Location, location, location. Many factors in your quality of life are affected by where you choose to live, including your energy costs. Wallet Hub recently released a report that surveyed the average energy costs, including electricity, in all 50 states. Read on to learn more about where your state falls in the rankings.

What Affects Electricity Rates?

A number of factors play into the price of electricity in a given state or region – the proximity of energy production and fuel sources, federal or state incentives, taxes, and the local competition in the energy market can all affect the final price.

The gap between the cheapest and most expensive states can be surprisingly large – electricity in Hawaii, the most expensive state, costs four times as much per unit as it does in Washington D.C., an electrician's paradise with the lowest price for power. Joining Washington D.C. among the cheapest electricity states are North Dakota, Idaho, Louisiana and West Virginia, while Vermont, Connecticut, Alaska and New York round out the most expensive five after Hawaii.

Adding Consumption to the Mix

Of course, there's more to your utility costs than just the base sticker price. How much electricity you consume plays a role as well. Those homeowners paying sky-high prices in Hawaii, for example, also use the least electricity per household in the entire United States. Residents in Louisiana, on the other hand, use the most electricity per household, thanks to sweltering hot weather that goes hand-in-hand with significant reliance on electric air conditioning.

Given the combination of price and consumption, people living in Washington, D.C. spend the least amount on electricity, forking over an average of $79 per month, followed by residents of Illinois, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. Despite their low consumption levels, people in Hawaii still get the highest bills, at an average of $179 per month. Residents of Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Florida join them in the top five for overall electricity spending.

Let the Electricians Guide You to Lower Bills

The report also includes interviews with energy experts on how to save money on utility bills, as well as the impact of tax deductions, credits and energy assistance for low-income households in the utility market.

“Consider calling your utility company and asking if they offer any services to help you identify ways to be more efficient in your home,” Sanya Carley, associate professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, suggests. “Many utilities offer such services for free, and will send someone to your house to prepare a formal or informal audit for you.”

To see the full list and find out where your state ranks when it comes to electricity and other household energy costs, check out the WalletHub report here. If you need tips on how to conserve electricity to reduce your utility bills no matter what the sticker price of energy is in your state, contact an expert electrician today.

Who doesn’t love recessed lighting? It is never out of style to have lighting subtly tucked into the ceiling, leading many homeowners to use recessed lighting in numerous rooms. We love recessed lighting at Electrical Gurus, and have installed plenty of them for Des Moines home and business owners over the years; however, there are instances when recessed lighting isn’t enough on its own or should be avoided altogether. Your local electricians are here to share when you should consider reining in your recessed lighting.

Providing a space with ambient lighting, as shown in our previous blog, is a crucial component when creating inviting, warm and properly illuminated spaces in your home. Too much of a good thing is definitely possible with recessed lighting, and it should never be used in place of all other light sources. Not only will your spaces lack task lighting, but you will be effectively illuminating your space from directly above, requiring far more light (and energy) to brighten the space; odds are, even with the lights cranked up, you’ll still have a dull, cavelike look to walls and corners with only directly downward light. Accent your recessed lighting with outward or upward ambient or accent lighting to create a more balanced lighting display.

Often, we see a single recessed light over a vanity, which can lead to a displeasing lighting effect. Just as with your home’s furniture, using only a direct overhead light creates unsightly shadows and does not properly illuminate the face. Using an overhead light on your vanity is great, but should always be accompanied by frontward facing lights to properly see your face.

Placing recessed lighting in tall ceilings is an odd concept. The primary benefit that recessed lighting provides is space efficiency, as the cans are placed above the ceiling, hiding the house wiring and electrical components. In a tall ceiling, not only is this unnecessary, but the light has to start from an even higher point. By the time the light reaches the room below, it is spread out and weaker, leading homeowners to use far more energy to brighten their rooms. Additionally, the shadows around the lighting cans will be especially prominent, leading to an ultimately darkened room. Instead, utilize hanging lights, fixtures, wall-mounted sconces, or even ground level lamps to brighten your taller rooms.

While it may sound like we’re beating up on recessed lighting, that is only because it is one of the most versatile lighting sources, which leads people to incorrectly believe that it is perfect in any room or as the only light source. As part of a comprehensive lighting strategy, recessed lighting is nearly unmatched in its widespread application and ease-of-use, just be sure to remember these helpful tips from your friendly, local Des Moines electricians at Electrical Gurus. Give us a call for help in planning out and installing your home’s ideal lighting solutions today!

Get in touch with our Des Moines electricians today!

Regular electrical preventive maintenance is critical for any home or commercial building in the DC area. When you have routine service done, it will keep your important electrical systems running longer and help you avoid costly repairs. In the event that there is an issue with your wiring, your electrician can uncover it during this routine visit so that repairs can be done before the problem becomes bigger—reducing downtime and repair expenses.

Electrical preventive maintenance is also critical to ensuring your safety at home and in the workplace. Why? Because certain failures in your electrical systems can cause dangerous sparking and even fires—damaging your property and putting your family or employees in harms way. In fact, electrical issues are a leading cause of home fires in the U.S. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, electrical malfunction accounts for more than eight percent of residential fires resulting in fatalities.

At Kolb Electric, we have a thorough electrical preventive maintenance checklist that allows us to ensure all your important products are taken care of. Be sure to have your electrician check your:

Primary Electrical Service and Distribution

Lighting and Light Fixtures

Special Systems

Neglecting electrical preventive maintenance isn’t worth the risk. You may be saving an expense today, but it will likely catch up to you in the long run, causing you to replace products more frequently and pay for repairs far more costly than the initial service visit would have been. Keep your family, employees, and property protected, and sign up for an electrical preventive maintenance plan today! Call Kolb Electric at 877-287-1179 for details or click here to contact us online.

Under-Cabinet LED Lighting Kit is available for purchase that contains a plug-and-play LED light strip, push-button dimmer, remote, 12V power supply, and connection accessories. If you want to build a custom kit, follow the steps below the diagram to ensure that you get everything you need.

3. Select a dimmer or controller

For single-color LED strip light setup

Select the power supply large enough to operate the amount of LED strip light you need to use. If you want to control the brightness of your light strips, you will need a Single-color dimmer shown installed with a non-dimmable power supply

For color-changing LED strip light setup

Follow the instructions above for the single-color light strip setup. However, instead of a dimmer, use a RGB color-changing light strip installation

4. Use an LED amplifier for long runs of strip

Depending on the strip chosen and its maximum run (the number of strips that can be installed consecutively before needing amplifiers), you will need to install an light strip interconnect cables. It is best to purchase a length of strip that is more than your application requires. For example, if your project requires 8 1/2 feet of strip, we recommend purchasing 9 feet of strip to ensure that you have everything covered.