How to Light Up Your Cooking Genius

The Shock Doctors

ECRA/ESA #7001377

Nov 2012

In This Issue

A game of shadows

Mini-fluorescent and puck lights

LED Under cabinet lighting

Just for fun

Airmiles Quiz

Your computer is using less energy when the screen saver is on.

True or False

Your electric blanket is less expensive than an electric plug-in heater.

True or False

First three readers to respond correctly wins 5 Airmiles Reward Miles

Click here to answer

There is something about the fall that makes you want to cook; a pressing need to make apple crisp, fall soups and nearly every mouth watering creation you can imagine eating while wearing a sweater. The theory is that Mother Nature wants to fatten us up to prepare for the winter shortages ahead. (guess M.N. never shopped at Zehrs)

It is safe to say that between blenders, food processers and mixers on the go there is a lot happening on those countertops. These work surfaces benefit from exceptional lighting as all kitchen designers will attest. (never wield a peeler under low light).

LED lights are revolutionizing this project and I just have to tell you how...

Bon Appetite

Terry Carman,

Chief of Staff at the Shock Doctors

A GAME OF SHADOWS
Under cabinet lighting takes a countertop to a whole new level of functionality! When you have only overhead lighting, your own shadow constantly casts directly onto the spot where you are working. Under cabinet lighting puts the light exactly where you need it- right on that cutting board.

Mini-fluorescent and puck lights

Until now, the majority of under cabinet lights have been short mini-fluorescent lights and halogen puck lights. Under cabinet Mini fluorescents

MINI-FLUORESCENTS give good and even light but can get warm enough to melt butter sitting on the bottom shelf. They burn at about 170F (77C)They only have a few lengths available and are quite bulky (about 1 1/2 inches deep).

This means they need a deep under cabinet valence to conceal them.

Ambient and focal lighting

Small, round halogen PUCK LIGHTS give great bright light but are very warm (they burn at about 270 F or 132 C), are unable to provide an even light and are like having mini pot lights under the cupboard. The light pattern resembles triangles and leaves areas of working space without proper lighting.

LINKABLE LED UNDER-CABINET LIGHTS

New LED cabinet lighting address these shortcomings nicely . undercabinet LED short

The strips join end-to-end and can be shortened in one inch increments making them adjustable to ensure that the light is distributed continuously along the entire length of cupboard.

They are only 1/2 inch deep making them very easy to conceal.

Each foot of lighting uses only 2.8 watts so they are quite cool even when left on(just warmer than skin temperature) and very inexpensive to run.

If you left 10 feet of LED undercabinet lighting on for 12 hours a day the cost would be between 3 and 4 cents.

These LED's have an incredible 50,000 hours of shine-time. If you left this light on for 12 full hours a day, 365 days/year, it would last more than 11 years.

It comes in warm and cool light colour as most people have a preference of one over the other. Best of all, they are DIMMABLE which allows you to subtly change the mood in the room.

Proper placement is approximately 4 inches from the front edge of the valence to ensure that the light reaches out to both the front and back edges of the countertop evenly.

Undercabinet lighting Led

These lights are the perfect accomplice for a midnight kitchen raid. They are amazing to spotlight inside a display case or china cupboard and I plan to try them along the toe kick of the base cabinet of the vanity in the bathroom to avoid turning on annoying, bright lights during the night.

ASK the DOC...

Dear Doc: After reading about the baseboard heaters last month I decided to change out my own. It was more work than I thought, but I got it done, and added new thermostats as well. Everything passed ESA inspection and I was very happy...until yesterday. Two of the breakers controlling the heaters have tripped and when I reset them sometimes they last a day or two and sometimes they don't even last an hour before tripping. AAAAARGH!

Dear AAAAARGHA: Could be one of a couple of things or a combination of both. First off, are you absolutely sure that you selected the correct wattage heater? Just changing them based on physical size can actually triple the load on a breaker when you install the more efficient units. Second off, if you did put in the correct wattage replacements did you put in new breakers? Like anything mechanical breakers have a "best before" date and changing the load (either up or down) can affect them. NEVER ATTEMPT TO REPLACE A BREAKER IN A PANEL UNLESS THE MAIN POWER TO THE HOUSE IS OFF AND YOU AR FULLY CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITIES.

PANEL MISTAKES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS FATAL.

Do you have a question for the Doctor?
Direct line to the Chief of Staff: Click and send your question to terry@theshockdoctors.ca

Keep on cooking :)

Cheri

The Shock Doctors

$$$ Tip $$$

Check/change your furnace filter at the beginning of EACH MONTH during heating season!

A filter clogged with dust significantly restricts the flow of air through your furnace making it run much longer to bring your house up to the correct temperature.

This is hands-down the easiest way to save money on heating costs!
(If you heat with baseboard, gently vacuum them for dust)