In this blog, we talk a lot about potential dangers. From water damaged wires, to possible causes for power surges, we try to cover it all. Why do we spend so much time on this? Well, for one it makes for decent reading. Learning things is always kinda fun. For two, and the more important, is that electricity can be dangerous when misused or damaged.

At Kolb Electric, your safety is always the top priority. Second to superior service, of course. And today we’ll be covering something a little new (though we’ve mentioned it a bit here and there). Ever wondered exactly how safe outlets actually are? After all, they’re essentially tiny holes full of electrical potential located all over your home. Should you be worried? Well, it depends!

Contact Kolb today to get top-quality electrical outlet installation from our certified electricians!

It’s actually kind of a loaded question. How safe is a kitchen knife? It’s pointy and sharp. And there’s potential for injury there. But, if you use it right, there’s no real danger! It’s pretty much the same with outlets. When they are used properly, you shouldn’t have much to ever worry about. Oh, and the type is important, too.

What do you mean “type”?

Certain types of outlets should be used in certain ways for maximum safety and functionality. For instance:

Aside from these types and stipulations, there are some small things to consider. A damaged outlet is always dangerous. Even if it’s just a busted plastic cover. Skin, organic materials, or moisture coming into contact with an uncovered or damaged outlet can result in shock and electrocution. Never take chances with this.

We hope you learned some cool things today! And if you learned that some of your outlets might be somewhat unsafe, we hope you choose our experts to provide the electrical outlet installation services you need. Keep updated, and you should never have to worry about your outlets. Looking for service in your Rockville home? Contact us today!

A recent study conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that homes constructed within the past decade are significantly less expensive to maintain than properties that were built a generation ago. On average, the combined annual maintenance and utility costs of a home that was built in or after 2008 is roughly $241, while the same yearly price to live in a home built before 1960 is $564 a year. There is also a noticeable variance in the average operating costs of houses built during these two periods - properties constructed more recently only have operating costs of roughly 3 percent while those built before 1960 averaged 5 percent.

A large factor is the kind of plumbing, wiring and overall utility setup of a given property. Over the past several decades, streamlined construction methods and an overall "greener" sensibility among shoppers have led to the development of more energy conservative appliances and layouts that cut monthly power and plumbing costs.

For example, the federal government offers homeowners a tax credit when they replace older appliances with Energy Star-approved ones. The results are savings in both the short term, with the immediate rebate most suppliers offer, and long term when monthly utility savings are taken into consideration.

Even manufacturers must meet higher efficiency standards today than in the 1960s whether or not they are looking for an Energy Star certification.

So when customers ask us how many ‘Watts” do I need to replace an existing light source, we always convert them to lumens.

•  Pay special attention to the lumens per watt of a fixture. IT DOES MATTER. A LED product at 135 lumens/watt will consume far less energy than a LED product producing 97 lumens/watt. Not all LED solutions are the same. (remember, always buy on the lumens you need, never on the watts you think you need.).

•  To calculate lumens per watt, take the total number of lumens a product produces and divide it by the watts it consumes.

For indoor fixtures, figure on:

utility company. You can check if a product is DLC Qualified on the DesignLights Consortium website. DLC has rebates for Commercial LED Lighting and Industrial LED Lighting

•  Rebates with DLC Premium should be higher than rebates with DLC Standard. Your utility company is typically who provides the rebates and sets the rebate amounts.  Check their website.

•  All UL Listed or ETL Listed.

•  Replacing the light parts of an existing fixture with the a Retrofit unit will not void the UL/ETL Listing of the fixture. However, the exception to this rule are explosion proof rated fixtures (ie. Class I Div 2). Never retrofit a certified explosion proof fixture. UL1598C does not cover these types of retrofits.

•  ETL Listing is the same as UL Listing. They perform the same test, and the certification is the same. The only difference is that the company who performs the test.

When we talk about replacing commercial and industrial lighting, we always try to alleviate the current costs that old and inefficient lighting fixtures incur while keeping (if not improving) our current quality of light in place. This is done with the obvious options such as:

With any lighting technology, whether that be Metal Halide, HPS, Florescent, or LED, they all suffer from something we call lumen depreciation.

Lumen depreciation is the process in which the total output of lumens a fixture produces decreases during its life. The rate at which a fixtures lumens depreciate can depend on a multitude of factors which include (but are not limited to): the type of lighting technology used, total hours used, and various other factors.

Did you know that florescent and LED lighting are typically the lowest to depreciate it’s lumens, while technology like Metal Halide and HPS are typically the fastest to depreciate it’s lumen output?

While LED is the the winner overall, florescent lights aren’t too far behind and not nearly as bad as Metal Halide or HPS lights. Here at MyLEDLightingGuide, we would recommend you get an LED for a lot more reasons then just slower lumen depreciation. email us directly.