If you’re planning on remodeling an older home, there are a number of things you should consider—especially as it relates to your electrical system. We talked in an earlier blog post about things to consider when buying an older home, and now we’re going to talk about things to look out for when remodeling older homes.

One of the first things to consider when remodeling an older home is whether your existing electrical system is equipped to handle the load that new appliances will place on it. You’ll also need to think about the effect of adding square footage and new lighting on your system. You may need a heavy up before you even start your remodel, which can add unexpected costs.

The most cost-effective thing to do before remodeling your home or constructing a new addition is establish an electrical wiring diagram early during the design phase (or better yet, call Kolb Electric and have us do this for you!). An electrical wiring diagram will help you answer a number of important questions, including:

Whatever you decide to do, make sure all of your plans are part of your design work. It will save you significant costs later on, even if the components for the system will be purchased some time down the road.

But it doesn’t stop there—there are other things to think about as well. For instance, consider what one home office workstation requires:

There are others that aren’t listed. Make sure your plans have taken into consideration the outlets and power requirements of these devices.

Don’t forget the outside of your home. Since you’re already upgrading your electrical system, now would be a good time to get your home electrical system ready to handle some outside tasks. These include outside perimeter lighting, fire and burglar alarm systems, motion-controlled lighting, and card access systems.

Call Kolb Electric for addition or remodel wiring!

Motion sensor LED stair lights let you safely and effectively navigate your steps while eliminating the need for any action. And because they turn off automatically, they also save power! We’ve recently installed these handy little LED stair lights and wanted to share the process with you.

wire that will be needed. It is best to order more than you need so that there’s slack in the line and enough to extend to where your power supply will be mounted.

It’s important to choose the correct wire gauge for the length of wire you need and amount of current that will be flowing through it. The key is to avoid voltage drop, which happens when the supplied energy of a power source is reduced as electric current flows through wire (or any other pieces of equipment that do not supply voltage on a circuit). The longer the run of wire, the lower the gauge of wire needed.

*If you need help determining the correct wire gauge, don’t hesitate to call us toll free at 866-590-3533. Our customer service and technical support teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.

3. Using wiring from the

4. Use a run of wire to join the PIR sensor at the top of your steps with the power supply. You can wire both PIR sensors to the power supply using electrical tape or with

5. Connect your main line to the PIR sensor at the bottom of your steps, and begin connecting each step light with

7. Finally, connect to power.

LED stair lights and

4. Connect your main line to the PIR sensor at the bottom of your steps, and begin connecting each step light with

6. Finally, plug the power supply into your wall outlet.

Not only will the electrician be up on all codes, he will be bonded and insured. You have complete peace of mind that he is doing the job right – the first time.

So what do you need to know?

Well, let’s talk about your needs. Are you replacing an outdated outlet with a new GFI? Are you adding a new outlet so you can plug in your computer and printer without disturbing the other appliances, lamps, clocks, etc. that are already using wall outlets? Are you installing a new outlet on your back porch where you can plug in a new ceiling fan? You can’t wait to get that new hot tub filled and ready for fun. Fill it up and plug it in. Right? Wrong.

First you need to know whether what you are using is for a standard 120 volt home outlet. Some appliances, like hot tubs, call for a larger capacity. Replacing an outlet can certainly be simpler than creating a new outlet. How much do you know about your electrical panel? Is there a free circuit? How do you determine if your panel will hold the new outlet? Do you know enough to keep you and members of your family from being shocked or electrocuted? It seems exaggerated, but unintentional shocks have happened.

How much do you know about wiring?

You may think you are cutting corners by purchasing the actual wires on your own. Are you sure you know what size to buy? Electrical wire is sized on the AWG system (the American Wire Gauge).  You need to know what the capacity for the wire will be and what the wire feed will be to make a sound decision.

If you go into a hardware store or home improvement store you will be amazed at the number of different wires that are sold. The each have a place and purpose in your home. Your neighbor said that he used aluminum wiring when he had his electrical outlets installed. Did you know that copper wires have been determined to be the best in today’s environment? Just look at the number of people stealing copper and you will realize that copper is now in demand.

Things a pro will know

You electrician will know exactly how much current the gauge of wire will safely carry. When a novice looks at the wiring it is obvious that the larger the gauge, the more electricity it can handle. Plus, the pro will know if your intended ampacity matches the circuit size on your electrical panel.

When you want to replace or upgrade electrical outlets, the smart thing to do is let a licensed professional do it. It will be done safely, efficiently and correctly.

For a professional electrician, Austin presents its own set of challenges. During summer months, electricians in Austin are often working outside without the AC many Texas residents enjoy. Extreme summer heat like the record summer temperatures we all saw in 2011 becomes compounded when working in an attic, where temperatures can quickly reach lethal levels. Fortunately, the extreme heat is almost behind us; although this year, it often seems as if Summer just doesn’t want to end. Fortunately, Austin is blessed with fairly mild winter months. There can be exceptions, however, as we saw earlier in the year. And when winter ice storms down trees and power lines, the electricians who are working to restore power are outside in the cold.

If temperature extremes aren’t enough, electricians have to deal with other hostile elements like wasp nests inside electrical boxes, and we’re not even going to discuss what might be living in the crawl spaces beneath homes, where electricians often go to work on wiring. Needless to say, electrical work is not for the weak or faint of heart. And besides toughness and courage, electricians need to be smart, because they’re working with lethal quantities of electrical current every day, and one wrong move can be the last thing an electrician ever does. Besides being tough and smart, the professional licensed electricians at Bryant Electric Service have the knowledge and skill to inspect your home or building for potential hazards, correctly install life-saving equipment like ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) and arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCI). They can also install automatic backup generators to keep your electricity running smoothly despite the brown outs, rolling blackouts, wildfires, and ice storms which have left many other Texans without power for hours, and sometimes for weeks.

The next time you need electrical work or a safety inspection, give Bryant Electric Service a call. We work hard to deliver the quality of service you expect, and we’re proud of our tough, smart, and highly skilled electricians.

All bathroom spaces have high levels of humidity and moisture and this is unavoidable. However, if the moisture is allowed to linger in the air for a very long time without being vented out of the space, it can result in mould and mildew growth on the grouting, the drywall structure as well as along the window ceilings and air conditioning ducts and can damage other aspects of your home’s structure as well.

In some cases, water damage may also occur which can become expensive to fix. That is why every bathroom in your home or commercial property should have an exhaust fan installation to suck out the moisture from the air and release it outside the structure. This may seem like an easy job and DIY enthusiasts sometimes feel, it’s a job they would be able to manage themselves.

But the fact is it’s never a good idea to play with electricity. Even something as seemingly simple as an exhaust fan installation can pose the risk of electrocution or death when handled incorrectly. The bathroom exhaust fan installation has to be handled with care, primarily due to the high moisture content interacting with the electricity that’s running through your exhaust fan.