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Living With Light

November 28, 2018 by admin

Studies show that ambient lighting can have a direct effect on our mood and productivity. It can impact us at home, at work, at school, and just about anywhere we go. Ever noticed when you go to a restaurant they have specific lighting all around in varying intensity? There’s a reason for that. Have you ever seen those gigantic lights that are used in operating rooms? Precision and accuracy are what comes to mind with those type of lights.

Technology Today

As many of us know, technology has played an essential part in the evolution of light bulbs. Great strides have been made to produce energy-efficient, long-lasting, and economical light bulbs today. Many of us are familiar with halogen bulbs and many of us are also familiar with LED light bulbs. I’m sure there was a time when we were thinking to ourselves, Halogen vs LED Lights and made considerations of various factors to make a decision.

Work

In an article from WebMD, workers are found to have a better quality of life and are more productive when exposed to natural light. The article goes on to further describe the study that included forty-nine day-shift office workers. In it, it states that “the study results confirm that light during the natural daylight hours has powerful effects on health.” So the next time you’re feeling a bit sluggish at work, try moving closer to a window or provide yourself with more light. Having more light will also alleviate headaches from eye strain.

Home

Your bedroom at home is your sanctuary. It’s a place you go to after a hard day’s work. It’s a place where you relax and unwind. Lighting plays a big role in relaxing. You want the right amount of light to settle down comfortably. You also want ample light to get ready in the morning. For instance, if you’re an avid reader before bedtime, you would want lighting that will give you enough light to read your book, but not too overpowering that you won’t be able to fall asleep. Most use dimmers in the bedroom so that you can get a wide range of settings for light intensity. Lowering the light as you fall asleep will aid in getting a better night’s rest.

Bathroom

What better way to relax than with a hot shower or a bubble bath at the end of the day. The lighting in the bathroom can also help with relaxation and rejuvenation. Turning down the lights or even using candlelight will help reduce stress while you soak in the tub. In the morning, natural light or white light can give you an energy boost to prepare for the day ahead and inspire a productive day.

Kitchen

One of the most important areas in your home is the kitchen. The kitchen is associated with appetite and nourishment. Specific colors of lighting to varying intensities of light sets the tone for functionality and appetite. Today, there are many contemporary designs that implement the use of both natural and artificial lighting. During the day, you’d want to take advantage of the natural light outside. Windows and skylights can bring natural light indoors. In the evening, soft yellow hues can invoke the feelings of comfort. Lighting plays a significant role in the types of food you create in your kitchen. Lights can inspire to create chef-like dishes or perhaps a relative’s best kept secret recipe. Like many of us, our kitchen is also a place where we eat. Having the right amount of light can certainly create an enjoyable ambiance while eating, and can aid in promoting healthier eating habits.

TV Room

So you’re pumped to watch a movie or tv show on the television. You want to be focused on what you’re watching. Dimming the lights or turning it off completely can feel like you’re at the movie theatre. The excitement remains as you sit there in the dark, snacks on-hand, waiting with anticipation. Having a dimmed or dark room will ensure minimal distraction.

Patio

You breathe in the fresh air outside. It’s evening and you’re not ready to go inside just yet. As darkness falls, a sense of calm comes over you. The moonlight shines bright and casts silhouettes around your patio floor. Moonlight not only calms but energizes the mind. Having minimal to medium lighting on your patio should be used to maintain the ambiance.

Hospitals

Precision and accuracy are what we normally associate the lighting of hospitals with. Well-lit and bright overhead lights are used in hospitals to help healthcare professionals in caring for their patients. That is why it is important that hospitals have bright lights throughout the hospital. Bright white light also encourages and promotes patient recovery.

In conclusion, light effects us in many ways and in different places. The color, the intensity, and the type of light used vary in many combinations. In today’s technology, there are LED lights that come with a remote control and are as thin as sheets of paper. They light up in various colors and can be attached anywhere. Smart lighting is trending as well. You can automate or control your lights with your smartphone or it can automate itself by adjusting to the time of day. There are many technological advances today for lighting.

There Are Some Things Technology Just Can’t Do

October 27, 2018 by admin

There’s a lot of things that Alexa can do including making us laugh, ordering takeout, and controlling the lighting, but when it comes to getting rid of rats in the garage, this is where it falls short. Technology has influenced our lives in so many ways. Your handheld device has many functions that have changed the way we communicate. Ironically, 76 percent of all smartphone users actively interact on one or more social media websites. We schedule our lives, control our home functions, and stream movies from our phone. These are the mere benefits of handheld smart technology, but what about an entire smart home?

What Is A Smart Home And What Does It Do?

Technology has made its way into our homes. The very home that we live in can be equipped to simplify our lives in many areas. A technology-based home is considered to be a smart home and has many functions. A smart home is equipped to let your lighting, heating, and electronic devices be controlled by a phone or computer. That’s right; your phone can control your lights while you’re at work. In fact, a smart home can tell you the refrigerator has been open for a while.

Smart home features save you money. Remotely controlling your thermostat at any time can save you energy costs on your bills. Surprisingly, you can contact your smart home to make sure your dinner is ready by using a computer. A busy soccer mom can get her household chores done, including the laundry, by simply commanding her Siri device. Home automation has become very popular in the last 5 years as technology continues to make advances. You can think of it as having your home conveniently connected to the internet and accessible through multiple device capabilities.

How Can I Benefit From Technology?

There is only 14 to 16 percent of all homes that use smartphone technology. Many markets go untouched. Therefore, many users have the option of utilizing or creating the technology for a smart home. Marketers in home automation can face a few barriers. One of the home automation barriers is the security risk factor. Remotely controlling your home will put a lot of information over the internet. Unfortunately, any information on the internet is subject to hackers. There are many steps being taken to secure the information being processed over the internet for a smart home.

What Siri And Alexa Aren’t Doing?

Technology is doing a lot of things to improve our lives, but it isn’t getting rid of pests that invade our home. An exterminator in Denver, or where you live, is still the best way to rid your home of insects and rodents. Missing shingles on your roof can be an entryway for many pests to enter your home. Birds and raccoons love nesting in your roof. Fortunately, an exterminator can find the entryway, seal the area, and treat your home for pests with a licensed trained professional.

Pests Exterminated By A Professional

– ants

– waterbugs

– silverfish

– spiders

– rats/mice

– wasps

– bees

– centipedes

– bats

– squirrels

– termites

Extermination will come with a trained professional and rid your home of many pests. Trust their services to provide chemical agents that won’t harm the occupants of your home, including small children and pets. They understand how pests can invade your home and create structural damage. They work hard to ensure pests won’t jeopardize the comforts of your home for you and the ones you love.

The advancement of technology can’t make us forget about the other things that matter most with our home. There are many features that will allow you to control your home that require a professional. We shouldn’t let technology let us forget all the ways we must take care of our home. Technology does a lot for us, but it still can’t do everything. Maybe in the future, we’ll be able to control pests with smart home features. However, we still need a trusted local professional exterminator to get rid of an infestation of bees in the structure of our home. You’re invited to call a local exterminator for your pest control needs today.

Budget-Friendly Home Renovation

September 27, 2018 by admin

Tackling a home renovation is more challenging than it might seem. Not only do you have to plan everything and keep track of your progress, but you also need to choose projects that will offer you great value for money. Without a proper renovation approach, your remodelling project can quickly turn into an expensive nightmare.

Decide whether to hire professionals

Depending on the type and scope of your renovation, you’ll have to decide whether to hire contractors or DIY. Undertaking a renovation on your own can save you a significant amount of money. However, if you’re not experienced in the field, you risk making an expensive mistake. In addition, certain projects require professional experience, especially those that entail structural changes.

Create a budget

Although you cannot know exactly how much money you need for a home renovation, you should still create a budget. When creating a renovation budget, you should always set aside an amount for unexpected costs. Once you’ve set up the budget, you should stick to it because renovation costs can quickly get out of control. In addition, you should shop around before buying materials and other items. There are great discounts and offers, you just need to find them.

Plan your renovation

Another great way to control your expenses is to plan the remodelling project in detail. If you’ve decided to take on a DIY project, you need to act as a project manager, which entails developing an efficient, time-effective plan. Aside from creating a timeline and defining different stages of your home renovation, you should also find a way to monitor your costs in order not to exceed the budget.

Rent, don’t buy

You should find different opportunities to cut your expenses where possible. Renting the pieces of equipment that you don’t have is typically more affordable than buying new ones. For example, you can rent portable and stable scaffolding for the duration of your renovation. Chances are that you won’t frequently use certain pieces of equipment, so you can save a lot of money by renting them for this particular occasion.

Choose projects that will pay off

When renovating your home, you should go with improvements that will pay off in the long run or that will increase the value of your home. For instance, instead of wasting a fortune on building a sunroom, you should design a wooden deck. Certain improvements won’t cost you much, yet they will bring great value to your home. Painting the interior is one of the most affordable remodelling ideas that will make a big difference in your home.
If you’re remodelling your home in order to sell it, you should go with projects that will help you recoup your investment. Replacing your garage door, painting the façade, insulating your home properly, implementing minor bathroom and kitchen upgrades and sprucing up your landscape are some of the most profitable home remodelling ideas.

Repurpose

Repurposing is both eco-friendly and budget-friendly, so you should definitely consider reusing your old materials. You can also buy repurposed materials at a much more affordable price. For instance, you can purchase second-hand shingles in excellent condition if you’re renovating you roof. You can also find slightly used fixtures for your home, especially if you’re aiming for a vintage look. This will help you enhance the sustainability of your property while also cutting your renovation expenses.

Go green

Before dismissing green improvement because they might be more expensive at first, you should consider the long-term merits that they offer. By implementing green improvements in your home, especially those that can boost its energy efficiency, you’ll be able to cut your energy consumption and increase your savings. In addition, if you ever decide to put your home on the market, eco-friendly updates will certainly pay off because they will increase the value of your property substantially. You can start small by installing LED lighting or replacing your leaky faucets with low-flow models. Afterwards, you can consider going with major green improvements, such as installing a solar system.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to cut your renovation costs while still getting excellent results.

Necessities of Having Pest Control

September 26, 2018 by admin

There are so many unwanted animals and pests which get into your home and make it uncomfortable for you to stay in your home or at your place. This is important to keep in mind that once in a while you should have pest control activity, to make your home pest and unwanted germ-free home. There are so many available options for you, and ways through which you can get it done and this will make your place hygienic and clean. Not just in homes but also at your workplace and on farms and agricultural places are an easy target for the pests and this can destroy your plants and agriculture. With that, you can choose the ways and techniques through which you will get the pest control work done.

For your ease and comfort there are many companies and small business housing services which provide the service of pest control, if you don’t have a big budget then you can rely on the local pest control services which are present in your localities. They will also provide you with the same quality services and complete control over the pests.

The need of Getting Pest Control

There are so many unwanted animals, bugs, termites and many other animals which make damage to your household materials and also with that make the environment uncomfortable and uneasy for the people if pest attack is ignored, that can lead to a big damage to your personal properties and also a great loss for you.It ’s a very easy target for the unwanted pests to destroy your clothes and other materials. So, for that, you need to get the pest control done with the help of the local pest control services. You can easily get rid of those unwanted pests which are in your home, personal space or anywhere else.

Benefits of Pest Control

If there is an unwanted animal in your home, what would you do? Obviously, you will wish to make it stay away from your home and get your place clean and healthy for living. This is the benefit of getting pest control services, the unwanted animals are away from your home and also with that, you can protect your materials and other important stuff. Pests like bed bugs in Midland usually damage the clothes and their residues doesn’t seem to be good, this can be cured only by getting pest control services.

There are many available options in your neighbourhood and nearby places or you can say local pest control services which are being offered, you can very easily rely on them for getting done the pest control. This is not just necessary but is a sure thing which you should get done before the unwanted animalscan destroy or damage your stuff, this will also help you keep your home safe for children and you can keep a healthy and clean environment of your home. Pest control is important as to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of any place and also to avoid damage.

Most Important Metal Roofing Advantages And Disadvantages

July 31, 2018 by admin

The modern homebuyer has many things to consider when thinking about roofing since the number of opportunities available is quite large. Metal roofing is very popular and is used in everything from commercial warehouses to modern storage buildings. Metal is much more durable and stronger than traditional products we used to use for roofing in the past.

Metal Roofing Advantages

Community Builders Tulsa highlights that there are two main things that have to be mentioned when referring to metal roofs: cost-effectiveness and safety. These advantages are offered by metal roofing as it can withstand extreme weather dangers like snow, strong windows, hail and rain. Fire protection is also very important and the level offered is higher than with the traditional solutions. You even get access to more color selection. The available variety of color and styles with metal roofing is quite large.

Metal Roofing Disadvantages

One of the disadvantages you want to think about when considering metal roofing is cost. Normally the cost is higher than with traditional roofing options. However, according to experts, the higher cost is compensated by much higher durability, low profitability and lack of need to replace roofs in normal lifetime. In many cases the traditional roof has to be replaced around 20 years, based on architecture or style. Properly installed metal roofing is going to last up to sixty years.

Perception should also be mentioned as a potential disadvantage. There are people that are going to appreciate the look of the metal roof but that is not always the case. There are some homeowner associations that actually have rules against using metal roofing. It is important to check such things before committing to using metal. If there are official prohibitions, you have to be aware of this before making a large investment in your new roof. Conflicts with homeowner associations can be quite hard to navigate.

Keep in mind that it is also possible that metal roofing will become a problem in the event that it is not properly installed. It is vital that the best roofers are chosen to handle metal roofing installation. If metal roofing is not properly installed, its lifetime is not going to be as long as it can be. Be sure that you are patient and that you conduct a good research about contractors so you can work with the one that is the best in your area.

Conclusions

Before you make a final decision you need to think about all the facts that are mentioned above. Talk with local roofing experts in order to get advice and help before you sign contracts or you buy materials. The market at the moment is really competitive and you will be quite surprised to see the difference that can appear in material quality and price. Be sure that you are informed and that you do all that you can to work just with true roofing professionals. Metal roofing can be a very good investment and in many cases it is something that you do want.