Whether you are buying a new home or remodeling your current home, you can spend hours looking at different options for each and every room in your home. There are so many decisions to be made as you make your home match your individual style. Completing your room with the correct light fixture can be a tricky task. There are tons of options out there for you.

Dining Room Chandeliers

If you have a room that needs a statement piece, a chandelier is an excellent option. The large size of a chandelier naturally draws your eye to the light fixture. Chandeliers come in many different styles. You can find chandeliers with beautiful crystals or sleek chrome arms.

Pendant Lights for Kitchen

Pendant lights are individual lights that hang down on a long pole or wire. They are the perfect option for smaller spaces or areas that need direct lighting. Pendant lights are the perfect option for your kitchen island. Attention is drawn to pendant lights partially because they hang closer to eye level.

Ceiling Mount Light Fixtures

While chandeliers and pendant lights are frequently selected to help make a design statement, ceiling-mount light fixtures are normally selected for their subtleness. Family rooms, hallways, and kitchens all need lighting in them. You can choose canned lights that do not make a statement for these areas, or you can choose a ceiling-mount light fixture that will still add a decorative touch to the room.

Wall Sconces

Overhead lighting is always an excellent way to add light to your home, but you can also choose to put your lights on your walls instead. Wall sconces can add the light desired in the room as well as some extra character to your room. If you have a wall in your home that you want to stand out, installing wall sconces is a perfect option. Wall sconces are a fantastic alternative to track and spot lights.

Bedroom Table & Floor Lamps

You may choose not to have all of your lighting come from permanent fixtures. Lamps provide lighting that is portable. For those of you who like to frequently change your home around, lamps can be a fun option. Lamps come in many unique shapes, sizes, and colors. You can combine tall, short, thin, or chunky lamps throughout your home to add some fun design elements and additional lighting all at the same time.

Recessed Lighting

Recessed lighting provides the illumination desired in a room or hallway without making a design statement. Sometimes you just need the light with no frills. Canned lighting also has clean lines which can be the perfect choice for a contemporary room.

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What type of lighting you choose to put in your home is such a personal decision. Light fixtures can help add the character to your house that will help make your home fit your individual style and taste. Once you decide on the lighting fixtures that you prefer, contact Sentry Electric for your installation needs. We can send one of your electricians out to give you a quote for all of your electrical needs! Contact us today!

Every business can benefit from a back-up power source. Any business that has to deal with a blackout or brownout most definitely hurts customer flow and productivity. For some businesses, a power outage can have catastrophic consequences. Those who rely on computer systems or work with machinery as especially at risk during a power outage. Have you thought about your options to stop this from happening to your business? If you’re reading this blog today, then chances are you’re in the market and you’ve come to the right place. Sentry Electric will break down the pros and cons of each system, so you may better determine which would be a better choice for your business.

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)

Pros –
Simply put, UPS systems are a sophisticated, innovative backup battery power supply, they are installed to collaborate with your existing power supply systems. While the power in your business is up and running, the UPS system is constantly charging and storing extra energy. If your business loses power, the UPS system kicks on instantly and uses the stored energy to keep electronic devices and servers running without a delay. This will allow you extra time to save the project you’re currently working on without interruption. So, if the power goes out, you won’t have to worry about losing precious data or special projects. These are perfect for companies who rely on computers for their day to day operations, or any other business that require absolute, consistent power at all times. UPS systems are quiet, eco-friendly, easy to move and require little to no maintenance. You can even purchase UPS systems that can power your entire business or warehouse.
Cons – For bigger models that can handle whole businesses, these can get pricey, the longer the battery life, the more money you can plan on spending. Because these are essentially big batteries, they only have a limited charge to offer and won’t stay on for prolonged periods of time.

Backup Standby or Portable Generator

Pros
Backup generators provide hours of backup power with ease. They come in a range of sizes from small and portable, able to generate power to one or two things at once, or you can buy larger ones that can provide power to an entire building. These larger generators can be special ordered and require a professional installation by a certified electrician. Sentry Electric has experience in all things electrical and can install your generator and power inlet with interlock mechanical transfer switch for you. Smaller generators can be purchased at any home improvement store or even online. They are very simple to use.
Cons
Generators will have some lag time between a power outage and when they turn on, anywhere from 10 seconds to a few minutes depending on the model you purchase. This can be detrimental to businesses who rely on technology for their day to day operations. They also run on fuel and produce fumes, so they need to be installed in open aired areas and they aren’t as friendly for the environment. They are a bit noisier than UPS systems and require maintenance from time to time.

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Both of these systems serve the same purpose, but there are pros and cons to both. If you want help deciding which would be the better choice for your business, call the pros today so we can aid you in the decision-making process. Don’t get left in the dark, call Sentry Electric today!

Does your yard need some improvements to its lighting? Landscape lighting adds to curbside appeal, wards of potential burglars, and increases safety while walking around at night. There are a number of reasons why you may want to improve or add landscape lighting. If you want to add or improve your landscape lighting then Sentry Electric would like to make a few suggestions on improving your property’s landscape lighting.

Landscape Lighting Design Ideas

Before you run out to buy landscape lighting there are a number of things you should consider or you may be shopping blindly. Start by walking around your yard. You may even want to make a crude sketch of the yard to help determine your lighting system needs. Make a note of where you want to place lights and their purpose. There are motion sensors that can help improve security while providing light when someone approaches. You may want a constant spotlight for security. Then there is accent lighting that can light up certain features of your yard to add to night time curbside appeal. Layout your lighting needs to help make an accurate and efficient shopping list. When shopping for lighting, it is recommended you buy yellow colored lights. Insects are often attracted to light. However, they are less attracted to yellow colored lights. Therefore, it helps reduce insects around your home if you use yellow light bulbs.

Solar Powder Lights for DIY Landscape Lighting

For those who plan to do their own landscape light installation, most electricians will recommend solar lights. They are energy efficient. Additionally, they don’t require the installation of electrical cords and wiring which can be hazardous if done incorrectly. If you want electrical wired lighting it is recommended that you use a professional electrician. Solar lights need to be placed in sunny area so the sun can power the batteries during the day and efficiently light up the yard at night. Solar lights are easy and make great lighting for walkways, or flowerbed accent lighting.

Outdoor Walkway & Pathway Lights

Walkway lighting is strongly encouraged as it helps provide enough light to navigate during night time hours. Not only do walkway lights make it safer at night, but they also look great and inviting while enhancing curbside appeal. You can also add lights around patios, decks, and around pools; again making it safer to navigate around. Pathways are also a great place to add landscape lights and help improve safety.

Up Lighting & Exterior Accent Lights

Landscape lighting is also a great way to enhance certain features such as water fountains, pools, hot tubs, decks, swings or gazebos. For those hang out areas, exterior light makes those areas more inviting. For those who want a place to relax and hang out with friends and family, landscape lighting becomes essential.

Curbside Appeal

When you have a beautiful yard with amazing landscaping, why no show it off even at night? The right landscape lighting can help enhance certain features at night and even increase the value of your home. If you want to boost the look of your yard, make sure to use lights to help accent landscaping features.

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Landscape lighting can do so much in improving safety, security and enhancing the beauty of your yard. If you need help adding landscape lighting on your property, contact Sentry Electric. We provide landscape lighting services and can help design the prefect landscape lighting system for your yard. Contact Sentry Electric for all of your electrical needs today.

When you are using an outlet in your house to run an appliance or other item and it just stops immediately it can be a problem with the circuit. There is a panel on the outside of the house or in the garage that has a metal box that is called the circuit panel. It may be scary to open it and see all those switches but understanding it is a great way to know how to work with it. It you look at it in a simpler way these switches work in the same way that your switch on the wall will turn on a light. A flip of the switch and the light is on while another flip and it is off again. The difference is that you know that the switch is only going to address a particular outlet and nothing more. When it comes to your circuit panel it will be assigned more than a single outlet. Each breaker has a job to do and it is a way to keep your home and appliances safe from a power surge.

Sentry Electric Outline What You Will See When You Open Your Circuit Breaker Panel

Main Breaker: When you open the panel up and look inside you will see a whole bunch of switches that are called breakers. The first breaker that you need to know about is the main breaker. This is the breaker that you want to switch off if you need to stop all the power from going to the entire house. Sometimes in an emergency this is the easiest breaker it find and can be a quick stop if needed. It is often labeled and is at the top of the panel. Often times it carries around 200 amps which is a normal size for a single family home. This is not always the switch you want to flip if you are trying to figure out where a particular problem is.
Double Pole Breaker: When you are looking at the box you will start to notice that some of the switches are doubled up and have two that are usually attached to each other. This is called a double pole breaker and is often the type that is used when it is connected to a larger appliance that is using more amps. It will be marked so you know when it is on or off and should have a label so you know what area of the house it is securing.
Single Pole Breaker: This is the more standard breaker that you will find in the box. The breaker is the most standard one and can be used for lots of electrical outlets in the house. This can be lights, fans and small appliances. They are just a single switch and also has markings on it to let you know if they are on or off.
Open Slots: There are some slots that are in the panel that are empty and do not have any switch at all. That means that they are open and there is no electricity being sent to those areas. The reason they are there is if there are any additions to the home that will require more electrical wiring to be ran to that area.

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Sentry Electric can come to upgrade your circuit breaker box or add to the box when needed. Call us today to meet with one of our expert electricians.

There are some additions that you can make to your home that add some benefits to you and your family. Your house should be a place that you are comfortable and you enjoy being. You can install new lights to the house to brighten up the house. You also can upgrade your appliances to make an impact on your life as well. You can also install new ceiling fans with a light fixture to your home as well. You want to make sure that you have a professional electrician do the installation of your new fans. They can be complicated especially if you do not have an existing fixture in the spot that you want the fan. You can have fans installed in each and every room in the house.

Sentry Electric Outlines Health & Other Benefits of Installing Ceiling Fans & Lights

Best Looking Ceiling Fans with Lights: When you are ready to install new ceiling fans in your home you want to make sure that you look at the one that will fit best in each particular room. The great thing is that the ceiling fans can be purchased in a variety of colors and sizes and shapes. You want to look at the room and what type of fan will fit best in that area. You might want to have a nice white fan installed in a kid’s room and a nice wood fan in the main living room. Be sure that you look at all the options you can.
Reduce Energy Consumption at Home: The other benefit that you can depend on when you get new ceiling fans installed in the house is that your energy bill will decrease. During the warm summer months the fans can be used to circulate the air in each of the room. The air conditioning unit is going to be running in the summer but you can use the fans to help keep the air moving. This will allow the room to stay cooler longer and the AC unit will not have to run as often. You can start to see the savings on your energy bill after the first month.
Increase Brightness with Ceiling Fan Lights: One thing that many homeowners want to add to rooms in the house is to increase the amount of light. If you don’t have a light fixture in a room then you will need to plug in a lamp and place it on a table. The lamp may be a hindrance and the better option is to have a light installed with the ceiling fan. When you have a light with the ceiling fan it will add light to the room and leave the tables open to use for other items.

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If you want to have ceiling fans installed in your house you want to make sure that you have a professional do the job. The reason is that there are often times that wires need to be pulled through the walls so that the new fixture can be installed. Sentry Electric can come out to your house and have ceiling fans installed in your house. Call us today.