Your computer system is essential to your business. But are you protected in the event of a serious power surge? Most companies aren’t, which means they’re playing with fire when it comes to the essential system that powers their company.

A serious power surge can severely damage your computers, causing thousands of dollars in repairs and replacement—and that doesn’t even account for the priceless data that you could lose. And even aside from serious damage to your computer system, your computers require a lot of electricity, which can cause frequent tripped breakers and power outages, and damage productivity of your office.

The most reasonable solution is to install a dedicated circuit breaker for your computer system. Not only will this protect your computers and your business, but it will improve productivity and give you ease-of-mind. Our licensed, trained electricians can install dedicated circuitry for the computers in your office to prevent slowdown and correct any electrical problems you may experience throughout the day.

Like in any other building, all electricity that enters your office travels through your circuit breaker before being fed into the different parts of your business. Each circuit is protected by a breaker, and to protect against electrical hazards, certain medium and heavy duty appliances require their own circuit or a “dedicated circuit.”

Too many items plugged into the same outlet, or several outlets connected to the same circuit, creates a lot of “noise” that consists of fluctuations in electronic current. This noise can cause problems for sensitive electronic equipment that can be damaged by mini-surges and fluctuations in power.

Without an appropriate dedicated circuit, an appliance may draw more current than the circuit can handle. This can lead to a number of problems, including causing the wiring to overheat and potentially start an electrical fire. Dedicated computer circuitry reduces this danger, allowing you to run your computers without risk of outages or worse.

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.

A good, reliable microwave can be an important part of any modern kitchen. But is your microwave working a little too well? If you’ve got a microwave that just won’t quit, even when the timer goes off, you’ve certainly got a bit of a problem on your hands. But not a problem that our Electricians in Laurel can’t fix! Here are the most common causes for a microwave that won’t stop, and what you should do about it.

Looking for appliance wiring services in your area? Our electricians in Laurel are always ready to help! Contact Kolb Electric any time online and a member of our team will be more than happy to help!

There’s some good news to be had here, and some quite likely bad news. The good news is that no matter what folks say, you are not going to be radiated to death by your microwave. They’re generally quite safe, even if they’re running with the door open. However having said that, there are certainly risks, and the problem should not be left alone.

The bad news? The odds are pretty strong that you’re going to need a new microwave, or that replacing your microwave is going to be faster, easier, and safer.

So what causes this problem? There are actually very few causes, which lets us narrow things down pretty quickly. It tends to depend on how and why:

In our honest opinion, you either call in a professional, or you get a new microwave. The door switch is a fairly cost-effective repair if you’ve got a pro, but the panel issue is more complex. And while there are lots of “DIY” solutions out there, videos, mostly, we can’t really in good conscience suggest repairing a microwave on your own. Why? Because a microwave carries a potentially lethal charge, even when unplugged. It’s just not worth the risk!

Looking for a certified electrician to suss out your microwave woes? If so, you can always count on Kolb! Reach out to our team today and we can have one of our professionals on the way and ready to help in no time!

Maciej Winiarcyzk using more than two thousand digital photographs just over a month ago.

I have never had the privilege of seeing the northern lights in real life, but my sister lives in northern Canada and has told me about them. (She’s a pretty credible source: She even named her daughter Aurora.) After asking her, “What ARE the northern lights,” several times, I now understand the aurora borealis to be a visual effect of the collision of solar wind and magnetospheric charged particles with the thermosphere. Can you see why I had to ask what the northern lights were more than once? The northern lights are most spectacular near the North Pole and during spring and autumn equinoxes. (And, by the way, no. The northern lights are not Santa’s off-season hobby.) But the northern lights, if there are some geomagnetic storms a-brewin’, can be seen closer to home, too, visible occasionally as far south as Chicago or New York.

Anyway, this guy Winiarcyzk is an astronomy enthusiast who lives in Caithness, which is at the tippy top of Scotland. There’s isn’t much light pollution way up there, so it’s a good place for such a sky-minded person to live and enjoy his hobby. Wonderfully, with this time lapse video of the northern lights, we get to enjoy his hobby, too.

Take a look. Have you ever seen anything more lovely occurring in nature? You know, with all this solar wind, magnetospheric particles, thermospheres, and geomagnetic storms, it sure seems like there is a lot more going on in nature than we can readily sense.