one as well. Learning about all the ways to help preserve the Earth brings us one step closer to saving it. If you're considering construction on a new home, go green and go farther! 

There have been many trends in home building lately, but one is starting to stand out more than the rest. As most know, building materials are probably the most crucial part of constructing any new building, and the trend lately has been using metal materials to build. Besides being a sturdy structure, building with metal has many more qualities. But it can also have some drawbacks too. If you're on the fence about how to build your next project, check out these pros and cons of building a metal building.

PROS:

Are you the type to drive through a neighborhood and scoff at the sight of the same house over and over again? Do communities with the same visual design and assembly line styles make you want to scream for some originality? Do pre-made house plans bore you to tears? Well then maybe it’s time to break free from the cookie cutter homes and begin a new adventure, custom building your own home!

Having a new home is an exciting achievement in itself, but custom building your own home takes you to a whole new level. When it comes to designing your blueprints for your new home, you have to consider many things. Here you will find a few helpful tips when venturing into the world of customizing your new to-be-built home.

Did you know our federal government and our local municipalities offer utility incentives and even government rebates for installing LED lighting? These incentives and rebates help offset installation costs as well as save you money with lower utility bills and lower maintenance costs.

Most of these incentives and rebates require the LED lighting that you purchase to meet specific certification qualifications like Energy Star or DLC (Design Light Consortium). Any LED lighting system you are buying should have their certification indicated with the product. 

LEED is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) to evaluate the environmental performance of a building and encourage market transformation towards sustainable design. The system is credit-based, allowing projects to earn points for environmentally friendly actions taken during construction and use of a building. LEED was launched  to develop a “consensus-based, market-driven rating system to accelerate the development and implementation of green building practices.” 

The LEED rating systems are grouped into five main categories:

It’s a no-brainer that a big building uses up a lot of energy and can produce a lot of wasteful issues during the construction. Nowadays, conserving energy and making areas greener is a top priority among most cities when it comes to new construction. Going green in commercial construction has an incredible amount of perks, with vaguely zero downsides. To put this into better perception, buildings, including commercially owned, are responsible for 40% of the energy usage across the planet. That’s the PLANET; not country, not continent, but the whole she-bang. Imagine a world where every building went green, here is what would be accomplished.

In short, going green in the commercial construction of new buildings is the smartest decision one can make before breaking ground. It will save money and also help save the earth, one construction site at a time.

For business owners, saving money is one of the critical factors in maintaining a profit business. Saving starts from the inside out, making sure office and retail space is used efficiently, and money isn’t wasted on utilities. A business owner with a retail shop needs to have adequate lighting all day and sometimes even at night, but burning so much energy has got to be costly. Not when you make the switch to LEDs!

Most retail shops typically have fluorescent lighting. It is a less expensive alternative to incandescent bulbs, as well as consuming much less power, but it is not the most pleasant lighting. Fluorescents also don’t react well to drastic changes in temperature; a cold snap could cause the lighting to flicker and hum loudly. LED lighting uses 20% less energy than a fluorescent light, and lasts much longer too. They’re not made with any  harmful chemicals like the ones found in fluorescent bulbs (mercury, noxious gasses). Even the bulbs themselves are typically shatterproof.

Nicole Stevens

Having and maintaining a business is incredibly awarding, and also requires a lot of hard work. During  all that hard work, business will increase, as will the chances you will need to expand. Expanding may include changes to your building, and the likelihood of adding new construction to your business is high. If you’ve never had experience constructing new work space, it’s difficult to figure out where to begin. Below you will find a few pieces of advice into a smooth transition to add on construction to your business.

by Nicole Stevens

Saving money on your electrical bills every month is great, but what’s even better than not spending money? Making money on your electric bill! How is something like that even possible, you may wonder? Well, thanks to the introduction of new state-of-the-art LED lighting systems, you can now gain incentives while you enjoy your new efficient lighting system.

by Nicole Stevens

Going green has become a top priority with most business, big and small, over the years. A successful business knows how to save money, and the best place to start is where the business happens! Green commercial buildings not only save money, but they also help keep our environment clean. But what exactly does that mean and how does it all work? Is it all just some environment-friendly buzz-words or do these green buildings serve a meaningful purpose in our communities? Let’s go over a few facts on green commercial buildings and see what adds up.

There are some of reasons, as electricians, we recommend LED lighting over compact fluorescent bulbs (or CFL’s) for your business. The three main reasons we’ll discuss here are Light Quality, Cost Effectiveness, and Environmental Concerns.

Light Quality - LED lights to give off a whiter light than traditional compact fluorescent bulbs- resulting in less strain on your eyes when trying to read or focus. This is such a great benefit to reduce the strain your eyes already undergo during a day of staring at a computer monitor, spreadsheets or measurements. LED provides you with a clearer view of what you are looking at. Compact Fluorescent bulbs cast objects in a yellow glow, and light that is focused in one direction.

Regardless of the size of your Church’s building, strategic lighting is crucial to the execution of a successful worship service. Church LED lighting presents many unique challenges including vaulted ceiling heights come and unique architectural features with complex control systems. Thankfully, there are tried and true solutions that offer churches the opportunity to upgrade to LED light bulbs quickly and at a minimal cost.

LED light technology is riding a huge wave of popularity and marketing that will not be stopped and for a good reason. Their compact, power-saving capability offers your Church way more "bang for your buck" and solves a wide variety of problems. It won't be too long before everything with a light source is powered by LED.

Crisp, organized, attractive decor and furnishings are essential elements in making customers feel welcome and comfortable in your business, but too often, the value of attractive, aesthetically pleasing, welcoming lighting has many benefits. Beyond energy savings, a more efficient, greener lighting control system can change everything.

When customers want to sit and stay awhile, get to know you, carry on conversations, remember your business and want to come back - lighting is almost always a factor.

The 2014 Nobel Prize in physics was awarded to three Japanese scientists for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes (LEDs), a technology that has touched society in innumerable ways and enabled technologies that Americans take for granted every day. 

Here are five ways LED lights are transforming the world as we know it:

The EPA recommends that consumers take advantage of available local options for recycling CFLs, fluorescent bulbs and other bulbs that contain mercury, and all other household hazardous wastes, rather than disposing of them in regular household trash. There are various Federal regulations a bout recycling requirements for businesses that can be found here.

According to the EPA, recycling compact fluorescent lamps is important for several reasons, including: 

LED light bulbs are excellent for you and the environment. LED lamps are an alternative to regular light bulbs as they are cost efficient and has a lifespan that's is longer than the normal light bulb. Buying a LED is a great alternative for your Earth and your wallet. 

The acronym LED stands for Light Emitting Diodes. LED light bulbs are small bulbs that fit easily into an electrical circuit. The light bulbs of a LED light also do not get hot due to the constant illumination of the electrons in the semiconductor material. LED is modified to have the correct form of light radiation. 

There are many unexpected ways to cut down expenses around your home and office, but is switching to LED lighting one of them? We think so.

Not only are LED lights significantly more cost effective than traditional CFLs, they also improve productivity through better light quality, reducing eye strain and providing you with a clearer view. In addition, there are government incentives to reducing your environmental impact and carbon footprint. CFL light bulbs contain mercury - a highly toxic metal that poses serious health risks, while LED lights contain no such toxic chemicals or metals. Studies performed by the United States Department of Energy and scientists from Carnegie Mellon both found that LED lights are as efficient to manufacture as CFL lights and LEDs will become even more efficient in the future. With a market that’s rewarding businesses for going green by offering incentives for energy saving methods, LED lighting could benefit your business in more ways than one!

Between incentives offered by utility companies and government tax credits, commercial, industrial, medical and retail clients benefit greatly by switching to LED lights. Lighting is a primary consideration for all businesses. If your lighting is outdated, it costs you.

It’s a sharp business decision to switch to LED’s. Initial expenditures are offset by the numerous benefits and savings. Please contact Victory Lights today and start enjoying the benefits LED can provide you and your business!

There are a number of reasons, as electricians, we recommend LED lighting over compact fluorescent bulbs (or CFL’s) for your business. The three main reasons we’ll discuss here are: Light Quality, Cost Effectiveness, and Environmental Concerns.

Light Quality - LED lights give off a whiter light than traditional compact fluorescent bulbs- resulting in less strain to your eyes when trying to read or focus. This is such a great benefit to reduce the strain your eyes already undergo during a day of staring at a computer monitor, spreadsheets or measurements. LED provides you with a clearer view of what you are looking at. Compact Fluorescent bulbs cast objects in a yellow glow, and light that is focused in one direction.

Customer had a high ceiling with 80+ ballast operated 100 Watt High Intensity Metal Hallide lamps. Constant maintenance and bulb changes which required a lift and calls to the electrician.

The team from Victory Lights designed and installed a new LED lighting system that eliminated the ballasts and provides crisp, clear illumination.

Please visit our page on Commercial LED Lighting for more information.

Please visit our page on Church LED Lighting for more information.

In this job profile you can see outdated fluorescent fixtures on the left. New Philips LED fixtures installed on the right. This reduced energy consumption by 60% along with much improved light quality.

Interested in Commercial LED Upgrades for your business? Give us a call today at (919) 264-2134 and we can help your business save money!

Broken CFL bulbs often cause immediate panic from exposure to the mercury contained in them and the possible adverse health effects. So how dangerous really is a broken CFL bulb?

According to Clean Air Expert John Roberts “Any level of mercury exposure carries potential health concerns, but due to the small amount of mercury and short duration of exposure, a broken CFL is not likely to present any significant risk to you or your family.”