Jasco Blog

Look around any entertainment or dining district and you are sure to find no shortage of Edison-style string lights hanging from restaurants, bars, pubs, and outdoor areas.

It’s clear that string lights are having a cultural moment right now, but these faux retro beauties carry many hidden costs and it's important to consider cafe string lighting cost and performance for business owners. Most notably, they hog energy. A standard 48’ incandescent string light with 24 11W vintage-style bulbs draws a whopping 264 watts per strand. At the national average electricity cost of $0.11 per kilowatt hour, the annual energy costs to run just one set after sundown can exceed $125 – or one- to-two times the entire cost of the product.

Do you have more than one remote sitting on your coffee table? Do you have a remote for your TV, one for your DVD player, one for your steaming media device and one from your service provider such as cable or satellite? If this is you, listen up! Jasco has a new line of GE Designer Series Universal Remotes that consolidate and simplify your life. This is a needed solution if you are a remote hoarder or if you gained remotes as you added devices to your home entertainment center. You can even stream on popular streaming media boxes like Roku® and Apple TV.

Last week, we headed to the Big Apple for the annual CE Week event, the mid-year tech industry gathering where the trends that are driving adoption of today’s innovative technologies and new products are examined and debuted. 

During CE Week 2016, countless products made their public debut and were showed off to the gathered press and public. Jasco’s Bluetooth Outdoor Smart Switch was among the select few—10 to be exact—that were chosen as official CE Week Best in Show Winners. Evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges, the industry experts and editors of the leading CE trade publication, Dealerscope, deemed the Bluetooth Outdoor Smart Switch to be one of the products that possess the biggest “wow” factor at the show.

With the summer well under way, the kids out of school, and the warm weather it’s a perfect time to get everyone together and what better way than with a Fourth of July celebration! All you really need is a backyard, some food, drinks, and good company to have a good time but here are 3 tips for your Fourth of July celebration that you may not have considered. These aren’t necessities but they can definitely add to the overall experience for you and your guests.

The bedtime struggle is real. Nothing is more frustrating than your toddler fighting bed time especially when as adults we have come to cherish those rare and precious moments of dreamland! Thankfully, we've rounded up some tips and suggestions for mastering the “tuck-in" to help parents get bedtime battles under control.

Our homes are one of the most important things we own, and where we spend so much of our time, so it's no surprise many homeowners take on several remodeling projects throughout their life. The only downside is home projects can be extremely costly and difficult to tackle on your own.

Luckily not all home improvements have to carry such an expensive price tag. Through careful planning, creative ideas and the clever use of electronic accessories, you can make a bunch of fun and affordable upgrades with these easy home improvement projects.

Part II: Quality of Light

Last week, we covered the different types, sizes and features of under cabinet fixtures in part one of the DIY Guide to Under Cabinet Kitchen Lighting (READ PART ONE HERE). Now in part two, you'll learn what to look for in a quality under cabinet light fixture and the final important factors you should consider before making a purchase and getting started with your DIY kitchen lighting installation.

If you have tried shopping for a light bulb recently, you know the lighting market is more complex and confusing than ever, with multiple competing technologies (LED, CFL, tungsten, halogen, and others) on the market that each offer different specs, features, and terminology. The market for under cabinet fixtures is fortunately not nearly as complex, but there are still many options available with enormous differences in quality – especially in the quality of light they produce.

What do we mean by “quality of light?” Imagine, if you will, the crisp, clean lighting of a fine art gallery or museum. This is high quality light. Now imagine the buzzing green-hued fluorescent lights of a gas station bathroom. This is bad lighting. These scenes illustrate the extremes of light quality. While the difference between under cabinet fixtures is rarely this severe, it can still be significant.

Too often, consumers will spend thousands of dollars on a new home or kitchen remodel only to undermine their investment with poor quality lighting that casts an unnatural glow on the room and dampens the vibrancy of the space.

There are several quality of light factors to consider when purchasing under cabinet fixtures that will have a tremendous impact on overall look and feel of your kitchen. This guide will help you understand these factors and what to look for in a quality fixture. 

Part I: Which Under Cabinet Fixture is Right for You?

Did you just remodel your kitchen? Could you use more light for your meal prep? Are your overhead lights too harsh for evening relaxation or gatherings? Then quality under cabinet fixtures are an easy and affordable way to dramatically enhance your kitchen space.

Under cabinet light fixtures, also called linear light fixtures, have many applications, but are used primarily in kitchens to add usable light to cabinet surfaces as well as pleasant, ambient light when dimmed to lower levels.

Under cabinet lighting can also be used for accent lighting (especially behind bookshelves) and as work lights, but for the sake of this article we will focus solely on their use in the kitchen.

Recent reports continue finding that more and more people are cutting the cord and moving towards more affordable, flexible alternatives to cable like OTA antennas and subscription-based services. Everyone is growing increasingly tired of their cable providers and the constant increase in price month after month. Now you can ditch your cable for cheaper alternatives like streaming services such as Amazon Prime and Hulu. It’s incredibly easy and cost-effective when paired with a GE HDTV antenna to watch your favorite TV shows and prime time sports in HD for FREE!

Picking out the right antenna can be daunting at first, but we have some helpful tips and tools to help you find what you need. For example, using this free tool on our website you can enter your zip code to see which HD antennas are best suited for your area along with a list of the free channels they have access to.

Whether it's a quiet moment inside or a vibrant patio evening with friends and family, there is something about the soft glow of string lights that transforms the entire atmosphere of any occasion. And nothing adds instant ambiance and festive flair quite like our new line of Enbrighten® LED Cafe String Lights.

Why You'll Love Enbrighten Cafe String Lights

These cafe string lights are the perfect  answer to every outdoor entertaining enthusiast who loves modern design. Add ambiance to the patio or style inside your home for the perfect atmosphere that will have people feeling welcomed and relaxed under the warm glow of Enbrighten Cafe Lights.