Summer’s coming, which means it’s almost time to fire up the air conditioner if you want to stay comfortable in your home. But running an air conditioner can be expensive! Around this time, many people start looking for ways to save cooling costs. Some of the most popular methods include:

Other, more complicated ways people save money on their energy bills include adding insulation and planting trees. And while those are definitely effective and will save you money in the long term, there is an even easier way to save money on your energy bills that you might not have thought of—installing a ceiling fan!

You probably already know that warm air rises and cool air sinks. During the summer, running your ceiling fan counterclockwise will push air down, moving the cool air around and creating a breeze that will help you feel cooler, even if you turn the thermostat up a few degrees.  Some ceiling fans can make a room feel up to eight degrees cooler! During the summer, every degree you turn your thermostat up can save you from 3-5 percent on your cooling bills, so every bit helps.

Having multiple fans running at once can help even more by improving airflow through your entire home, so install them wherever you need them! Ceiling fans tend to be inexpensive and the comfort and savings they provide can’t be beat.

Don’t forget: running your air conditioner doesn’t actually cool your home—it only makes you ­feel­ cooler. Therefore, you should always shut the fan off before you leave the room!

You may already know that ceiling fans can help you cool off in the summer, but did you know they can also help keep you warmer in the winter? It’s true! Flip the switch on your ceiling fan so your fan will rotate clockwise. This creates a gentle updraft that pushes warm air up against the ceiling and down along the walls to the bottom of the room, making it feel warmer and helping you save up to 15 percent on your heating bills!

The same things apply to fans in the winter as the summer—multiple fans will increase the effect, but you should only run them when your home is occupied.

Ceiling fans are a great investment for anyone looking to save money and stay more comfortable in their homes all year long. If you’re looking for ceiling fan installation in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, call Kolb Electric today!

The strike doesn’t even have to be a direct hit on your home but can occur within half a mile.  As a matter of fact, the majority of surges that most people take are from problems at someone else’s home or somewhere further down on the power company lines.  A surge doesn’t have to be lightning; it can come from an automobile accident that hits a power pole or even from a routine maintenance on the main power lines when they turn the power back on.  This off and on of the power with the main electrical lines can send surges into your home or business that I have seen destroy lots of electronic equipment and appliances.

Almost every home has multiple computers, and expensive home entertainment systems.  Even our appliances are high-tech with monitors built into the doors of refrigerators and laundry appliances with electronic controls.  These items are especially vulnerable to spikes in your home’s electrical current that may cause melted circuit boards and overheated wires.  Repairs to these expensive gadgets are much more costly than replacing a blown out light bulb or electrical outlet.

The electrical system in your home makes a lot of your most valued modern conveniences possible, not the least of which is the use of your indoor lighting system. What you cannot afford to forget, though, is that electricity can actually be quite dangerous if it is not used properly within your home. For that reason, you really must take any potential problems with your electrical system very carefully, and that means heeding any and all warning signs that your system is in trouble. One such sign is the development of flickering indoor lighting in Needham Heights, MA.

There are actually quite a few reasons as to why your lights may flicker, and not all of them are terribly serious. However, the only way in which to ascertain whether or not the problem is serious is to hire a professional electrician. That is why there is really no such thing as a “minor” electrical problem, even if it is just a flickering light.

In many instances, a loose bulb is actually the cause of the problem, and that is something of a best case scenario. Tightening the bulb will often fix the problem, though you may also have a bad connection in fixture. If you have multiple flickering lights throughout your home, though, it is probably a different problem.

Another potential cause of the problem is a big draw from larger appliances in the household. If your HVAC system, for instance, is not on a designated circuit, it may draw to heavily upon the system, causing lights throughout the house to flicker. In such an event, upgrading a service panel or redesigning circuits may be necessary.

Finally, and this is a serious one, is faulty wiring. Over time, your wiring may degrade for a number of reasons. You may also have critters on your property that are nibbling at your wires. Damaged wiring can lead to arc faults in your home, which is a serious fire risk. That is why even a flickering light merits a visit from a professional electrician.