How to Choose the Best Under Cabinet Lighting for Your Kitchen

cabinet lighting

Cabinets can be a nightmare when it comes to blocking light. You’ll know the struggle all too well If you’ve dealt with trying to cook under a cabinet and failing to see what’s going on clearly! Luckily there is a solution: with the help of a trusted Atlanta electrical contractor, you can find the perfect under-cabinet lighting or your kitchen which will give you the light you need to follow recipes and cook in peace.

If you need more info on the best under-cabinet lighting for your kitchen, we’re here to help! Here are some types of under-cabinet lighting and where they’re best suited:

Battery Powered Under Cabinet Lights

If you’re looking for a lighting solution that can be installed just about anywhere, then battery-powered under-cabinet lighting may be the thing you’re looking for. Since they’re battery-powered, they’ll work even the powers out! However, you will have to deal with possible faulty batteries and replacements, which may be more hassle than you’ve bargained for – if that sounds like a drawback to you, maybe consider other options.

Hardwired LED Under Cabinet Lighting

With the help of a trusted Atlanta electrical contractor, you can avoid batteries altogether with hardwired LED lighting. This will connect your lighting to a switch so you can easily control it whenever you need it. It’s also a great solution for people looking to hide their wires, as a trusted Atalanta electrical contractor will be able to make these lights look as seamless as possible.

Plugin Under Cabinet Lighting

If you’re looking for something in-between battery powered and hardwired, this may be the option for you. Plugin lighting is powered using an existing outlet in your kitchen. While this means there will be more wire exposure than a hardwired alternative, it’s also more reliable and lower maintenance than battery-powered lighting. So long as there is an existing plug socket near enough to the space you want lit, a plugin under cabinet lighting could be a good solution.

Which Solution Should I Go For?

The answer really depends on your budget and needs. If you want to go for the best quality solution that will look the most elegant, then we definitely recommend going hardwired with your under-cabinet lighting. This will give your lighting an integrated feel and ensure that you don’t have to stress about wires sticking out or battery replacements. While you will have to enlist the help of a trusted Atlanta electrical contractor, it’s certainly worth it for the elegant and seamless results you receive.

Summary

You can get under cabinet lighting in battery form, plugin, or hardwired. While battery and plugin cabinet lighting are perfectly respectable solutions for your under cabinet lighting concerns, hardwired is by far the best option to go for if you can afford it. If you’re looking to get hardwired under cabinet lighting installed in your kitchen, be sure to contact a trusted Atlanta electrical contractor.

Important reasons for hiring a licensed electrician

licensed electrician rewiring home

Sometimes you might head online and watch a few videos and think that you’re ready to handle a complete rewiring or new wiring in your home. Often this is the result of electrical wiring issues you notice around your home. You may think it’s straightforward, you get to use some cool tools, and you’ll have a functioning wired home before you know it. It’s not as simple as that. Let’s look at a few of the reasons that make hiring a licensed electrician perhaps a better option.

It’s a dirty job

Doing electrical work means getting into the guts of the home. You’ll be navigating between the walls, under the floorboards, and through the attic as you start to gut out and pull the old wire while replacing it with new wire.

This can be hazardous and dangerous work, and for your own safety, you’re better off working with a professional when it comes to this. Also, no one wants to be diving into these dirty, out of sight areas.

Being an electrician is a highly-skilled role

To become a licensed electrician means going through thousands of hours of on-the-job training and around 100 hours of classroom training. That’s a lot of experience needed just to be approved.

This is because there’s a certain way to handle electrical wiring, and there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Due to the danger of getting electrocuted or potentially causing a fire hazard, working with a professional licensed electrician is always a good idea.

They also know all the right tips and tricks to even possibly save you money with their experience.

They’re worth the price

Sometimes we do DIY to save costs, more than feeling that sense of accomplishment. What a licensed electrician may cost well outweighs what it might cost if you don’t use one.

Consider an electrical malfunction happening in your home, causing damage, burnouts, fires, and the like. If you do it yourself or your unlicensed handyman friend does it, insurance will most likely not cover you for it.

Another reason you’ll consider their price point is the fact that they’re actually going to save you a lot of time. Many licensed electricians can work quickly with whatever the job entails, can read circuitry maps faster, and can do the installation job with expediency.

You’ll also not need to go to get the building permits to do the work, or to handle the inspection after the fact, as a licensed general electrician will also handle all that and be able to stand by their work.

You’ll have your wiring done right

A licensed electrician will know things a lot better than you will, and thus they will do their work correctly the first time. On the off chance that doesn’t happen, many licensed electricians will come back and correct any issues as they’ll stand by their work.

Doing it yourself or with those friends will mean learning as you’re going and making mistakes (that can be costly) along the way. So unless you’re extremely dedicated to learning about wiring your home, go with a highly reviewed licensed electrician every single time.

Top 7 Tips to keep your home generator ready when you need it

Not many people remember to maintain their home generator.  As a result the home generator may not work when needed because it was not properly maintained.  Like any other appliance, your home genrator must be checked frequently and repaired when needed.

We all think it’s not going to happen to us. However, even the most stable areas have power outages. And the next one may be just when you need electricity the most. The best solution? A working home generator.

But how you maintain one properly? Below are 7 great recommendations on the topic.

1. Test Your Generator Regularly

Even when you don’t need it, test the appliance. This should become a routine check to see if there are any areas that need more attention in further maintenance or repair. There’s also a feature in many generators to self-test. If you don’t know whether yours does that, call a technician and ask about it.

2. After Use, Check Oil Levels

After every test and actual use, check if the oil levels are alright. Most modern models don’t use much of it, but it’s still easy to forget to refill. Plus, there may be leaks that need to be fixed for your safety and the proper operation of the appliance.

3.  Enusre that the housing does not block ventilation

Protective housing is important for any generator. However, it doesn’t have to block the air supply or any other part. This may break the appliance or make it operate poorly. Plus, if you want additional coverage to block noise or for another reason, make sure to call an expert and consult with them first.

4. Have Additional Fuel on Hand

Many generators use natural gas to operate, but if your house doesn’t have this kind of fuel, make sure there’s enough gasoline, diesel, etc. to last for a lengthy power outage. In case of a natural disaster, you never know how long electricity will be out.

5. Check the Electrical System Regularly

It’s also important to check how the generator starts to work when an outage occurs. It should be on the automatic mode, when it starts to operate at the moment the main power source turns off.

However, issues may occur that will make the generator work dangerous. If you don’t know how to check the electrical system yourself, it’s better to contact a specialist.

6. Check the Air Filter

You should clean, fix, and/or replace the filter when needed. Make sure there’s a replacement by hand at any moment. If the filter is neglected, the generator may get damaged, which is dangerous for your house.

7. Test Smart Features Frequently

If you have a generator with smart features like smartphone operation, check whether they work regularly. This includes updating applications in time, connecting to the appliance every now and then to test settings, etc.

Check every element and feature of your home generator to make sure that in case of emergency, you’re fully covered. The climate is changing, which gives way to unusual natural disasters in areas where there wasn’t a hurricane in years.