It’s no secret that incandescent lights are on their way out—they’re incredibly wasteful, have relatively short lifespans, and are much better at producing heat than light. This leaves us with two alternatives: LED and CFL bulbs. And while CFL bulbs have been steadily gaining traction in many homes in our area over the last several years, some experts see them as little more than a stopgap measure before LED lights become more commercially viable. So what’s the real story? Should you go out and buy up all the CFL bulbs before they’re phased out or should you hold out for LEDs?

The US Department of Energy put together an extremely thorough, 50-page analysis comparing LED and CFL bulbs, which we definitely recommend checking out if you’re interested. In our comparison, we’ll be looking at the following aspects of CFL and LED bulbs:

Note: unless otherwise noted, our comparisons are based on using 30 bulbs simultaneously. So without further ado, let’s take a look at what distinguishes CFL and LED bulbs and which you should install in your home:

Thanks to DesignRecycleInc.com for the information in this chart!

Based on the chart, the clear winner seems to be LED bulbs. And it gets even better—Phillips is expected to release a new LED bulb that gets 200 lumens/watt, more than twice as good as the best LED on the market today. If that bulb performs as expected, it could allow LEDs to declare a decisive victory over other options.

If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of LED lights, don’t wait—call Kolb Electric today!

Plenty of DIYers can complete an electrical project on their own without the help of a certified electrician. Sure, it’s easy to fix minor annoyances with light fixtures or outlets, but not installations, renovations, and major repairs. That’s because what starts out looking pretty straightforward can quickly turn into a disaster. Here’s a look at four specific examples that ElectricMan Inc. can help sort out.

Contact ElectricMan today to prevent a DIY disaster, or for any other electrical needs. ElectricMan is your trusted, local certified electrician with 27 years of experience. For more information, visit the ElectricMan website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

For the average homeowner, electrical panels are not very well understood. Since the job of an electrical panel is to deliver electricity, the common assumption is that if you need more electricity to support your household, you should just be able to add more circuits. This is incorrect, though.

This is only part of your electrical panel’s job. It also acts as a safety device, channeling the electrical flow into circuits so your home gets the amount of electricity that’s allowed by the panel. If your home doesn’t have enough electricity, then it’s time to upgrade your electrical panel, but how do you know when this time has come?

Have you noticed any lights in your home that flicker, dim, or brown out when you turn on major appliances such as your dishwasher or microwave? This is a sign that the draw on your system is too strong, and that you would benefit from adding more amps to your electrical box.

If you have multiple circuit breakers that trip on a regular basis, this is probably a sign that you don’t have enough power coming into your home. If you’re constantly flipping circuit breakers back on in your electrical panel, you could very well need an upgrade.

This is actually an outdated method of managing the electricity in your home. In fact, it can be downright dangerous. Many homeowner’s insurance companies won’t even insure homes that still have fuse boxes instead of an electrical panel. Fuses simply can’t provide the amount of power that the average home needs. The best thing you can do is upgrade your fuse box to a standard electrical panel as soon as possible.

Across the country this week students strapped on their backpacks and headed out for an exciting new year of school. But in the midst of that back-to-school glee, one word still strikes fear in both parents and students … Homework. What if there was a way to make the homework battle less stressful, dare I say enjoyable? Today I’m sharing five dread-busting homework stations with creative lighting that may actually make your student want to do homework.

Can you even imagine what life in your home would be like without electrical outlets? That would rule out using any appliances, even the most essential ones. You wouldn’t be able to have alarm that would wake you up in the morning for work. You wouldn’t be able to binge watch your favorite show on television. Oh, and last night’s dinner? You wouldn’t be able to heat it up in the microwave. Electrical outlet installation in Fairfax, VA is necessary if you expect to function comfortably at all.

Without electrical outlets, how can you ever possibly expect to use your appliances? Call us for installation today so we can provide you: