The energy consumed by a single building or business can prove to be a huge overhead cost, especially for those buildings of a much larger size.

Starting the initiative to reduce energy consumption is becoming more and more common as the benefits become more and more clear. The benefits of reducing energy consumption is often times for one major reason, and that is to reduce overhead costs. By making switches (such as those listed here), you could realize a 50% or more reduction in overall energy usage in your facility.

Sound interesting? Learn how you can do that with the tips below…

Whatever lighting technology you have right now, if it isn’t LED, then you are probably consuming more energy than you have to be when it comes to your lighting system.

By converting to LED from a technology like fluorescent, you will easily realize a 30% reduction (on average) in energy consumption from your lights. Now, if you have lights such as metal halide or HPS (often used outside or in high ceiling lights), then you could realize even greater savings (by up to 75%)! This, in and of itself, can prove to be a major way to reduce energy usage in your buildings.

facility manager is, but it’s just a fact. Think, who knows more; someone who works with all the equipment everyday or someone who overlooks said worker? Probably the former, and that’s okay! But, just remember to ask them to be on the lookout for things and get them on-board with your efforts to reducing energy in your building. It will help a lot with your efforts!

Planting save energy in your building, but they are definitely the huge players that eat up a lot of energy. By changing just these 9 things, you will be able to put your efforts to the highest reward type initiatives.

Once you’ve switched these major energy consumers, you can then work on smaller areas of your building that are inefficient, just not as much as these 9 things.

What is one thing not listed here that you find to be a huge energy consumer? Comment it down below so we are all aware of it!

Electronics are some of the most expensive investments in any home. So how can you be sure you’re safely protecting them from electrical surges? With a whole-home surge protector, you can rest easy that all of your electronics and appliances are protected in the event of a lightning strike or electrical surge.

A whole-home surge protector is installed in your main electrical panel in order to cut off potential electrical surges from flowing into your home’s internal wiring. Whole-home surge protectors can protect up to 40,000 amps of current flowing into your home. When an electrical surge takes place, the device detects the excess energy and safely diverts the surge through the home’s grounding path. This will protect your home from:

This provides an easy, catch-all system that ensures every plug in your home is safe from a surge. Never have to worry about plugging your expensive electronics into standard plug-in surge protectors.

According to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, the Maryland/Virginia/Washington, DC area is considered at moderate risk for lightning strikes. These, along with other powerful weather events, are strong enough to fry both large and small electronics, including:

By investing in full-home surge protectors, you save yourself the risk of potentially paying thousands to replace your expensive electronic devices and appliances. Don’t suffer later when you can prevent damage up-front!

It is important that typically, it is recommended that you double protect against electric damage by also using standard wall surge protectors. This will make sure that no matter how strong the electrical surge is that hits your home, your valuable electronics will stay safe.

Everyone from the National Fire Protection Association to the Institute for Business and Home Safety recommends the use of whole-house surge protection. Fortunately, great whole-home surge protection is available and affordable! For maximum protection, you’ll want to install a whole-home surge protector at the circuit breaker box and supplement it with smaller surge protectors on individual outlets. A whole-house surge protector can protect your home from up to 40,000 amps of current (normal household power is between 200 to 300 amps). When something like a lightning strike causes such a surge, the surge protector detects the excess current and safely diverts it through the house’s grounding path. Whole-house surge protection provides homeowners in MD, DC, and VA peace of mind when a powerful thunderstorm passes the area.

Kolbe Electric’s electrician team can easily install a top-of-the-line surge protector with ease. Our whole-house surge protectors usually come with lifetime warranties and added protections for possible losses. This means your electronics are double-protected against future loss due to electrical surge! Call Kolb Electric today to learn more about our whole-house surge suppressors for your Maryland, Washington, DC, or Virginia home.

When it comes to electrical tasks in yousitur home, it’s never a good idea to turn them into a DIY project. Electricity is a very necessary and useful utility, but can be extremely dangerous too and it’s crucial that you call in a certified, skilled and insured electrician to handle the job for you. Look for a professional and reputed company that provides 24/7 services and keep their number easily accessible at all times; this will ensure you get prompt services exactly when you need them. Here we discuss in which situations you should call in an emergency electrician to tackle the job for you:

This is extremely dangerous and you should immediately turn-off the circuit breaker that you feel is connected to that wire. Do not try to repair this yourself as there could be a chance that the circuit breaker you turned off isn’t connected to that particular room wire at all and this exposes you to the risk of electrocution.

This is a situation you shouldn’t take lightly at all. It’s important that you keep all your family members and pets away from that room and switch off the circuit breaker you think is connected to that wiring line. If you have any water pooling, puddling or accumulated (as in a flood situation), call in a skilled electrician to check all the wiring and address the problem without delay, as this is a major electrocution risk.

It’s not often that a home will lose power completely, while there is no similar problem in the neighbourhood. However, if the power does go out only in your home, quickly check with your neighbours and check whether the street lights have also lost power. If everything seems to be alright there, you may have a major electrical problem on your hands.

In all these situations, do not try to find out what the problem is; call in a regular electrical maintenance done. The company you hire for the job will send out skilled professionals at pre-decided schedules to conduct a thorough check on the wiring. In case any potential problems are noticed, you will be informed about them and they will be addressed without delay. This reduces the chances of major electrical problems surfacing out of the blue.

Being a home owner comes with more responsibility than some people realize, and it can get overwhelming. There are certain aspects about your home that you may have overlooked, or just thought wasn’t important, like your HVAC system. Not paying attention to your HVAC can become very troublesome for your home and cause several issues.

A power surge is something you never expect, but can have drastic consequences for your home or place of business. A surge can be so small you do not notice it all, it can cause a flicker in your lights or it can cause damages as great as that from a lightning strike. An average claim from a surge-damaged house costs thousands of dollars. However, there is a solution. An electrician in Beverly Hills, like one of the experts from The Electric Connection, can install a whole house surge protector. Understanding these surges, and how a surge protector works, can save you thousands in damages and possibly save your life.

Causes of a Power Surge

The main thing people think about when they hear the term power surge is a lightning strike. Oddly enough, this is far from the most common. According the Surge Protection Institute, an estimated 80% of power surges start inside the house—often from a major appliance as it cycles on and off. These small surges can affect other sensitive electronics such as Plasma TVs and computer equipment. A Beverly Hills electrician can help you identify which of your devices may be susceptible to such damage.

Surge Protectors

You may be familiar with a small surge protector in which you plug a computer or other item to protect them from surges. This is a great solution as it is affordable and something you can do on your own. However, there is an even easier way to protect all your equipment. Contact a Beverly Hills electrical contractor and ask about the possibility of installing a whole house surge protector. A whole home surge protector will protect against up to 50,000 amps of current. It diverts the excess current and diverts it via the house’s grounding.

If you think a whole home surge protector may be the right choice for your house, search for electrician Beverly Hills and visit The Electric Connection’s website today.