Electricians have been using copper for electrical wiring since the 1820s. It may surprise you to know that since then, we’ve never found, or needed, a replacement! Copper has numerous properties that make it ideal for electrical wiring. In fact, we can likely expect copper to continue to be used far into the future.

Ductile and Malleable—ductility and malleability are two very useful properties of metals. Something that is ductile can be hammered into a thin wire easily, and something malleable can be manipulated and bent into shapes easily. These properties make copper wires inexpensive to produce and easy to install.

Excellent conductivity—copper’s electrical conductivity is far superior to other types of non-precious metals, which allows it to carry greater amounts of current with a smaller diameter wire.

Non-corrosive—one of the biggest benefits of copper wiring is that it is non-corrosive, able to survive in harsh environments with almost no risk of wear and tear. It’s not uncommon to see copper wires last for 40 years or more!

All of these properties make copper the gold (or should we say copper!) standard in the electrical industry. For both commercial and domestic purposes, copper is considered the go-to material for wiring. In fact, most modern buildings being constructed today are designed to accept copper wiring. The prevalence of copper wiring makes rewiring a lot easier as well.

During the 1960s and 70s, aluminum wiring was used in many homes as a cheaper alternative to copper. Unfortunately, problems were discovered with aluminum wiring. The biggest danger associated with aluminum wiring is that it can react to materials used in outlets, light fixtures, and splices, where it can oxidize, deteriorate, overheat, and catch fire. The CPSC estimates that about 2 million homes were built with aluminum wiring between 1965 and 1973—and many of these homes are located in the MD, VA, and DC area.

The other problem with aluminum wiring is its high electrical resistance, which makes it more difficult for current to flow. As a result, you experience greater losses with aluminum wiring than you would with copper.

More than any other material, copper has stood the test of time for use in residential and commercial applications. If you’ve been thinking about rewiring your home and want to use the best materials possible, call Kolb Electric today!

For large projects, a simple notepad and pen are not sufficient to provide accurate and timely cost estimates to clients. The good news is that there are some pretty good estimating software programs now available that do the job. Both residential and commercial contractors can save time, money, and win more bids by providing professional job estimates. These programs also offer the ability to manage projects, bill clients, and keep track of change orders. They feature a wide range of options for any size of contractor.

TurboBid is one of the most well received and fully featured estimating programs on the market. It contains a user-friendly graphical interface and offers training courses through their website. The software can connect to national and local material supplier databases to keep pricing updated throughout the bidding process.

Change orders and revisions are simple. The software will generate automatic reports and professional presentations for clients. It also allows fine adjustment of man-hour estimations in different locations of the building. This includes ceilings. The program can account for different worker skill levels and upcoming wage increases for longer projects.

The built-in database includes tens of thousands of parts and full assemblies to allow for quick and easy estimation. The program incorporates national and local electrical code requirements to ensure bids are code compliant. In addition, it has a value engineering feature that suggests code-compliant changes to the customer’s blueprints. This can ultimately save money by adding, removing, or relocating devices.

It’s football season, which means every Saturday and Sunday, your home’s TV becomes an essential gathering point in your home. Sadly, in the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia area, autumn is also thunderstorm season. So how can you protect your expensive TV from electrical surges and storms? The electrical experts at Kolb Electric have the answer.

Electrical surges—whether from lightning strikes or otherwise—are easy to prepare for with proper equipment. And if you’ve spent four figures on a television, it might just be worth the investment! You can protect your TV from a power surge in two ways: by installing a dedicated circuit and/or installing a whole-home surge protector.

Your dedicated circuit for your TV will make sure that your TV isn’t having its power leached from other electronics in your home, making its sound and picture clearer, while the whole-home surge protector will protect your TV from lightning strikes and power surges.

Effectively defending your home from power surges requires a two-step approach: first, outfitting it with a whole-home surge protector, then using surge-protected outlets and power strips indoors. Both types of surge protectors act essentially like pressure relief valves, diverting excess energy away and restoring normal operation once levels regulate.

Whole-home surge protectors are usually wired to a service panel and are designed to stop surges of at least 40,000 amps, though larger ones can be installed. Pairing them with individual plug-in surge protectors should do a good job of catching any potentially damaging energy that may get into your home.

Like many safety-related things, whole-home surge protectors are appliances you buy and hope to never actually use. But all it takes is a single downed line or big lightning strike to cause thousands of dollars’ worth of damage to your home—not worth the risk!