Photo credit: striatic

As of June 12th all analog broadcasts from television have been eliminated. This long awaited switch came after about two years of planning, debating, and educating the public. Yet even after that much time many of the results and implications of the DTV switch are unclear.

What this change really amounts to is a sort of concrete, all inclusive transformation to the new digital age; a societal switch in which our most basic information and entertainment infrastructure officially joins the internet, mobile electronics, and the entire new wave of technology.

The main reasons for the switch are practical, with benefits for both consumers and government. Digital signals are much more efficient than analog ones. They provide clearer pictures while taking up less space. That is, a broadcaster can fit several digital channels in the space required to send just one analog channel. That opens up airwaves for governments to use for emergency services as well as commercial communication services.

What It Means For You

The time of the rabbit-eared antenna is gone. In many cases so will be the channel numbers for your local television stations. Rather than UHF numbers like 12, 24, even 47 — just for the three channels you get with an old antenna — you’ll find digital numerics reading 5.1, 7.2, etc. You might find the same station broadcast over two or more channels. Typically at least one of these is high-definition (HD).

If you haven’t already, you will need to pick up a digital converter box (or new TV) from a local retailer. Best Buy, Target, other department stores and online sites like Amazon.com all carry them. The federal government has also been offering coupons to put toward purchasing a digital converter, find out more at www.dtv2009.gov. Boxes range in price from $40 to over $100 depending on its features. (more…)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder — and how the eye beholds is largely a function of lighting. Almost any subject can be made to appear more beautiful if it is lit effectively.
A home, a dining table, a painting, a nighttime patio setting, or a child’s homework desk — consider these examples, and it’s instantly obvious that how each one is illuminated will make a huge difference in the overall ambience and utility of each one.

Residential electrical contractors can support your lighting creations with efficient placement of power outlets. This is just one of many important considerations that a skilled electrical contractor will take into account when you’re improving your home.

Take a look at how some of CalFinder’s electrical contractors incorporate light into their projects:

Handyman Connection specializes in electrical work as well as bathroom remodeling. This bathroom remodel shows effective use of natural light in conjunction with natural tile and glass blocks. (more…)

These are the days of hi-tech everything, from solar-powered satellites to your kitchen faucet. These are also the days of high energy demand and costs, and an age when it has become palpably clear how our energy usage affects our local, national, and global climate. In response there has been a movement among manufacturers to combine hi-tech with eco-friendly, and a big part of that movement is electronic sensors.

Nowadays your fixtures and appliances are smart enough to control themselves. Your house lights are able to recognize when you’re home. And your sprinkler system can learn exactly when to kick on the water. Electronic sensors are not only controlling the action and efficiency of many of our home systems, they are also making our busy lives a little easier and keeping our wallets a little heavier.

Following are some of the home systems, from lighting to landscaping, that can benefit from the addition of an electronic sensor:

Photo credit: takomabibelot

Lighting.

Home occupancy sensors can save you the trouble of fumbling around in the dark for a light switch as well as save the valuable energy and money involved in leaving a light on when you leave the home. This goes for motion sensor lights on the front porch as well as interior lights in the entryway. Especially popular in bathrooms, electronic motion sensors can be programmed to turn on when they detect movement and turn off after a set time in which no motion is detected.

Photo credit: doortoriver

Heaters.

Electronic thermostats are really catching on, in part because heating and cooling are the number one sappers of energy in the modern home. Electronic or digital thermostats can be programmed to turn off when you are not home (say, 9-5) and can have the home back to a comfortable level upon your arrival. Meanwhile you live with the comfort that your air conditioning wasn’t on the whole time you were at work. Most models allow you to set daily and seasonal changes in the system, as well as vacations and other getaways. Programmable thermostats are regarded as one of the best ways to conserve energy in the home; to the point that some utilities are even paying or offering rebates for their installation.

Sprinklers.

It happens all the time, a home’s sprinkler system (even one on a timer) will kick on in the middle of a thunderstorm, wasting energy and water. We just can’t be home all the time to manually control our irrigation systems and maximize water and energy efficiency. Electronic sprinkler sensors can detect changes in humidity, sunlight, and rainfall to shut off or turn on whenever necessary. Photo credit: drcorneilus (more…)