Many appliances use electricity even when they aren’t powered on. This property is known as standby power, which is used to perform functions that must operate continuously. Energy saving measures often include unplugging electrical devices to eliminate the cost of keeping them in standby mode. This strategy requires you to estimate the cost of standby power for each appliance since it may not be worthwhile to unplug a device when it is not in use.

A year is about 8,766 hours long, so a month has an average duration of about 730.5 hours. This means you can multiply an appliance’s standby power in watts by 0.73 to obtain the kilowatts of energy it consumes each month, assuming it is always plugged in. A typical cost of electricity in the United States is 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. You can therefore estimate the standby cost of an appliance in dollars by multiplying its standby power consumption in watts by 0.0731.

There are numerous different ways in which an electrical fire can break out in the home and a number of ways to prevent it as well. Today, you will find there are a large number of electrical system protection devices on the market and this can make it a little difficult to decide which one will work best for your setting.

One effective installation you can use to prevent electrical fires in your home is an custom solutions to residential and commercial clients across Sydney.

One of the easiest ways to increase your home’s security and beauty is to install outdoor lighting. By combining beautiful outdoor lights with your home’s landscaping, you can increase the value of your home while creating a gorgeous outdoor area that you can enjoy at any time of the day. But what outdoor lights are the best? Let the electrical experts at Kolb Electric help.

Like everything, it depends on what you’re looking for with your outdoor lighting. Do you want security for your home, or landscaping? These questions will point you toward not only what style lights you need, but how bright your lights should be.

When you choose to use outdoor lighting for security, you can go in two different directions. You can either:

If you’re choosing to install outdoor lighting for landscaping purposes, it’s important to keep these few things in mind:

Kolb Electric offers outdoor lighting that will increase your home’s:

Beauty – landscape lighting can be used to showcase interesting features in your home’s architecture or your yard! At Kolb Electric, we can design and install outdoor lighting that will illuminate and call attention to your landscape at night. Landscape lighting is a fully customizable way to improve the look of your house after the sun goes down, particularly if you enjoy entertaining or you want to improve your home’s curb appeal.

Security – dark spots in and around your yard can be dangerous, particularly if they are around entry points into your home. With low-voltage landscape lighting, you can shine a light on potential problem areas in your home and deter intruders late at night!

Safety – in addition to keeping your home safe from intruders, low-voltage outdoor lighting can make walking around your yard safer. It can be used to light up stairways, paths, etc. to prevent tripping and injuries.

If you’ve lived in the Washington, DC area for a while, you know how severe summer rains and winter storms can be. Too often, the result is a power outage that forces you to shut your home office down, puts your refrigerated goods at risk, and can even present a health hazard if someone in your household relies on oxygen to help them breathe. Fortunately, a home generator can bridge that gap between when the power goes out and when your service is restored.

Home generators offer a number of advantages to Maryland, Virginia, and DC homeowners, the largest of which include:

At Kolb Electric, we want to help you keep your electricity running even during the most severe Mid-Atlantic storms. To learn more about installing a standby generator in your Maryland, Northern Virginia, or Washington, DC home, call us at 877 287-1179 or click here to contact us online. We’ve been serving home and building owners in neighborhoods near you since 1925.