The Christmas carols are already playing nonstop in shopping malls and on the radio. Before you know it, Christmas day will arrive. Whether that means flying off to visit far-flung friends and relatives, or inviting the extended family into your own home, follow these tips to have a meaningful, and safe, holiday season.

Your Christmas Tree 

The tree is the monument around which many families' Christmas celebrations revolve. But beware-- every year an average of 210 homes experience fires caused by their tree, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

To avoid becoming an unhappy statistic, look for a tree with fresh needles that isn't dried out, and place it in an area clear of any heat sources. Use LED light strands, which produce very little heat, and never hang actual candles from the tree. Dispose of it after Christmas once it starts getting dry and the needles are falling off. If you use an artificial tree, make sure it is labeled “fire resistant.” 

You also want to ensure the tree is set up securely. At best, a fallen Christmas tree is a shame, and at worst it could cause a hazard, possibly knocking over other items and leaving broken glass, frayed wires, spilled water in its wake.

Don't forget about wire safety. Make sure that none of the cords to your lights are frayed and the plugs are in good working order. Try to avoid an extension cord, but if one is necessary inspect it as well, and ensure it doesn't present a tripping hazard in your house. Finally, don't overload a single outlet with too many lights or you can risk tripping the circuit or even  creating a fire hazard. 

Candles

Candles are an important part of many family holiday decorations, and not just for Christmas. The menorah is a centerpiece of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration, with a new candle lit each day. And people who observe Kwanza light candles to commemorate seven principles of African heritage. Whatever religious or secular tradition you follow, candles bring warmth and light to stave off the darkness of winter. 

While the candles are beautiful and significant, their open flame can also be dangerous to people, pets and your home. For safety, lit candles should never be left unattended, and never placed in an area where a child or pet could get burned or knock them over. Also make sure they aren't near any flammable material like curtains.

If you want to make a semi-permanent window scene for the holiday, it's better to get an electric menorah or other display, and save the real candles for a supervised  and temporary ceremony. 

In the Kitchen

The same precautions that apply to candles also apply to gas stoves and their open flames. Take care that guests don’t bump into the stove or hot pots and pans. Also, some cultures call for fried foods, such as the Hanukkah tradition of frying potato latkes and jelly doughnuts. Enjoy the delicious meals but be careful not to splash cooking oil around the kitchen, which is another fire hazard.

Your Outdoor Display 

It's fun to turn your yard into a scene from the North Pole. Just make sure that any lights and other equipment is rated for outdoor use and won't short out in a snow or rainstorm. As with indoor lights, inspect the cords for any damage and discard those that aren't in top shape. If you need an extension cord, make sure it's rated for the outdoors as well, and don't let it run through puddles or across walkways.

With just minor precautions, you can ensure a safe holiday season focused on family and tradition.

If you’re building a new house, getting the wiring installed correctly is essential to its long-term health and to ensuring proper operation—so it’s important to hire the best electrician for the job. Enlisting a quality electrical construction service will ensure that everything is installed properly and safely so that your home will run smoothly for many years.

A new construction electrician is a certified electrician who has taken courses and training on new building codes and new technology as it relates to circuits and wiring. Setting up your circuits correctly for the first time is much more complicated than simply adding a new receptacle or circuit. It’s important no one circuit carries too much of the home’s electrical load.

An experienced new construction electrician will consider all sources of major energy usage, such as the location of your refrigerator and washing machine, to ensure circuits are well spaced out and installed in the best locations.

To make sure that you get the right electrician for your new construction project, look for the following:

At Kolb Electric, we know how important it is that your home be wired correctly from the very beginning. That’s why we hire only the most skilled licensed electricians to work on our clients’ homes. Whether you’re a builder or contractor looking for an electrical partner in the DC area or a homeowner handling the project themselves, we can help with any new home wiring project, no matter how complex.

To learn more about hiring a new construction electrician for your Maryland, Northern Virginia, or Washington, DC project, call us at 877 287-1179. We’ve been helping Mid-Atlantic builders and homeowners with their electrical needs since 1925.

Regular electrical preventive maintenance is critical for any home or commercial building in the DC area. When you have routine service done, it will keep your important electrical systems running longer and help you avoid costly repairs. In the event that there is an issue with your wiring, your electrician can uncover it during this routine visit so that repairs can be done before the problem becomes bigger—reducing downtime and repair expenses.

Electrical preventive maintenance is also critical to ensuring your safety at home and in the workplace. Why? Because certain failures in your electrical systems can cause dangerous sparking and even fires—damaging your property and putting your family or employees in harms way. In fact, electrical issues are a leading cause of home fires in the U.S. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, electrical malfunction accounts for more than eight percent of residential fires resulting in fatalities.

At Kolb Electric, we have a thorough electrical preventive maintenance checklist that allows us to ensure all your important products are taken care of. Be sure to have your electrician check your:

Primary Electrical Service and Distribution

Lighting and Light Fixtures

Special Systems

Neglecting electrical preventive maintenance isn’t worth the risk. You may be saving an expense today, but it will likely catch up to you in the long run, causing you to replace products more frequently and pay for repairs far more costly than the initial service visit would have been. Keep your family, employees, and property protected, and sign up for an electrical preventive maintenance plan today! Call Kolb Electric at 877-287-1179 for details or click here to contact us online.

An important component in your main electrical service panel is commonly known as the breaker. If you’re a homeowner, surely you have visited yours a few times over the years. But what exactly is it? And what does it do? Let’s go over the importance of the breaker and what its doing for your home.

If you read our article on the home electrical system a few months back, you will know which step the service panel comes in receiving electricity for your home. The service panel is the gateway for all electricity in your home. After electricity comes through underground or overhead power lines, it goes to your electrical meter and then to the service panel. Electricity branches off from here and travels to the rest of your home. Within the panel are circuits for different areas for electricity to travel. Shutting down a circuit can cause power loss to a part of the home, maybe a room or two. But because the home is on many different circuits, power can remain active in the rest of the house.

After electricity arrives at the service panel, it travels to a circuit. The circuit is a loop in which electricity travels from one end to the other. The breaker splits up to 100 amps or more into the circuits to distribute the power. Usually each circuit in a common residential home operates at 15 amps. The breaker is designed to “trip” if it receives an excess of electricity. If a power surge occurs on the outside of the home, for example a lightning strike, the service panel will stop the flow and turn off. If a surge happens on a circuit within your home, the breaker will also shut down that loop to protect the rest of the house.

Over time if work on a service panel is not completed correctly, the circuits could blow more frequently due to overloading. Parts in the panel can become outdated, loosen, or get burned out. If a service panel is not maintained and up to code, it also poses specific risks, making your home more susceptible to fires and electrical surges.