Today begins our newest series: Weekend Warrior. It’s part of our quest to bring our customers unique products and offer creative ideas for DIY projects around the house. This week we’re tackling one of our most innovative new products: The NETBRIGHT™ Wireless Motion Sensor Networked Spotlights. 

My front entrance with existing floodlight

The back entrance of my home … not so much…

Modern buildings, commercial spaces, and even homes increasingly implement advanced building automation and control technology to improve energy efficiency, user comfort, and extend the life cycles of equipment.

At the core of any building automation system, or BAS, remains a central computing hub. This is where software processes the variety of signals it receives from connected sensors, switches, and user inputs. In a typical home, a Wi-Fi network connects devices wirelessly. Further, it will often connect them to the internet, allowing remote access from any web-connected device.

The only real difference between homeowner systems and commercial applications is scale. A large building can have many more devices and sensors connected, but the core function remains the same. The primary focus of commercial systems, however, is energy efficiency over user convenience.

In a large building or factory, even a small percentage of energy savings can have a huge benefit, not only in lower utility costs but also in reductions of CO2 emissions. With an efficient BAS, a building can attain a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating, which is a measure of energy efficiency and low environmental impact in building design.

As technology advances, the potential risks grow for building automation. Each day, more devices become connected to the internet. This is now referred to as the “Internet of Things”. The ease and convenience increases, but so does the potential reward for hackers. Anything controlled by the user or by software could potentially be taken over by a malicious hacker.

It is vital that digital security remains a priority, especially in a home setting. Many smart devices are not as secure as they may seem and are often only as secure as the home’s Wi-Fi network. Some good first steps include changing your Wi-Fi network’s password to something unique. Use the latest encryption protocols and enable MAC address filtering, which allows only devices specifically approved to connect to the network.

Building automation systems will continue to grow in ability and convenience. As long as the potential risks are managed, the possibilities for energy efficiency and user comfort remain nearly endless.

At Kolb Electric, we think it’s always interesting to see what types of calls come in each season. So with that in mind, we’ve put together a short list of the most common issues we take care of every winter, spring, summer, and fall. We hope you don’t have any of these problems any time of year, but if you do, call Kolb Electric!

Space heaters tripping circuit breakers – space heaters consume a huge amount of electricity, and if they are plugged into an outlet on an already overloaded circuit (one used to power holiday lights, for instance), they’re likely to cause it to trip. Circuits trip to prevent damage to the wiring of your electrical system, so knowing which outlets are on which circuits can prevent this from happening.

Kolb Electric offers circuit breaker repair »

Wet electrical connections shorting your GFCI – water and electricity don’t mix, and GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets are designed to trip if they get wet. If any electrical device in or outside your home gets wet it could cause part of your home to short out. Knowing where your GFCIs are located and which outlets they control, can remedy this problem. If not, an electrician is your best bet for pinpointing and correcting the problem.

Broken down AC – if your air conditioner suddenly stops working during the summer, the first thing you should do is check the breaker. If it’s tripped, shut off the thermostat and reset the breaker. If it trips again after you turn the thermostat back on, call an electrician.

Window AC tripping circuit breakers – like space heaters in the winter, portable window air conditioners use a lot of electricity. Labeling the breaker connected to high energy-consuming appliances will remind people not to plug things into the same circuit.

Trees falling on meter boxes and risers – DC area springs and falls come with pretty unpredictable weather, which in rare cases can end up in downed trees on your property. Even a light touch from a tree limb can rip the electric meter base and riser off of the outer wall of your house.

Replacing ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets –people like to test their GFCIs as part of spring and fall cleaning. So if you find any that need to be replaced, call Kolb Electric!

If you have any electrical problems in Maryland, DC, or Virginia, at any time of year, there’s only one name you need to know: the DC electricians at Kolb Electric!

Are you in need of an electrician serving the Pleasant Hill Iowa area?  Look no further.  Custom Electrical Services, central Iowa’s residential and light commercial experts has electricians in Pleasant Hill.  There electricians are available for all your Pleasant Hill electrical emergencies no matter the time of day or night.

From the simplest of electrical projects to the most lavish.  Custom Electrical Services will provide top notch electrical service for your next Pleasant Hill electrical project.  There electricians are serving Pleasant Hill around the clock.  From replacing a light bulb to rewiring your entire home there electricians in Pleasant Hill can handle the task!

Have a older breaker box, fuse box, or electrical panel in your home?  Have one of the electricians in Pleasant Hill come out to inspect it to insure everything is in working order.  Brands like FPE or Federal Pacific Electric have been know to cause fires.  Custom Electrical Services replaces dozens of FPE breaker boxes each year in Pleasant Hill, Des Moines, and surrounding communities.  If you have an FPE panel we recommend you call an licensed and insured electrician to have it replaced.  Not sure what brand your electrical panel is?  Call us today to set up a time to have your electrical panel inspected by a trusted professional.

With residential homes and commercial buildings demanding more and more electrical power to run todays electronics its no wonder your tired, overloaded, or weak circuit breakers trip.  Have an electrician come out to your Pleasant Hill home to run new circuits and dedicated circuits to your heavier appliance loads.  We can even install a whole house surge arrestor or surge protector in your electrical box to help protect your entire home or business from electrical surges.

Homes built prior to 2008 did not come with tamper resistant or child proof outlets installed.  Today current code requires that all outlets or receptacles in a dwelling come with tamper resistant plugs installed.  Some other businesses such as child care facilities, and some health care facilities require these life saving child proof outlets installed as well.  If you do not have these new style receptacles installed in your Pleasant Hill home please call today to have an electrician in Pleasant Hill provide you with an upfront cost to replace them.

To call this winter brutal in terms of snowfall would be a bit of an understatement. For those of us who have been in the Boston area for some time, we can only liken it to the blizzard we were pummeled by way back in ’78. While you may be enjoying a respite from the snowfall as we move slowly towards the spring season, it is important that you keep in mind the fact that all of this snow, including that on your roof, is going to melt.

When snow melts off of your roof, it can fill your gutters with water which then refreezes when the temperature drops back down. This can result in ice dams, which can lead to serious problems with your home, including roof leaks and damaged gutters. FB Electrical Services can help you to avoid issues with ice dams in Boston and the surrounding areas.

With the help of electrical resistance heating, you can melt the ice that would otherwise build up in your gutters, making it impossible for water to drain appropriately. Electrical coils can be installed beneath the roof and dip into your gutters in intervals, allowing for the heat from the coils to thoroughly melt any ice that builds up therein. When you melt this ice in the gutters, as well as that built up in a layer upon your roof, you can divert the water away from your home just as intended via your drainage system. This certainly beats having that water dripping into your home, damaging your roof and ceilings.