When it comes to replacing a main breaker in your home, it may feel like an overwhelming and expensive task, and you likely want to be sure that is your only option before you move forward to schedule the electrical services. Finding an electrician you can trust can help you to decide whether main breaker replacement is your best option, but you may also want to learn the basics yourself so you can make an informed decision on your own.

Let’s take a look at the basics of circuit breakers and the main breaker, how they work, and when you would need to consider replacing a main breaker:

Circuit breakers exist to keep the home’s wiring from getting overheated or catching on fire. The necessary size of the breaker for a home depends on the wiring size as well as the expected electricity load that it will support. When the circuit breakers are in a closed position, they conduct electricity. However, when the flow of electricity (measured in amps) goes beyond what the breaker can handle, it trips or opens. This activity “breaks” the circuit and stops the energy from flowing.

You can reset the circuit breaker by closing it, but repeated tripping and the need to reset the circuit over and over can wear down the breaker, which can end up reducing its capacity.

The main breaker is the circuit breaker that serves as a safety feature to protect your electrical panel from overload. Overloading can then lead to overheating, which is obviously a fire hazard. This breaker is usually located at the top of the smaller circuit breakers in the electrical panel. Some main breakers are locked in place, while others snap or slide in. The main breaker serves to turn on and off power that is incoming to the home. Without a well-working main breaker, you will likely have major power problems, and it may even shutdown altogether.

While sometimes your main breaker will fail without any warning, you will usually have signs that point to it wearing down. Here are the typical warning signs that will clue you into something being wrong:

If you are noticing several of the signs above, it’s time for a main breaker replacement. If you are only experiencing one or two symptoms, you may just need some repairs. However, in either case, you need to call a professional electrician for an appointment immediately. An expert will be able to assess the situation and determine exactly what is going on and provide you with a plan of action to get your electrical services running smoothly and safely once again.

Your local electrician can handle a wide variety of jobs including powerpoint installation, switchboard upgrades, outdoor lighting, installation of electrical fixtures, CCTV installations and a lot more. While they handle all these jobs expertly, they can also handle new wiring installation and wiring upgrade projects. Here are some signs that indicate the wiring on your property needs an upgrade:

If you live in an older home which has wiring that’s over 15-20 years old or have moved into a home and have begun noticing too many current fluctuations, it’s important that you call in a skilled and licensed electrician to check the wiring on your property. If you have lived in the same house for over a decade and can’t recollect when you last got the installations inspected and tested, don’t defer calling in an electrician to conduct a thorough inspection.

Take a look the outlets in your home; check whether they are 3-pronged or 2-pronged. If you find there are various 2-pronged outlets on your property, it’s time for you to call in an electrician. These outlets are undergrounded and can pose a fire-hazard. You would have to get these replaced with 3-pronged ones and ensure that these are grounded. The other alternative is to replace these with GFCI outlets as this will help protect your property. Your electrician will be able to evaluate your property’s needs.

Many homes that were built in the 1960’s & 1970’s had aluminum wiring instead of the safer copper wiring. The former is prone to loosen over time and this increases the fire risk in your home, whenever any outlet is in use. When you get the wiring on your property inspected by an electrician, he would be able to tell you if there is any risk and will provide a suitable solution to the problem.

Modern day appliances are power-guzzlers and modern wiring systems are specially designed to bear these loads. However, any installation that is a few decades old is unable to bear the load of modern appliance such as washing machines, dishwashers etc. If you have more than one heavy appliance operating on one electrical circuit in your home, that can pose another problem. The excess load causes the older wiring to get heated which in turn melts the insulation around it. This exposed wiring results in arcing (hissing, humming sounds). If you ignore these signs and don’t get the installation checked in time, it can result in an electrical fire.

In most instances, wiring upgrades go hand-in-hand with switchboard upgrades. This is because decades’ old wiring systems also had older switchboards with fuse installations. If you find that the fuses in your home keep blowing very often, that’s another indication that your electrical wiring may need to be upgraded.

The electricians will replace the fuses with modern safety switches/circuit breakers. This improves the safety aspect of the electrical installations in your home. When you are getting any electrical work done on your property, it’s important that you hire the services of experienced and licensed professionals that provide guarantees for their work.

If you have noticed any of the signs we just discussed and feel your property may require a wiring upgrade, call AllRound Electrical without delay. Regardless of whether you want to get an electrical fixture installed or need complete rewiring done on your property, we are the professionals to hire. For any information about our services, feel free to call us at 1300 169 263. You can also write to us at this email address.

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On the topic of commercial lighting and products, we often hear the term Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP for short), which is a non-profit that was founded back in 1996. There general mission is to accelerate the adoption of higher efficiency lighting within the world of commercial lighting products.

In conjunction with DLC, there is a group known as the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC). There general purpose is to support the mission of the DLC through education, collaboration, and expertise within the field.

So far you can probably start to notice that the DLC is basically all about efficient commercial lighting. But what role are they actually playing within the commercial lighting products industry? Well, the DLC runs something known as the Energy Star, but DLC is all about commercial products where Energy Star is more about consumer products.

On this Qualified Product List provided by the DLC, you can search up products by certain companies that claim to be DLC certified to confirm that they truly are.

While searching through this database, you may notice that some products are listed as “DLC Standard” and some as “DLC Premium.” Do you know which is better? You guessed it, the DLC Premium! The reason that a product being listed as premium rather than just standard is that to be qualified as premium you have to pass even harsher and more strict guidelines. Do you know what that means? It means even more efficient lighting fixtures for those products that have successfully been listed as DLC Premium.

Want to give it a test and see for yourself how this QPL works? Follow these simple steps:

1. Visit extremely helpful link over on the official DLC website that go’s over everything you need to become listed, standard or premium. As you can see on the official DLC website, becoming DLC Premium is only for the most efficient and quality lighting products.

Halloween night is when ghouls and goblins hit the streets, but beware -- there are vampires already lurking inside your home. Energy vampires, that is, or electronic appliances that drain power even when turned off. If you aren't careful this wasted energy (also known as phantom loads) can turn your electricity bill into something out of a horror movie.

Energy vampires can lurk in every room. Some of your devices are designed to draw power even while off by going into standby mode, in order to receive remote control transmissions or keep digital clocks running. Portable devices that use rechargeable batteries, like laptops and phones, will also consume electricity as long as they are plugged in, even after they are fully charged. Big screen TVs with “instant on” features are also notorious energy suckers.

Any one appliance might only draw a small amount of power, but when you consider how many TVs, computers, stereos, kitchen devices and other electronic items are found in the average American home, the totals start to add up quickly. Coffee makers, electric toothbrushes, fax machines and modems all seem so innocent until it's time to write the monthly check to your power company.

In total, households in the United States consume more than $10 billion in vampire electricity annually, or about $100 per household, according to Energy Star, an energy efficiency program established by the Environmental Protection Agency. That comes to as much as 10 percent of overall home energy use. In addition to higher bills, this waste also harms the environment. Phantom loads account for about 100 billion kilowatt hours per year nationwide, adding considerably to carbon dioxide and other pollution released into the atmosphere.

That's not all: in rare cases, appliances drawing standby power can actually catch fire, especially older models that happen to be kept in damp environments.

It may not be possible to eliminate vampire energy entirely, since some devices such as answering machines, security systems and programmable thermostats rely on a continuous stream of power to perform their basic functions. However, by following a few tips you can reduce the amount of power you waste, saving money and lowering your ecological footprint at the same time:

Take the time for these basic measures and make sure the only vampires and phantoms you encounter this Halloween are the ones that knock on the door to say “trick or treat!”

Decorating your home for the holidays is a time-honored tradition that many in the DMV area take part in each year. However, it’s important to be as safe as possible when putting up lights both inside and outside your home! When you string up lights in and around your home, you’re increasing your chances of an electrical malfunction. Make sure you follow these tips before and during your lighting setup!

If you have any questions, contact the electrical experts at Kolb Electric today!

Your lights—both interior and exterior—require some careful inspection prior to hooking them up. One of the most common causes of fires around the holidays are faulty string lightings. In order to avoid any potential electrical fires, it’s important to:

Need an electrician fast? Contact Kolb Electric today! We offer 24-hour service for your DMV home.