Why Do Electrical Companies Mark Up Materials? Here’s the Real Story
If you’ve ever hired an electrician for a project, you might have noticed that the cost of materials is higher than what you’d pay at a local hardware store....
Many of our customers, particularly in the Sun City Center area or those in older homes are finding themselves with fluorescent bulbs that frequently stop functioning properly or switching to LED bulbs that are more energy efficient, brighter, and don’t require costly ballasts.
If you choose to start thinking about LED bulbs and want to disposal your old fluorescent Tube Lights or bulbs, it’s important to know a few things first. Fluorescent tubes contain mercery, just like those thermometers that were once commonplace. That being the case, they cannot be placed in your trash or recycling bin and must be disposed of properly. As a professional electrical company near Sun City area, we are required by EPA regulations (and want to keep our neighbors and environment safe and healthy!) to purchase, box, and mail out all bulbs through special recycling companies to be disposed of properly.
Advantages of LED fixtures over the Older Fluorescent Tubes
We recently sat down with Bryan to discuss the differences and advantages of LED fixtures over the older fluorescent tubes typically seen in garages, closets, and older kitchens.
“Well, these light fixtures could be in your garage or in your office. I tell a lot of the homeowners out there, I always install our products in my own home, even our office, before I put it in yours, because I just want to make sure that we’re putting in a good product.
Today we decided to try out these new LED tubes. Instead of changing out the entire light fixture, we’re just bypassing the bales and we’re actually putting in a 120V LED tube up in there and as you can see, from the difference of a florescent tube. Obviously, we’re just trying to go to a more energy efficient light. We’re trying to see how long these lights last for. Obviously, we are finding out that LED does not last as long as people predicted.
On average, you’re averaging about 3 to 5 years. You’re not getting these 10 years. If you see a box that says “45 Years” on it, make sure you read the hours on it. The hours typically say 50,000 hours and depending on how long you use that light for, you’ll probably get 3 to 5 years out of them. I still tell my homeowners, in all cases, to go with LEDs. They are the best product out there, hands-down.”
And certainly, consider the wonderful alternative that we’re using now to fluorescents – Call us to know more about LED bulb installation whenever you start thinking LED bulbs!
Smart home electrical services
We all know that the cost of energy can be a significant part of our monthly budget. Whether it’s keeping our homes warm in the winter, cool in the summer, or just...