Whether you love the winter season or you aren’t a fan, there’s one thing that can’t be denied—winter is downright expensive. With your heating system roaring, the holidays coming up, and longer nights, you can find yourself neck deep in utility costs in a real hurry. Looking for easy, effective ways to reduce your energy costs this season? If so, the experts at Hoffman Electrical have you covered!

Our certified electricians have been proudly serving Tampa and the surrounding areas for decades. When it comes to quality service and products, we’re just hard to beat! And above all else, our experts are here to help. Sometimes that means electrical repair and installation, and sometimes that means just some good old fashioned useful tips.

So, it’s time to sell your home and you’re making upgrades here and there to increase its value. That’s a great idea, but have you spoken to a Dallas electrician yet about potential lighting upgrades? All it takes is a little lighting knowhow and you can increase your home’s value well beyond the initial investment you make before it goes on the market. Here are a few simple ideas from a certified electrician to inspire you.

For more on how lighting can increase your home’s value, please contact a certified electrician at ElectricMan today. ElectricMan is your trusted, local Dallas electrician with 27 years of experience. For more information, visit the ElectricMan website. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Saving on electricity is always the smart way to go, and you’ll find that you can keep monthly bills way down if you just do a few smart things to cut back on your electric power consumption:

Use Fans instead of AC – Winters in Texas may be warm, but the summers are comparable to sitting in the desert. You’ll find that using your AC is the only thing keeping you alive, so the thought of turning them down may be making you sweat. Turn down the AC a few degrees, and turn on some fans around the house. The breeze will cool off the home, and it will blow the cool air around nicely.

Switch Out Light Bulbs – One great way to save on electricity around your home is to use energy saving bulbs. An 18W power saver will produce as much light as a 60W regular bulb, but only use 18W. It will be a steep initial investment to replace all of the light bulbs – the power saver ones are costly – but it will cut your electric bill dramatically.

Use Power Strips – Your TV, DVD player, radio, Xbox, and other devices all use power when they’re turned off, as they’re in standby mode. You should consider plugging all of these devices into a power strip, and just turn off the power strip at night. It will cut down the amount of energy that’s used, and you’ll never know the difference.

Reduce Appliances — Do you really need a toaster, microwave, dishwasher, blender, food processor, juicer, two coffee machines, an espresso maker, and a coffee grinder? You probably need some of these appliances, but you can probably eliminate a few of the ones mentioned above. Use more gas-powered appliances, as gas is cheaper than electricity.

Replace Old Appliances – Did you know that older appliances tend to use a lot more electricity than newer ones? Newer appliances are made according to Energy Star regulations and standards, so they’ll be cheaper in terms of energy consumption. Replacing them will cost you a bit, but you’ll recoup your investment within a year or two.

Turn Down the Heater – If you are using an electric boiler to heat your water, chances are you’ve got it set too high. You probably want to enjoy a nice shower in scalding water, but most people have to turn on the cold water when they shower. If you want to save on electricity, turn down the heater until it’s just nicely hot instead of scalding. You won’t have to turn on the cold water to shower, and you’ll still be able to enjoy a nice hot shower!

Saving electricity isn’t just smart – it’s cost-effective and wallet-friendly as well!

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.