Remodel Kitchen

After lunch at The Old Siam, I discovered a light bulb store while walking to my car. Batteries N Bulbs is located at 1111 W El Camino Real, #135, Sunnyvale, California. Although the interior of the store is quite spartan, the store carries an amazing variety of light bulbs. Since I needed a few specialty [...]

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So, the first 4-pin triple tube fluorescent bulb goes out. I’ve changed a lot of screw-in incandescent and CFL bulbs, but never a 4-pin bulb before. While high ceilings and recessed lights can result in an uncluttered look, this combination also requires the beckoning of a ladder instead of a standard folding chair to swap [...]

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In California, the 2005 Building Energy Efficiency Standards require the installation of high-efficacy lighting. And, to prevent you from swapping high cost fluorescents with low cost incandescents, screw-in CFLs do not count. So, 2 1/2 years into this energy saving experiment, our first triple tube 4-pin fluorescent failed. So much for that 10,000 hours average [...]

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When selecting a light for your bedroom, living room or bathroom, you should not only consider the style and color of the fixture, but also the availability of replacement light bulbs. If Costco, Target, Wal-Mart or wherever you regularly shop does not carry a line of replacement bulbs for the fixture, consider finding a different [...]

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In November, I replaced a pair of light bulbs in one of my ceiling lights. Tonight, the light bulbs in the other ceiling light also burned out. However, instead of replacing the burned out light bulbs with incandescent lights, I installed a pair of U Lighting America dimmable compact fluorescent light bulbs. So, this is [...]

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While a high ceiling offers an occupant a sense of spaciousness, it does present some downsides. This one light bulb immediately above my work space has been out for weeks now, if not months. I finally got tired of squinting at the computer screen and dragged in the ladder. If all I needed was a [...]

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If the occupant sensors you are using are not good at sensing occupants, then treat them as a timer. Behind the faceplate, the occupant sensor I am using has a dial that adjusts the shut-off time. Basically, the light will shut off a certain number of minutes after it last senses someone moving around. After [...]

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Title 24 is absolutely the bane of homeowners. I’ve griped about Title 24 before. After a year of using occupant sensors in bathrooms, I’m ready to proclaim them a complete failure. When guests come over and stay the night, I have to train them on how to use the bathroom lights, as in if you [...]

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In a previous post, I griped about a fluorescent bulb that expired before its time. Well, I finally got around to changing it and what did I discover? The bulb had a meltdown. Yes, that is a burn mark around where the bulb meets the base. And, the heat did melt and eform the plastic [...]

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Despite their faults, Home Depot and Lowe’s are incredibly convenient. Most of the time, I can find what I want at either of the two stores. But what happens if Home Depot or Lowe’s doesn’t stock an item? Then, instead of heading to the one-stop shop by default, I have to do some detective work. [...]

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