analysis released by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, from 2003 to 2015, New York spent an average of $1.9 million per inch of snow. The city’s average annual cost over the past 14 years has been $95.5 million. One way to cut costs is to invest in LED snow plow lights. While it might cost more initially to replace halogen or incandescent bulbs with LEDs, the long-term payoff is worth it. LED snow plow lights can last 25 times longer than standard bulbs and fixtures, which means a significant reduction in maintenance and replacement costs.

LED snow plow lights are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. From beacons, first state to use green lights on their snow plows, and they have also started using multiple color combinations, including amber, green, and white. Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland, and the Yukon are using blue/amber combination lights to increase the visibility of their plows. All of these colors and color combinations are available in LED lights. The list below includes some of many LED lights that are perfect for snow plows in any part of the world.

Holiday lighting products have evolved into a much safer product over the years.  With the development of properly sized wires and fuses and LED lighting to reduce the consumption load and the heat the lamps produce, holiday lighting has never been more safe.  In the past people would take the old C style lamps and hook one string of lights into the other.  Often overloading one the strings or the weakest link.  This overload would often melt wires, create sparks, and in some cases even cause a fire.  The manufactures and improved safety standards and testing, help reduce to the chance of an overload by installing a fuse at the starter end or male end of the light string.  This fuse would blow or trip when the load became greater than the fuse capacity, which would then project the wire from the overload.  It is always recommended to install lights that are interconnected (one light string plugged into the other) to manufacture specifications as listed by there instructions.

LED or light emitting diodes have not only made holiday lighting more efficient but even safer.  The old style C7 and C9 lamps could reach temperatures of up to 350 degrees.  The hot lamp if rested against wood or dry Christmas tree, has the potential to ignite the material from the heat the lamp produces and cause a fire.  With LED’s to replace the old style incandescent lamps the chance of fire from heat is almost non existing.  However, it is still possible to cause a fire from electrical spark or short.  These sparks or shorts produce heat much greater and can easily ignite flammable material.  Sparks or shorts are often caused by frayed or damaged insulation on the electrical wires and also loose connections.  It is important to inspect your holiday lighting for damaged or loose components and replace when needed.  Be sure not to use any damaged equipment and immediately discard them to eliminate the chance of future use.

A common mistake made people make with holiday lighting is to plug to many holiday lights into each other.  UL listed holiday lighting and cord splitters are tested to specific tolerances and should only be installed to manufactures specifications.  The easiest location to find the manufactures is specifications is to look at the tag on the cord most commonly found near the male end of the cord or light string.

If enough standard wall sockets are not present and you must plug in multiple cords, it is highly recommended to install a plug switch with a built in overload device to reduce the risk of overload.  The built in overload should not be mistaken for a surge protection device.  A surge protector reduces or eliminates the excess voltage going to the device plugged into itself.  Where an overload device will shut off power at the point of installation if to much power is being drawn through it.

On many new homes we will install plug ins located in the soffit or eve to reduce or eliminate drop cords for holiday lighting.  These soffit plugs are installed on a special heavier 20 amp circuit and often include a convenience switch located inside the home to shut the lights on / off as needed.  The special circuit makes sure your holiday lighting is not installed on regular interior circuits so the chance of variable loads and overloads are dramatically reduced.

Permanent holiday lighting can be installed by a licensed electrician.  The most common type of permanent holiday lighting is LED strip lighting.  These are can be installed on the under side of eves or soffits for a permanent installation.  Depending on the type of LED holiday lighting you choose you may even have the option to change the colors of the lights with a push of a button.  This allows the holiday lighting to be used for many occasions throughout the year.  You can call today or schedule online to have a lighting specialist come to your home or business and provide you with a written no obligation quote.

At Kolb Electric, we think it’s always interesting to see what types of calls come in each season. So with that in mind, we’ve put together a short list of the most common issues we take care of every winter, spring, summer, and fall. We hope you don’t have any of these problems any time of year, but if you do, call Kolb Electric!

Space heaters tripping circuit breakers – space heaters consume a huge amount of electricity, and if they are plugged into an outlet on an already overloaded circuit (one used to power holiday lights, for instance), they’re likely to cause it to trip. Circuits trip to prevent damage to the wiring of your electrical system, so knowing which outlets are on which circuits can prevent this from happening.

Kolb Electric offers circuit breaker repair »

Wet electrical connections shorting your GFCI – water and electricity don’t mix, and GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets are designed to trip if they get wet. If any electrical device in or outside your home gets wet it could cause part of your home to short out. Knowing where your GFCIs are located and which outlets they control, can remedy this problem. If not, an electrician is your best bet for pinpointing and correcting the problem.

Broken down AC – if your air conditioner suddenly stops working during the summer, the first thing you should do is check the breaker. If it’s tripped, shut off the thermostat and reset the breaker. If it trips again after you turn the thermostat back on, call an electrician.

Window AC tripping circuit breakers – like space heaters in the winter, portable window air conditioners use a lot of electricity. Labeling the breaker connected to high energy-consuming appliances will remind people not to plug things into the same circuit.

Trees falling on meter boxes and risers – DC area springs and falls come with pretty unpredictable weather, which in rare cases can end up in downed trees on your property. Even a light touch from a tree limb can rip the electric meter base and riser off of the outer wall of your house.

Replacing ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets –people like to test their GFCIs as part of spring and fall cleaning. So if you find any that need to be replaced, call Kolb Electric!

If you have any electrical problems in Maryland, DC, or Virginia, at any time of year, there’s only one name you need to know: the DC electricians at Kolb Electric!