Can you smell that? It’s grilling season in Bethesda, and the succulent aroma of grilling meats and sides is wafting through the air! But before you break out the electric grill and get to cooking, our Bethesda electricians would like to weigh in on a matter of pressing importance.

To our team at Kolb Electric, nothing is more important than providing superior services to our patrons. Except, of course, the safety of said consumers. An electric grill is the perfect tool to get the seared meat you crave, but it can be just as dangerous as any other piece of equipment if handled improperly.

Need electrical wiring for your Bethesda home? Contact Kolb Electric today!

Most grill safety is entirely precautionary, so you needn’t worry that our tips will spoil your fun. It’s all about preparedness:

Our Bethesda electricians can ensure your gill, wiring, outlets, and electrical panel are all fit for service, so you can cook with confidence this summer season! Our service and skill are unmatched, and we guarantee your complete satisfaction.

Home hot tubs are becoming more popular. And why not? There’s nothing better than relaxing after a hard day’s work in a hot tub with a cold drink. But the increased demand has created a plethora of options for consumers to consider. Of course, hot tubs come in all  colors and sizes with differing jet placements and a range of other features, but getting a hot tub bubbling is not as easy as many people think.

A hot tub cannot be simply plopped on a deck, filled with water, and plugged in. Here are some hot tub owner tips to consider before you look at buying a hot tub.

Most — locales require a homeowner to obtain a permit before installing a hot tub. Check with your local officials to see if this is required in your area.

Finding the right spot is vital. Make sure it’s in a convenient place, generally close to the house so that it’s not hard to get to at night.,. If you are going to put it on a deck, make sure that your deck is rated for the right amount of weight. One gallon of water weighs about 8.3 lbs., meaning most hot tubs will weigh at least 4,500 pounds before people get in.

Different hot tubs have different electrical needs. Some of the units have a normal three prong plug, but it’s much more common for the hot tubs to need  50 -70  amps of electricity, which means they will require hardwiring. Depending on how much electricity your home is using, you may need to upgrade your electric panel.  This hot tub circuit   will need to be  Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) protected, which is an electrical code requirement.

Don’t leave a hot tub electrical installation to an amateur. Hot tubs are expensive electrical appliances that draw a lot of power and need to be operational at all times without negatively affecting your home electric. You may need a special wiring run, additional amperage, or fairly complicated electrical services that should be left to the professionals.

Here at Kolb Electric, we’ve had numerous business owners throughout MD, DC, and VA approach us for more information about commercial light-emitting diodes—more commonly referred to as LEDs. Businesses everywhere have been forced to find ways to reduce their monthly expenses and save money in order to survive in these challenging economic times. Transitioning to commercial LED lighting is one of the ways businesses in the area can save money and enjoy other benefits as well.

Commercial LED lighting is very energy-efficient—replacing incandescent, halogen, or compact fluorescent light bulbs with LED lighting reduces energy consumption 50 – 85 percent. Some studies reveal that businesses have the potential to save as much as 60 percent on their electricity bill each month by making a total change from incandescent bulbs to LED lighting. ENERGY STAR reports that lighting is the largest cost component of a commercial building’s electricity bill and a significant portion of the total energy bill.

Some businesses shy away from LED bulbs because of their higher initial cost compared to other bulbs.  However, it will not take long for businesses to recoup this cost in the form of direct savings on electricity bills. Also, LED bulbs work by generating light using a semiconductor rather than relying on heating up a traditional filament. What does this mean for you? It means the highest quality LED bulbs can last up to 50,000 hours. The typical incandescent bulb, on the other hand, lasts only about 750 hours.

Work environment upgrades are closely tied with an improvement in the performance of employees. A Cornell University study estimates that a 3 – 5 percent gain in worker performance can be achieved with better lighting. In many cases, the gains in worker productivity alone are enough to offset the costs associated with commercial LED lighting. Light has a direct correlation with ease of reading, lower eyestrain, reduced errors, better turnaround time, reduced risk of musculoskeletal injuries, and psychological well-being.

The great thing about commercial LED lighting is that it can be tailored to meet your needs for color accuracy. Whether you want lighting that’s warm, cool, or neutral, the right type of LED lighting is available. Color rendering—the ability to make colors look true—must also be taken into account when it comes to LED lighting. The color rendering index (CRI) characterizes light sources in view of their ability to produce “natural light” and can be between 0 and 100. The closer an LED light comes to 100 on the CRI, the more naturally colors are rendered, and the light is perceived as more pleasant.

Transitioning to commercial LED lighting can help you save immediately on your electricity bills. The fact that LED lighting lasts significantly longer than incandescent bulbs and has the potential to improve employee performance is also beneficial to your business. If you want to learn about what type of commercial LED lighting is best for your business, contact us today.

In case there is a flash flood or storm in your area or if there is a severe plumbing leak or pipe burst, that can result in flooding of water in different areas of your home. Water can cause a lot of damage to the installations and features on your property, and you would have to start the clean-up and repairs without delay. This is also when you start evaluating what can be salvaged and what would have to be replaced – and this includes your home’s wiring.

The wiring inside the walls can become dysfunctional and dangerous if it’s exposed to or submerged in water. If there is a severe flood, it becomes important to completely replace the wiring in your home. Not too many builders actually use wiring that’s rated for water exposure of this kind. Of course, not much can be done till the time all the flood water recedes and all the water has been cleared out from your home.

Even when all the water is pumped out from the indoor spaces, it’s best to shut down the electricity supply at the circuit box mains before continuing with anything. Call in your local electrician to test the wiring in your home. Even if it is still in a working condition, it’s never a good idea to use it.

The insulation can get degraded and that can raise the chances of an electrical fire in the future. In addition, when there are traces of moisture in the wiring, that leads to mould & mildew growth and the metal parts in the system can corrode. This is especially the case when the property has become flooded with salty water.

When it comes to rewiring jobs, you also have to factor in the cost of opening up the wall panels and fixing them. In instances of a flood, the walls are generally torn down right up to the framework. If you take this opportunity to upgrade the wiring in your home, you can save a significant amount of money.

Floodwater is never clean and that proves to be an additional hazard to the wiring and other installations in your home. Chemicals, oil, sewage and a number of other contaminants that come with the floodwater work their way into the smallest spaces, and this is why it’s best to just start afresh with the installation. In comparison, if your home’s wiring has been impacted by water from a burst pipe, you might be able to save these features; this is because it may not be fully-submerged in water.

However, it’s never a good idea to test the condition of the wiring yourself and you should call in a skilled and licensed electrician to thoroughly check and evaluate the installation and give their opinion. Regardless of whether the wiring in your home has got impacted by flood water or water from a damaged plumbing installation, it’s important to get it checked without delay. The professionals will provide suitable solutions based on the condition and location of the wiring.

We are a company that has been operating in this space for a number of years and have the skill, knowledge as well as the resources to handle this job in an expert manner. We can install and maintain all type of electrical installations on your residential or commercial premises. For more information, contact the Allround Electrical team at this number – 1300 169 263. Alternatively, you can write to us at our email address.

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