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!

Sometimes the bad news about energy and the environment in the media can be overwhelming. Good news tends to get pushed aside in favor of spectacular disasters. Yet, every day in towns and cities across America, people are working on green energy projects that both help the environment and save money. This shouldn’t be a surprise — survey after survey has found that most Americans are concerned about the environment, and most cities today are scrambling to save money.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs in Street Lights. Replacing conventional incandescent electric bulbs with LED bulbs in street lights is one popular green energy project. In the largest such project in the world, Los Angeles is replacing the bulbs of 140,000 street lights. The LED bulbs use considerably less electricity, creating not only money savings but also savings in the oil and coal needed to generate electricity. When complete, the project will save the City $10 million each year. Of that, $2.5 million will be saved on maintenance costs and $7.5 million in electrical usage. The project will also reduce carbon emissions from electric generation by 40,500 tons per year. That’s like taking 6,700 cars off L.A. streets for the life of the bulbs – every year for 10 or so years.

L.A. City engineers originally hoped that the LED bulbs would save 40% on electric bills. When they measured the savings of switching over the first 20,000 bulbs, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the savings on electricity was more like 55%. The City has also found that the LED lights create brighter and more uniform visibility, reducing pockets of dark shadow that conventional street lights tend to leave.

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa commented proudly, “We’re seeing L.A. lead the way.” The project is being funded, in part, by Federal stimulus dollars as well as the Clinton Foundation. Sarah Potts of the Clinton Foundation said, “The Clinton Climate Initiative was excited to work on this project mainly because L.A. was willing to be a mover on this. They were willing to set the bar for where energy efficiency street lighting could and should go.”

However, L.A. is not alone. This type of green street lighting project is being undertaken from Ann Arbor, Michigan, to towns in Northern California, where PG&E, the electric utility, gives rate breaks and rebates to its street light customers who switch over to LED bulbs.

Green Energy Projects at Home. We don’t have to wait for government projects before we can start saving money by helping the environment. If you want to go greener in your own home or business, you can take steps that range from quick and simple to more ambitious:

1) Replace the bulbs in your home with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs). Today’s fluorescents fit into regular lamps and fixtures, come in a range of warm colors, and save electricity. While CFL bulbs cost more at the supermarket, they last longer than old-fashioned incandescents, and so cost less over their lifetimes. You can start by buying a four-pack on your next trip for groceries. Unscrew the bulbs in the light fixtures you use most often and screw in the new bulbs. It’s that simple. If you have any questions, you can call The Electric Connection, your Los Angeles electrician.

2) Install a ceiling fan. Ceiling fans are very efficient when it comes to cooling a room. Set your thermostat for the air conditioner 2 degrees higher than usual, turn on your ceiling fan, and you’re achieving the usual cooling effect while saving money and electricity.

3) Here’s a more ambitious green step. Make your next car an electric hybrid or all-electric. Electric vehicles reduce our dependence on foreign oil — 60% of our oil imports are burned in our vehicles. Electric vehicles are available today that are competitively priced, convenient, and also give you the benefit of freeing you from the ups and downs of gas prices while enjoying the satisfaction of helping the environment. When you’re ready to make the move, keep in mind that The Electric Connection, a fully licensed and bonded electrician in Los Angeles CA, installs electric vehicle chargers.

If you see solar panels on some of the buildings in your town or if you’ve purchased an Energy Star appliance or installed compact fluorescents in your light fixtures, you and your town are part of the green energy movement that is quietly growing throughout our country. To find out more, call The Electric Connection, a knowledgeable green Los Angeles electrician. To visit their website, simply type in electrician Los Angeles CA on a web search, and you’ll very easily find their site near the top of the first page.

Click here to visit our website.

Hightstown home wiring inspections are something no Hightstown homeowner should ever overlook. The fact is that no matter how secure a home looks from the outside, there are elements not always seen but are vitally important in ensuring that it is safe. One of those is electricity or the wirings running through the house. Following are some of the reasons why this is the case.

Control Damage

Overtime, home electrical wirings would start to deteriorate and fray around the edges. When this happens, there’s a chance that homeowners would “brush” these wirings and get electrocuted or perhaps trigger an uncontrollable fire. The goal of the home wiring inspection would be to detect these problems before they occur and replace wiring for safety.

Performance of Appliances

Are the appliances and lighting not performing as efficiently as they used to? Perhaps the home electrical wirings are no longer at top shape and therefore affecting the flow of power. In most cases, this could mean damage to the units attached to the power line and ultimately additional expenses on the part of the Hightstown homeowner. A well laid-out wiring plan could also save homeowners hundreds of dollars in electricity bills.

Resale Value

People who are in the market to buy a home are very particular nowadays. They usually want a house that needs as little alteration as possible. Hence, it’s not surprising for them to hire their own inspector to see if the Hightstown house is up to par. With constant Hightstown home wiring inspections and changes, sellers can feel confident that their house would be satisfactory and therefore can demand better prices for the sale.

Compliance

Regulations about electrical home wirings may change from time to time as authorities increase the level of protection necessary. That being said, it is important that homeowners periodically have their home electrical wirings checked to ensure that they are still complying with the regulations of the state. Even more importantly, regulations are designed to provide maximum protection to Hightstown homeowners so in complying with these rules, homeowners are also serving themselves.

Keep in mind that the most important thing when it comes to wiring inspections is the inspector themselves. They must be thorough with the house, reviewing it with a fine tooth comb in order to find any irregularities with the wiring. Note that inspections are done periodically depending on various factors. Never attempt to do these inspections personally no matter how knowledgeable one is. Electricity is serious business and must be handled by professionals only.