Interstate Electrical Services Corporation is proud to announce the commencement of its 60th anniversary year. While the company’s official founding date is in July, Interstate is kicking off a year-long tribute to honor its history, employees, customers, and its continued evolution as an industry leader.

Founded in 1966, Interstate has grown into one of the largest and most technologically advanced electrical firms in the region. Over the past six decades, the company has become synonymous with complex project delivery, 24-hour customer support, a proactive safety culture, and a commitment to the ‘today and tomorrow’ of New England’s infrastructure.

“Reaching 60 years is a testament to the relationships we’ve built, the dedication of our Team members, and their commitment to excellence,” said Interstate President Jim Alibrandi. “While we are taking this year to look back at the projects that shaped the New England skyline, our focus remains on supporting our clients’ daily needs and empowering future generations and innovation. By continuing to integrate advanced prefabrication, lean construction strategies, technology-driven project delivery, and daily quality customer care, we are ensuring that Interstate is prepared to serve our clients for the next 60 years and beyond.”

“Interstate has always been about its people and its partnerships,” added Interstate Senior Vice President Luiza Mills. “We are honored to have an incredible Team that has paved the way as New England’s electrical partner since 1966 and look forward to the next wave of evolution yet to come.”

The post Interstate Electrical Services Launches 60th Anniversary Year with Focus on Innovation and Regional Legacy appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the perfect opportunity for commercial building owners and managers to be proactive with their electrical and automated systems. As we spring forward an hour on March 8, a comprehensive review of your building’s systems ensures energy efficiency, system reliability, and tenant safety as we transition into the warmer months.

Here is an essential checklist to prepare your facility:

Adjust and Sync All Time-Sensitive Controls

The primary task is updating every timer-driven system to reflect the one-hour jump. This starts with manual adjustments to mechanical time clocks for all interior and exterior lighting, including parking lots and security fixtures, while ensuring any temporary winter overrides are cancelled. For modern facilities, it is critical to perform a Building Management System (BMS) verification to confirm that lighting sweeps and HVAC occupancy schedules have successfully migrated to the new time. Finally, check and update the clocks on older fire alarm and card access systems to maintain accurate operational data and ensure all security logs are correctly timestamped.

Optimize Lighting and Climate Sensors for Spring

With sunset occurring an hour later, your building’s “brain” needs a seasonal recalibration to avoid energy waste. Inspect all exterior photocells to ensure they aren’t activating too early in the evening and verify that occupancy sensors are functioning correctly to minimize usage in unoccupied zones. If your building uses daylight harvesting controls, confirm they are dimming interior lights appropriately as natural spring sunlight increases. This is also the time to transition your HVAC settings. Ensure your system is ready for cooling setpoints so that the building isn’t fighting itself by heating in the chilly mornings and cooling during the warmer afternoons.

Prioritize Safety and Compliance Reliability

The biannual time change serves as a vital reminder for life safety maintenance and regulatory compliance. Conduct full-load testing of emergency generators, UPS systems, and battery-backed emergency lighting to ensure they are ready for unpredictable spring storm outages. Additionally, replace the batteries in any standalone smoke detectors, carbon monoxide alarms, and thermostat backups throughout the facility. Finally, verify that your fire alarm control panel (FACP) reflects the correct time, as even a minor time-sync error can complicate troubleshooting and documentation during a fire marshal inspection.

Document and Clean for Efficiency

Maintaining a detailed log of all manual changes and sensor calibrations is critical for future troubleshooting, insurance compliance, and LEED reporting. Beyond digital updates, advise your maintenance staff to perform a spring cleaning of all exterior light lenses, reflectors, and sensors. Winter salt, grime, and debris can significantly reduce light output and sensor accuracy; a quick cleaning is a low-cost, high-impact step to ensure maximum visibility and efficiency as outdoor activity increases during the spring months.

Take the time now to proactively schedule these maintenance check-ins to prevent system failures, reduce energy waste, and secure the continued reliability of your essential building infrastructure throughout 2026.

By John Henry, project manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation

The post Interstate’s Electrical and Building Management Checklist for Daylight Saving Time appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

In the world of institutional management, the calendar is deceptive. We talk about summer maintenance, but from an electrical perspective, the most critical work happens while the snow is still melting. The months of March and April are the best strategic window for your facility to plan for the summer. The difference between a chaotic July and a productive one comes down to the decisions you make now.

While summer is still the best time for major electrical work because buildings are less occupied, the complexity of modern campus systems has increased. Between the integration of EV charging stations, sophisticated HVAC controls, and high-density classroom technology, you don’t want to take a costly “wait until it breaks” approach to maintenance. Here are the electrical maintenance tasks schools and institutions should prioritize as the 2026 summer shutdown approaches.

Identify Hot Spots Before the Load Drops

Modern preventive maintenance relies on data. March is the ideal time to schedule Infrared (IR) Thermography scans while your buildings are still under full operational load. These scans identify hot spots in panels and switchgear (invisible to the naked eye) that indicate loose connections or failing components. This is also the perfect time to consider installing IR windows in switchboards or distribution gear. These windows allow for the scanning of specific termination points in the future without the need to remove covers or expose staff to live parts. Identifying these needs now allows you to order long-lead-time parts today so they arrive before the students leave for summer break.

Service the Heart of the Building

Electrical distribution equipment is often out-of-sight, out-of-mind until it fails. Your main distribution panel is the heart of your building, and your summer plan should prioritize comprehensive servicing. This includes exercising breakers that haven’t been cycled in years and can seize up, failing to trip during a fault or failing to re-engage after a scheduled shutdown. Additionally, electrical rooms deserve the same level of cleanliness as your classrooms. Make sure they are clear of debris and dust to prevent overheating and maintain easy access. Keep in mind that in 2026, many insurance providers now require documented proof of this switchgear maintenance to maintain institutional coverage.

Prioritize Life Safety Systems

Spring is the time to audit your emergency lighting, exit signage, and fire alarm systems. With the shift toward networked emergency lighting, use these months to verify that battery backups and automated reporting systems are functioning. Use this window to also start planning for life safety generator preventative maintenance. These gensets utilize batteries, battery chargers, and circuit breakers that must be exercised and maintained to ensure they function when they are needed most. It is much easier to replace a driver in May than to fail a fire marshal inspection in September. Ensuring these systems are compliant before the summer rush allows for a smoother, more predictable maintenance schedule.

Optimize the Smart Campus

As institutions adopt IoT-based lighting and climate controls, your summer maintenance should include firmware updates and sensor calibrations. These systems are only as efficient as their programming. Ensuring your smart building hasn’t drifted from its efficiency targets is key to managing rising energy costs and hitting sustainability goals. By reviewing these digital systems in the spring, you can identify which sensors or controllers require physical attention during the summer shutdown.

Don’t treat the summer as the time to find problems, treat it as the time to fix the problems you identified in the spring. Reputable electrical contractors reach peak capacity quickly during the summer months. By securing your slot and finalizing your budget in March, you ensure that when the students leave in June, your team is ready to hit the ground running for a safe, efficient, and reliable fall semester.

By Edward Gould, Operations Center production area manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation

The post Ask the Electrician: When is the Best Time for Educational Facilities to Plan for Summer Maintenance? appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

While hyperscale developers are building massive, multi-acre campuses in the Midwest, the New England market is focused on a different strategy. Here, the challenge isn’t finding hundreds of acres of land, it’s the surgical task of installing 2026-level AI technology into existing, space-constrained shells. For local developers, the goal is something called Precision Power. Precision Power maximizes power density within a fixed footprint while navigating a constrained regional grid. In this Ask The Electrician column, we will explore how to transform legacy industrial or commercial properties into high-density digital hubs.

Reclaiming Stranded Power

In the Northeast, project viability is defined by capacity. The first step in the development lifecycle of a high-density data center is an electrical audit to identify stranded power, which are utility connections originally sized for heavy manufacturing or large-scale office use that are currently underutilized. Uncovering this hidden capacity and reclaiming the infrastructure during the due diligence phase often allows for a high-voltage upgrade without the multi-year timeline or cost of a total teardown and utility overhaul.

The Mechanical-Electrical Marriage

AI chips generate heat that traditional air cooling can no longer handle. The shift to liquid cooling (direct-to-chip or immersion) is the key to unlocking density in compact footprints. Beyond saving space, liquid cooling is incredibly efficient. It can reduce the energy used for cooling by up to 41% compared to traditional air-cooled methods.

Because liquid cooling significantly reduces the electrical draw of traditional HVAC fans, that saved power can be redirected back to the server racks. However, this requires a sophisticated central nervous system. Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems bridge the gap between electrical and mechanical infrastructure. These systems monitor and balance power loads in real-time while automatically controlling the start/stop sequences of cooling equipment, ensuring both systems work in harmony.

Bypassing the Grid Bottleneck

With the regional grid under constant stress, waiting for a utility upgrade can stall a project for months or even years. To gain a speed-to-market edge, developers are turning to behind-the-meter solutions like Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). By integrating BESS, a facility can “peak shave,” which means storing power during low-demand hours to use during peak times. This bypasses grid delays and adds a critical layer of protection against local power fluctuations.

The Bottom Line

The boutique data center is the future of the New England tech corridor. By treating power as a spatial puzzle rather than a raw commodity, owners can transform aging assets into high-performing digital hubs. The key is early engagement. Make sure you include your electrical contractor during due diligence to ensure your Precision Power plan is viable before the project begins.

By Edward Gould, Operations Center Production Area Manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation.

The post Ask The Electrician: How Can Developers Solve the Power Puzzle of High-Density Data Centers? appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

As we move into 2026, the conversation about lighting in commercial buildings has fundamentally shifted. Building and facility managers are no longer just asking about watts per square foot, they are asking how lighting will impact the people who occupy the building. This shift is the result of a rise in popularity of human-centric lighting (HCL). HCL is a lighting strategy that focuses on physical and mental health, as well as performance, by supporting the body’s natural biological cycles. If you’re planning a major retrofit or new construction, understanding human-centric lighting will help you create a holistic solution to meet your building’s needs.

What is Human-centric Lighting?

Human-centric lighting isn’t just about brightness or efficacy, it’s about the powerful non-visual effects light has on us. Our bodies have a circadian rhythm, a 24-hour internal clock that regulates a number of natural processes. From sleep to metabolism, it even affects body temperature. The circadian system is managed mainly by the light we see, with the spectral composition (or mix of colors) of that light steering the physical response. HCL attempts to mimic the natural daily progression of light quality and quantity that humans lived with for millennia prior to electric lighting. This process, called circadian entrainment, is about syncing the building’s light with people’s natural body clocks.

How Does Human-centric Lighting Work?

The lighting system delivers bright white light in the morning and during the early afternoon to maximize alertness and productivity. Some systems will deliver a burst of bluer, “colder,” but still white light right after lunch, to help stave off the infamous post-lunch dip. As day progresses to evening, color temperatures become “warm” (low quantity of blue light), and lights dim down a little bit. After this shift, the body receives a signal that it can stop producing cortisol (yeah, that cortisol) and ease into the slow process of making melatonin. Melatonin is a natural compound that helps the brain get more restful sleep – you have probably seen it on store shelves as a supplement espousing these qualities. Our brains typically produce enough melatonin to get restful sleep, but when the process is interrupted, it can cause a host of issues. Circadian disruption can alter metabolism, throw off glucose balance, and even slow down the body’s natural regenerative processes. Jet lag, and the several-day recovery time, is the direct result of circadian disruption.

Human-centric lighting is rapidly becoming an expected feature in commercial spaces, especially in offices, education, and healthcare facilities. HCL is particularly effective in healthcare settings and nursing homes where many workers and patients experience circadian disruption due to the 24-hour nature of the facility. You can imagine how important it is for a hospital to have lights with high color rendering indices so that they can immediately identify discoloration on a patient.

While the initial cost of HCL fixtures and controls is higher than traditional LED systems, there is a high return on investment through human factors. For example, improved concentration and alertness during the day can boost cognitive performance and throughput. Proper light levels and color rendering (our ability to perceive differences in color) have been linked to reduced eye strain, fewer headaches, and better overall occupant satisfaction. These wellness benefits have become important for attracting and retaining tenants.

How Complex is the Installation and Integration of HCL Systems?

Human-centric lighting is enabled by sophisticated Networked Lighting Control (NLC) systems, with DALI-2 being the modern standard. These systems offer a digital backbone for two-way communication, allowing DALI-2 capable fixtures to control color temperature and intensity while simultaneously reporting diagnostics and status. DALI-2 systems can alert owners and maintenance staff to issues like lamp failures or overheating drivers directly through your Building Management System (BMS). This capability moves maintenance from reactive to predictive, helping save labor downtime and costs.

Transitioning to HCL is a complex electrical and controls project, not a simple fixture swap. It requires special tunable white LED fixtures, and a fairly complex network of communication cables and controllers to fully integrate with BMS. The subsequent commissioning post installation is critical in defining specific schedules and settings that match the occupants’ needs, and may take longer to set up than conventional controls.

Is HCL a Necessary Investment for Future Building Certification and Value?

As standards like the WELL Building Standard gain more prominence, human-centric lighting will become necessary for achieving the highest levels of building certification. By adopting HCL now, you are future-proofing your property and ensuring it meets the rising demand for verifiable healthy indoor environments.

Human-centric lighting isn’t just a trend, it’s the next evolution in commercial building operation. By using digital controls like DALI-2 and recognizing light’s impact on health, you can help position your commercial building for success in a market that prioritizes both sustainability and occupant well-being.

By Eric Crouch, project manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation

The post Ask The Electrician: What is Human-Centric Lighting and Is It Right for my Commercial Building? appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

One such individual, Brian Harlow, our Assistant Manager Design-Build Engineering, found that his interest in computers and gaming opened a path to the electrical trade. When Brian graduated from high school, he was unsure of his career path. Despite his interest in computers and gaming, he wasn’t sure he could make a living pursuing this track. He decided to explore certificate courses at a local NH community college and soon realized his aptitude for computers and gaming could transfer to Building Information Modeling (BIM). He reached out to Interstate for a Computer Aided Design (CAD) Operator position and his journey began! Over ten years later, Brian is proud to have used on-the-job training and self-learning to advance into his current role.

We are seeing more stories like this in construction. For example, a student who is interested in interior design might use that passion and experience to shift into an electrical detailing, coordinator, or engineering support career. We’re even seeing students choosing to become electricians, because they are motivated by a passion for green initiatives and want a fulfilling career that will help give back with innovation in charging stations, hydro, wind power, and much more.

As a woman in the industry, I am proud to see more women entering the electrical trade. It’s rewarding to see students gravitating towards a career that aligns with their interests and passions. Add to this the increased utilization of technology in the industry, and we see an ever-broadening path for individuals to pursue a career in the electrical trade. They realize the opportunities in the electrical field are expansive and offer tremendous career possibilities.

Luiza Mills, senior vice president at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation

The post The Electrical Trade: Career Opportunities Beyond The Wires appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

New England’s unpredictable weather, from severe winter storms to unexpected accidents, can bring commercial operations to a sudden halt. While preparing for an outage has traditionally been about having a backup generator, today’s focus is on building electrical resilience: the ability for a building’s systems to withstand, adapt to, and quickly recover from power disruptions.

A resilient facility minimizes disruptions, protects assets, and ensures business continuity during a crisis. To truly safeguard your commercial property, consider adopting a three-step strategy.

1. Conduct a Professional Electrical Audit: A professional electrical audit goes beyond reviewing old utility bills. It’s a detailed assessment that identifies every critical system. This includes the HVAC and refrigeration to security and data servers. It calculates the exact power required to keep them running. This step is crucial for making informed decisions about backup solutions and avoiding costly mistakes like investing in a generator that’s too small or too large.

2. Explore Advanced Backup Technology: While a standby generator remains a reliable option, the landscape of backup power has evolved. Modern solutions offer more than just electricity; they provide instantaneous and efficient power management. Some examples of backup technology include:

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS): These systems provide instant backup power, taking over the moment the grid fails. A UPS is a silent, emission-free alternative perfect for powering critical loads. It can also supplement a traditional generator, saving fuel and reducing runtime.

Generator Docking Stations: For facilities that rely on a temporary generator, a pre-installed generator tap box or docking station is a game-changer. It provides a safe, quick, and code-compliant connection point, eliminating the risks and delays associated with manual hookups during an emergency.

Microgrids: For larger facilities or campuses with multiple critical loads, a microgrid creates a localized, self-sufficient power system. It can operate independently from the main grid, ensuring continuous power to all essential buildings and systems.

3. Prioritize Proactive Maintenance: Even the most advanced systems can fail without proper upkeep. Routine inspections by certified professionals are essential. A well-maintained electrical system is a reliable one, reducing the likelihood of failures. Maintaining detailed records of every jobsite ensures that in the event of an outage, your electrician can quickly and efficiently restore power using a blueprint of your building’s specific electrical layout.

By moving from a mindset of basic preparation to one of comprehensive resilience, you can prepare your commercial building to withstand the harshest conditions and ensure your operations continue uninterrupted.

By Brian Leborgne, regional manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation.

The post Ask The Electrician: How Do I Build Resilience and Prepare My Commercial Property for Winter Power Outages? appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) is the perfect opportunity for commercial building owners and managers to be proactive with their electrical and automated systems. A comprehensive review of these systems is necessary to maintain energy efficiency, system reliability, and tenant safety throughout the time transition.

Here is an essential checklist to help prepare your facility for the time change:

1. Adjust All Time-Sensitive Controls

The most critical task is to update every timer-driven system on the property. Manually adjust all mechanical time clocks for interior and exterior lighting (including parking lots and security fixtures), and make sure temporary overrides are cancelled. For modern facilities, check the central Building Management System (BMS) to confirm that lighting sweeps, HVAC schedules, and equipment power-downs have successfully updated. Finally, check and change the times on older fire alarm and card access systems to maintain accurate operational data and security logs.

2. Test and Validate Lighting and Climate Sensors

Optimize for the shift in daylight hours and weather. Inspect photocells and occupancy/vacancy sensors to make sure they are activating/deactivating at the correct ambient light levels. If your building uses daylight harvesting controls, confirm they are working to maximize natural light usage. Also, prepare for colder weather by checking all electric unit heaters and heat trace tape on exposed plumbing to prevent freezing pipes.

3. Prioritize Safety and Reliability Checks

The time change is an easy-to-remember reminder for critical safety maintenance. Conduct full-load testing of emergency generators, uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and emergency lighting systems to ensure they are ready for an unexpected outage. Additionally, change the batteries in all battery-powered fire and smoke detectors throughout the building.

4. Document and Optimize

Keep a detailed log of all manual timer and schedule changes for future reference and troubleshooting. Finally, advise maintenance staff to clean all lamps, reflectors, and lenses to maximize light output without increasing energy consumption. This is a small but effective step as natural light decreases in the evening.

Take the time now to proactively schedule these maintenance check-ins to prevent system failures, reduce energy waste, and maintain the continued reliability of your essential building infrastructure.

By John Henry, project manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation.

The post Electrical and Building Management Checklist for Daylight Saving Time appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

Construction projects in the life sciences sector demand a meticulous blend of precision, speed, and safety to meet strict compliance standards and demanding construction timelines. Research labs, cleanrooms, and pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities rely on specialized electrical systems that must be installed without error. As the use of UL-certified prefabrication increases, how these facilities are built is fundamentally shifting. The use of prefab advances labor from the jobsite to a controlled manufacturing environment, directly addressing the core challenges of this growing sector by delivering guaranteed installation accuracy and accelerated schedules.

Efficiency via Prefabrication

The driving force behind a streamlined construction schedule in life sciences is the prefab center, where coordinated data is converted into high-quality, pre-assembled components. Prefabrication allows production to be done in a controlled environment, running in conjunction with onsite construction. This parallel process reduces the overall project duration by enabling the pre-building of assemblies that are essential to life sciences projects.

One of the biggest time savers in life sciences is the prefabrication of Ceiling Utility Panels (CUPs). CUPs are built complete with predetermined devices, circuitry, and labeling, and pre-wired for easy field hookup. Where a crew might spend six to eight hours building a CUP from raw bulk materials while standing on a ladder, prefab units can be installed in as little as 20 minutes.

Similarly, teams prefab surface mounted raceways to exact predetermined lengths. A 20-foot raceway run, which could take an installer three to four days to build and wire on site, is reduced to an installation time of only a half-hour to an hour when prefabricated. Additionally, prefabricated lighting control systems, including those for vivarium that require specific bus networks to simulate day/night cycles and integrate specialized red light options for after-hours operation, reduce challenging ladder work in the field.

Accelerating Schedules and Elevating Safety on the Jobsite

The benefits of offsite prefabrication extend directly to the jobsite’s environment, increasing both safety and cleanliness. By prefabricating and staging materials in a controlled setting, this approach eliminates the need for storing raw bulk materials on site, which reduces congestion, trash, and safety hazards, creating a cleaner, safer jobsite essential for pharmaceutical and research facilities. A sophisticated waste management process also increases efficiency.

By using prefabrication and optimizing precise logistical processes, electrical contractors are not just meeting tight schedules; they are setting new standards for efficiency and safety in the delivery of next-generation life sciences facilities.

By Edward Gould, operations center production area manager at Interstate Electrical Services Corporation.

The post Prefabrication Drives Precision and Speed in Life Sciences Facility Construction appeared first on Interstate Electrical Services.

Interstate Electrical Services President Jim Alibrandi, recently received the prestigious Anchor Award from the University of Hartford. Presented by President Ward, Vice President Pendergast, and Dean Alnajar of The College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), this is the institution’s highest honor, recognizing individuals who have achieved professional success and made significant contributions to their communities. Jim continues to be a strong advocate for the importance of technology in the AEC industry and for providing opportunities, education, and mentoring to advance the architectural, engineering, and construction fields. He is passionate about his role in supporting the youth and future workforce, helping to build an incredible world of future innovators. Please join us in congratulating Jim on this well-deserved honor! Read about his incredible achievement here: https://www.hartford.edu/alumni/spotlights/anchor-awards/2025-bios/james-alibrandi-84.aspx

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