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Adding Extra Cable Outlets
When we made a trip to the Mediterranean, we had already enjoyed cable in our own community for nearly two decades, and we had forgotten how ugly a hoard of antennas could be.
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Alkaline Batteries
Batteries are the special little devices that power a pacemaker, a camera flash and your TV remote-control unit.
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Brighten Your Home with Dimmers
Many forms of home lighting can be dramatic, including accent, primary, task and more. And, all varieties become more versatile when controlled by a dimmer switch.
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Ceiling Fans
We believe that a ceiling fan is a must for any home, anywhere. Why all of the enthusiasm for such a simple contraption? Comfort, energy savings and lower utility bills are a few reasons.
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Compact Fluorescent Lighting: A Bright Idea
In the long run, you save by using fluorescent bulbs. They will save you about $30 or more in electricity costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
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Connecting A Gas Appliance
When a gas appliance is vibrated by earthquake movement, a rigid gas supply line can easily result in a broken pipe connection. You, however, can prepare for such an eventuality...
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Dealing With Power Outages
An emergency kit containing flashlights and a battery-operated radio will solve part of a power-outage problem. And extra blankets might come in handy. But these items will provide only temporary relief. They don't safeguard you from the chaos that a prolonged period without power can bring.
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Distinguishing Types of Receptacles
What do a cool home, a chilled beverage, a television show and clean clothing have in common? They are all made possible by some form of energy. For most Americans this source of energy is electricity...
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Electric Wire Basics
Worker's compensation insurance covers on-the-job injuries. It covers medical expenses, compensation for time lost from work, and even retraining in a new vocation should impairment preclude the injured worker from continuing in the same field.
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Electrical Safety and GFCIs
Do the lights in your home sometimes flicker or dim? Does your television picture shrink when an appliance goes on? Do you have extension cords strung throughout your home due to a shortage of electrical outlets? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you might have an electrical accident waiting to happen.
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Electrical Systems Safety
According to government statistics the average American home is 23 years old. Thus, most of us don't have the latest technology in electrical wiring in our homes. This doesn't mean we're in jeopardy. Old wiring doesn't have to be dangerous. Electrical circuits are usually safe as long as they aren't overloaded.
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Electricity 101
Why do circuit breakers trip, and what can you do to prevent them from tripping next time? Read on!
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Eureka! Light in the Clothes Closet
Any kind of lighting in a clothes closet is better than none at all, but a lot is left to be desired when the shadow from the boxes on the top shelf prevent the light from doing its job to help you select just the right colors for that days special business meeting.
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Fluorescent Bulbs: A Bright Idea
Were you to visit a store in Sicily you might see the proprietor switch on the ceiling light as you enter, and turn it off before you get out the door. Europeans aren't cheap or impolite. They are energy conscious.
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Fluorescent Kitchen Lighting
Lighting plays a key role in interior design and is a major part of any electrical wiring project.
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Getting the Most Out of Fluorescent Lighting
Have you become disenchanted with the large, recessed, fluorescent, ceiling-light fixture in your kitchen?
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Home Automation
Technology even the Jetsons would enjoy!
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Install an Electric Outlet
Ever need an electrical outlet and the search was like looking for a needle in a haystack? Or, are you tired of stringing unsightly extension cords from wall to wall or room to room? If this sounds familiar, chances are you could use an additional electric outlet or two.
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Install an Electric Outlet
Ever need an electrical outlet and the search was like looking for a needle in a haystack? If this sounds familiar, chances are you could use an additional electric outlet or two.
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Installing Surface Wiring
Now, more than ever, "comfort" and "convenience" are buzz words when speaking of the home. They can be experienced in many ways.
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Installing Tract Lighting
Lighting for today's home faces a myriad of challenges. In addition to providing quality illumination, it must also enhance the decoration of the space and be versatile and energy efficient as well.
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Let There Be Bright Light
We had encountered a new breed of portable lighting -- a 1 million candlepower rechargeable portable flashlight; no, not flashlight -- it was a lantern.
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Lighting Choices
When it comes to creative lighting choices the possibilities are infinite. Here are just a few worth looking into...
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Lighting: Compact Fluorescent & Halogen Bulbs
A recent trip to the National Hardware Show in Chicago was an enlightening experience. We got to see firsthand the latest revolutions in artificial lighting - compact fluorescents and halogen bulbs. What we learned was interesting.
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Low-Voltage Landscape Lighting
An increasing number of people are discovering the benefits of low-voltage landscape lighting as an economical, effective and energy-efficient source of exterior lighting.
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Make Safety a Priority When Decorating for Holiday
It was in the movie, "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" that actor Chevy Chase demonstrated all of the wrong things to do when trimming the house for the holidays. While the scene was a riot, home decorating safety is no laughing matter.
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Maximizing the Life of a Light Bulb
As with their failure to find a cure for the common cold, experts have yet to produce a light bulb that will last indefinitely. We, thus, find ourselves on chairs or stepladders, more often than we would prefer, replacing them.
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Measuring Electricity
Every year during the holidays consumers are inundated with warnings about the dangers of purchasing the wrong kind of Christmas tree lights, information on how to hang them properly and proper use of extension cords.
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Pole-light Wiring
Here are some tips on exactly how to install an outside light on a post!
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Preparing Electric Cable for a Top-notch Connection
Electric wiring has always been mostly copper. Other metals have been tried, but copper seems to work best.
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Principles of Lighting
Lighting is a major component of good interior design. Good lighting design has an elusive quality. When you walk into an effectively lighted room, your eyes sense visual comfort, yet you'll rarely remark, "What fantastic lighting!"
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Recessed Lighting
There are rules about minimum amounts of lighting, but nothing about maximums. So how do we know when there's enough lighting? Read on!
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Remote-control Switching
Remote-control switching uses radio-wave technology to turn household power to a specific appliance on or off. But best of all, they're really affordable too!
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Removing a Broken Light Bulb
Getting a light-bulb out that's broken off at the base doesn't have to be a big production.
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Repairing a Doorbell
If your doorbell currently is in a state of disrepair not unlike that of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and you don't want to miss an important caller, read on.
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Repairing Doorbell Systems
This week's offering is about doorbell systems; how they work and how to repair them.
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Replacing A Fluorescent Fixture
It's energy efficiency and lasting quality are unmatched by anything incandescent.
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Replacing A Lamp Socket
This "do-it-yourself" project is easy to do and can actually make your home a lot safer.
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Replacing a Light Fixture
Electrical wiring in a home is somewhat akin to having extension cords and drop lights built into the walls. But, no matter how simple it might be there is a fear of electric shock that keeps many people from being comfortable with electrical projects.
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Safety Features In The Home
An electrical short occurs when a pair of hot wires or a hot wire and a neutral wire come into contact with each other.
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Seeing the Light - II
Some weeks ago we wrote about noisy fluorescent fixtures, and told you that replacing the ballast would help to solve the problem. Unfortunately, all fluorescent light fixture ballasts hum to some extent, no matter how new or how fine the quality. And, as they get older they hum even louder.
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Shedding Light on Lamp Repairs
Although lamps come in all sizes, shapes and colors, their electrical components are pretty much the same. Usually there are five: the socket, the cord, the switch, the plug and the conduit.
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Solar-Powered Accent Lighting
Last summer we spent several weekends installing low-voltage lighting in the backyard. Some point up into the trees, several act as walk lights and others are placed so that they will highlight shrubs and flowers. We expect the night to be a beautiful time sometime soon. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly what the lighting looks like yet.
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Some Shocking Information About Electrical Systems
Grandma's kitchen was nothing like yours. She didn't have an automatic dishwasher, a compactor, a disposal, a blender, an electric mixer, under-counter and in-cabinet lighting, or a juicer. If Grandma had anything that was electric, it was probably a refrigerator and a range.
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Switchplate Organizers
Since its inception, the light- switch cover plate has served the purpose of concealing electrical wires and the body of the switch. Aside from hiding a mess of wires, the wallplate also acts as a safety device to prevent electrical shock. In some cases, a switch plate can be a decorative element in a room.
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The Shocking Facts About Surge Protectors
Back in the '80s we built a home for our cousin. It had every imaginable feature and convenience. You name it, this house had it. About five years ago lightning struck, and everything in this magnificent home got cooked: televisions, radios, the computer and appliances... even the built-in intercom system.
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There's a Secret to Installing a Microwave Range Hood
A built-in microwave hood is as popular an appliance as you'll find anywhere, and they're incredibly easy to install. However, there is a condition that you need to know about and how to deal with it if you want to have a happy installation experience.
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Wiring a Light Switch
Although electric lighting is standard equipment for most Americans, there are still parts of the world where it is considered a luxury.
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