Now that’s a brilliant idea
The LED light strips promise an ecologically and economically friendly alternative. —Tanya Laing Gahr photo
It’s not everyone who can claim a true, middle-of-the-night lightbulb moment—but Norm Tarko can. Norm is a retired electrical researcher who moved to Marysville three years ago with his wife, Debbie. They built a house in the small community with plans Norm created using a computer-aided design (CAD) program, tweaking ideas to create the home of their dreams—even while some of the unfinished details haunted Norm’s dreams. Norm wanted to find a way to light the stairwells in the house that would be energy efficient, low cost, unobtrusive and appealing. Then, as he tells it, around 2 a.m., he awoke with a bright idea. “He wakes me up and says, ‘I’ve got this fantastic idea,’ ” said Debbie. “He gets up and he goes upstairs and he starts working on it.” Norm worked on his idea—a low-profile lighting strip that could be connected to other strips—for three days straight. His vision was to use a thin, flexible conductor strip that he was already well acquainted with in his former profession, and embed small LED lights. “I designed it, put it on CAD, made a prototype—and it worked out,” said Norm. From there, Norm used his connections to have samples manufactured in China that were exactly what Norm and Debbie had hoped for—and TW Visions, Norm’s company, was born. The LED strips fit perfectly underneath the stair rail in their home, creating a soft glow that illuminates each step at night, but becomes virtually undetectable in the daytime. The lights are hardwired into the home and stay on all the time, but because of LED’s efficiency, add less than $3 each year to the Tarkos’ hydro bills. And one idea has led to another: Tarko designed a thinner, brighter strip with adhesive backing. Originally created to be placed in homes under construction, requests for strips that could be installed in existing houses by someone with no electrical experience have spurred Norm to create LED strips for everyone. h3. A dazzling reception The product has caught the imagination of almost everyone who sees it. “When we went to Lethbridge for a home show, people were just amazed.” Currently, Norm distributes the product through wholesalers and homebuilders—he is, after all, retired—but the interest has been so great that he anticipates the LED strips will soon be available to retailers. The strips can be used outdoors to -30°C, and work well with laser-etched glass to illuminate signs or artwork. Norm has a patent pending in the U.S and Canada and he said he is considering selling the U.S. portion of the design. But there are no plans to go gently into retirement this time—he already has several more luminous ideas in mind. RESOURCE: "www.twvisions.com(http://www.twvisions.com)":http://www.twvisions.com
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