If your circuit breaker keeps tripping, it can be more than a little annoying. Not only do you have to deal with everything attached to that circuit going dead constantly, but you have to wonder what else that means for your electrical system. What causes a circuit breaker to trip, and is it dangerous? Will fixing it be expensive? There are a long line of questions to consider, but most of them can only be answered once you find the root of the problem. We’re here to help!

What causes a circuit breaker to trip? Typically, one of the following:

If your circuit breaker keeps tripping and you’re located in Maryland, Northern Virginia, or Washington, DC, Kolb Electric can help. We’ll send a licensed electrician to your home or building to perform a thorough electrical inspection and diagnose the issue. If we find that the issue can be resolved, either through tightening a loose connection, redistributing the electrical load in multiple outlets, or any other means, we will proceed with your electrical repair. However, a circuit breaker replacement may be necessary. Our licensed electricians can let you know if this is the best course of action for you and install your replacement for you.

Contact us today to find out what causes a circuit breaker to trip in your home or building and get a solution that works!

Electricians are often seen as professionals whose only skill set is to fix something that isn’t working, however there are many times when we can also advise on design. Our experience includes helping a many previous clients add accent lighting to their homes with the goal of creating truly beautiful and enjoyable spaces.

Accent lighting is any lighting feature that draws attention to an area or brightens up a space. Accent lighting can include any type of lighting from small pot-lights or a subtle spotlight. Accent lighting is not intended to fill an entire space with light, but just enough to put more emphasis on a piece of artwork or create a nice mood when the main room lights are turned off.

Accent lighting has a great benefit, in that it can be installed almost anywhere. If you have positioned a piece of artwork above your fireplace, you can add a couple of small accent lights to draw guests’ attention to the beautiful piece. If you have a long hallway that seems drab and dull, adding small pot lights or led lights can help guide the way and provide visual interest in the space.

Apart from the aesthetics, accent lighting can also save you money. Accent lighting can use low-voltage lights and LED (Light Emitting Diode) bulbs which take very little electricity to power. If it is a bright day you can turn off your main light switches and let the accent lighting do the rest of the work to light up the areas that aren’t being reached by the sunlight. If it is late at night and you want to create a nice relaxing atmosphere, using only the accent lighting will do just that. This saves you money on your monthly electrical bill, as you are not wasting money to power lighting that is not being used efficiently.

Accent lighting can be easily installed in most homes. Depending on the complexity and electrical requirement of the lighting, it can be tied into most electrical circuits around your home. When using low voltage lighting you don’t need to worry about overloading the circuit and causing your electrical breaker to trip. Have one of our Expert Electricians review your circuit where you would like to install the lighting and we can help you understand everything involved in the installation.

As we move in to the summer, now is a great time to have accent lighting installed indoors or outdoors. Save money and add aesthetics to any area in your home. Contact your local Expert Electric at 604-681-8338 and we can help you get starting on making your home efficient and beautiful.

Here's a novel idea to ponder: One day, your car could be the power source for your home electrical work. That's right, electric cars are being primed to send electricity from their batteries back into the home and even to the electric grid. They aren't full-time power sources, of course, but cars do have the potential to get you through a power outage and even help you save money on your electric bills. Read on to find out how.

Upending the Human-Car Relationship

The typical relationship between electric cars and our home electrical work is a one-way street – you fill up the car's battery from a home charging station, a process that takes hours. However, new fast-charging technology that is becoming available has a second intriguing function: it also allows the car to discharge electricity into the home. Nissan has already developed a system that would allow the car to hook up to home electrical work and keep it running in an emergency.

The battery in the Nissan Leaf holds enough energy to power a typical home for about 24 hours, longer if you take energy conservation measures. It won't keep the power on forever, but it's enough to keep the lights on and the fridge cold for a while during an outage. Even more impressive, since cars are, after all, mobile, the autos could be driven to areas in need of power in the event of a black-out to help with emergency services.

Smoothing Out Demand

The next step would be to use cars to actually sell electricity back to the grid. In a twist on time-of-day pricing, in which electricity costs more during the day and less at night, manufacturers envision a day when our cars are used as giant storage batteries, soaking up electricity at night when it's cheap and then discharging it back to the grid during the day to help even out demand and reduce bills at the same time.

With the right technology in place, utility companies could control exactly how much electricity comes and goes from plugged-in cars. This could reduce expenses dramatically, because it costs a bundle to bring on incremental power sources to meet extra demand during the day.

A Vision of the Future

This futuristic vision of the electrical grid isn't here yet, but the technology already exists. As more and more electric cars hit the road, we get closer to realizing their potential as mobile power storage devices as well as human transportation vehicles.

To find out if your home is suitable for an electric car charging station, call a local electrician today.

As we've discussed before on this blog, spring brings with it a few weeks of abnormally wet weather here in the Mid-Atlantic, which is evidenced by the current storms that are barreling down on the region. Basements throughout Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. are regularly flooded as a result, potentially costing homeowners thousands of dollars in damage if they didn't prepare accordingly.

While most residents know the importance of having a sump pump to keep the water out, there are other precautions that residents need to take to avoid catastrophe when their basements begin flooding.

Many older homes often feature electrical systems that are outdated and not up to current safety codes. One particularly sensitive kind of wiring is the "knob and tube" design, which leaves a complete grid of crisscrossing wires exposed along the ceiling of the basement. Its been decades since this kind of layout was considered acceptable in residential structures, and homes that have them are more than likely dealing with wires that have seen much better days.

During extreme weather conditions, any number of events could result in a deficiency in the system that may either spark a fire or down a wire in homes that feature knob and tube layouts. If the wires in the basement either fall or are damaged in the event of a flood, they have the potential to expose electrical currents to a growing pool of water. This is an extremely dangerous and potentially fatal safety hazard for homeowners to contend with.