Griff's Electric wants to remind you to be safe all year long. And, since May is Electrical Safety Month, it is especially important to remember safety tips to avoid any potential electrical hazards. Allstate Insurance says, "According to statistics provided by the NFPA, on the average 28,300 residential electrical fires occur annually resulting in 360 deaths, 1,000 injuries and $995 million in direct loss. 15 percent of these fires will originate in a bedroom, and in 47 percent, building wiring will be involved." Most of these electrical fires could have been avoided. Below are some safety tips to always keep in mind:

• Immediately call an electrician if you have problems with blown fuses or circuit breakers, unusually warm outlets or switches, or (from within a wall) you detect a sizzling sound or burning odor.

• Older homes should have their electrical systems examined by a licensed electrician and every home should be examined at least once every 10 years.

• Talk to your electrician about installing Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters in your home. (AFCI detects dangerous electrical arcing and will shut down the circuit before a fire can ignite.) 
• Buy electrical products from legitimate retailers and avoid products with no identifying marks. Use of counterfeit items can result in shock, fire and electrocution.
• Use this home safety checklist from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for recommended methods to promote electrical safety in your home.

For more detailed information, please visit the following link:
https://www.allstate.com/resources/allstate/attachments/tools-and-resources/pz-may-electrical-safety.pdf

For the first time in Major League Baseball history, a baseball stadium has installed LED lighting. "This season, the Mariners have become the first major-league team to illuminate its playing field with LED lights, giving Safeco Field its first lighting upgrade since it opened in 1999." Both fans attending the games and fans watching from home will notice a huge difference. Colors, and yellows and reds especially, will pop. The LED lighting simulates natural sun light, and will appear very similar to natural daylight.

LED lighting is not new to sports. University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona upgraded to LED before this year's Super Bowl .'Part of a reason for the delay is in a baseball field’s unique shape, in the nooks and crannies tucked in the corners of its stadiums. 'Having the diamond shape rather than a rectangular shape makes it much more of a challenge,” Planled CEO John Hwang said. “We had to look at them from the perspective of the fielders and the cameras and the fans.”' The new LED lighting will be more efficient and will reduce energy use by sixty percent. The lighting will also be more even, with less shadows. This will make it easier to track long fly balls. “To provide a better playing environment to play baseball under, that’s the biggest thing for us,” Mariners vice president of baseball operations Joe Myhra said, “It will enhance their ability to play baseball, under natural sunlight like it should be.”


For more information, read the full article from The Seattle Times here.