It seems like everything you buy today requires an electrical outlet. If you find yourself living in an older home or one with out-dated wiring, you could also end up at a loss for power. With electrical outlets spread sparsely around your home, it can be difficult to find enough outlets to plug in a lamp at the location you want or plug in all your electronics in the same spot. Fortunately, you do have some options for expanding your electrical accessibility and capacity.

The most common fix for this problem is to use extension cords. Extension cords can go extend as far as 150 feet, but are not always an ideal permanent solution. If you were running a significant amount of power through a long running extension cord on a regular basis, it would be a better idea to install an outlet at that location. With a heavy loaded extension cord you run a greater risk of fires and overloading the circuit. Undersized extension cords can overheat and cause a fire. If you will be running several electronics of the same outlet (television, computer, entertainment system) you should invest in a power bar with a surge protector. A power bar will be able to handle the larger electrical load and protect your valuable electronics from surges.

Another option would be to use an adapter to split two standard electrical sockets into four. This can be helpful when you need to plug in an additional lamp or phone charger in your room. If you find that you are tripping your breaker when you are plugging in more devices or appliances onto an adapter, power bar, or extension cord, you are probably overloading your circuit. The best course of action would be to have an electrician install a new outlet on a separate circuit.

While having new outlets installed by a professional electrician is the safest idea, it is not always possible in every situation. If you are a renter you may not be able to or want to upgrade the current electrical system. Or it is possible that your current breaker or electrical panel may not be able to handle additional electrical outlets. If that is the case, have a licenced electrician inspect your home electrical system to ensure that you are able to safely add on additional outlets. While planning for new outlets, identify areas that would be optimal for having power and covering the room appropriately. This way you can avoid problems down the road and installing an excessive amount of outlets in one room.

It is important to use undamaged extension cords and not run one extension cord off of another. For the best peace of mind, have one of our electricians install an additional circuit and outlets in your home. This will keep your home up to code and reduce the risk of fires significantly.

You look up. Movement. What is this? It looks like your fluorescent lights have come alive! They’re swirling and spiraling, like each one has an angry snake inside. This is no good. The light level in your room isn’t even. The fixtures flicker, annoyingly, and your eyes start to feel overworked and tired.

Since 1989 approximately 1 billion feet of CSST gas line or yellow gas line has been installed.  Nearby lighting strikes can cause an electrical surge and puncture the CSST line.  Bonding is considered electrical work and should only be performed by a qualified electrician.

In new construction we bond all gas lines.  Currently about 500,000 new homes per year have CSST gas line installed in them.  However, CSST gas line is considered safe when properly installed in your home.  Part of the installed properly guidelines refers to bonding your CSST gas line, your local electrician can do this for you.  If your home is more than two years old we recommended you have a licensed electrician check for proper gas line bonding.  Many real estate transactions and inspections require the CSST line to be bonded prior to the sale.   A good source of information on CSST lines can be found at CSSTSafety.com.

“CSST should NOT be confused with flexible gas appliance connectors – the product that joins a moveable appliance to your home or building’s gas supply line. The difference is flexible connectors attach directly to the moveable appliance from the wall or floor. CSST is usually routed beneath, through and alongside floor joists in your basement, inside interior wall cavities and on top of ceiling joists in attic spaces.” CSST Safety.com

If you would like more information or to check to see if your CSST line is properly bonded please feel free to Contact us anytime!  We bond CSST gas lines in the Des Moines area and surrounding communities.

A significant number of homes in Baltimore and Bethesda, MD, Alexandria, VA, and Washington, DC built between the mid-1960s and the first half of the 1970s have hazardous aluminum wiring rather than copper. During that time, aluminum wiring was considered safe to use and viewed as a cost-saving measure. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) now believes aluminum wiring poses a safety hazard in homes that still have this type of wiring.

The biggest danger associated with aluminum wiring is that unanticipated fire hazards arise from the oxidation and deterioration caused at the points where aluminum wiring is connected at outlets, light fixtures, and splices. While this can cause overheating and arching that won’t trip a circuit breaker, it can cause a fire. Aluminum wiring was used in an estimated 2 million homes between 1965 and 1973—and many of these homes are located in the MD, VA, and DC area.

If you’re concerned about dangerous aluminum wiring, pay attention to the following warning signs:

All of these signs indicate a potential fire hazard for standard aluminum wiring.

Aluminum wiring should be thoroughly evaluated by a qualified electrician who is experienced in inspecting and correcting wiring problems. The CPSC recommends a few methods for correction. The first is to rewire the home with copper wire, an expensive option that really only makes sense if the homeowner is already in the process of completely remodeling or doing deep renovations. The second option is to use the Copalum crimp method to correct the problem. This involves attaching a piece of copper wire to the existing aluminum wire with a specially designed metal sleeve and powered crimping tool. It is a permanent repair option that will eliminate the dangers posed by aluminum wiring. A third option is to use a UL listed copper to aluminum connector to attach a copper wire to the existing aluminum wire.

Only an experienced electrician can accurately determine the level of danger a home with aluminum wiring faces, and then fix the problem in an efficient, timely manner.

If your home has aluminum wiring, we recommend that you call Kolb Electric or contact us online. We will send one of our expert electricians out to evaluate the aluminum wiring in your home to determine the best option to make your home as safe as possible. We’ve been serving Baltimore and Bethesda, MD as well as Alexandria, VA and Washington, DC since 1925. You can count on our experienced electricians to get the job done right the first time.

Summer heat is upon us, so what better time to kick off our annual ceiling fan give away with a free professional licensed electrician to install it!  What is the catch?  You must like our page on Facebook and share our post.  Our electricians want to reward you with a ceiling fan for being our fan!  We will come out and install the fan in the lucky winners house.  We wont try to sell you anything and you wont owe us a dime!

To qualify you must like and be a fan of our Facebook page, share our post and live within 25 miles of one of our electricians in Des Moines or within 25 miles of our Clive office.  For free installation there must be wiring already in place where you want the fan installed.  If there is no wiring already there no problem the fan is still yours!  Or we can install in another room for you free of charge.  We will pick one lucky winner on August 28th, 2015.  Our winner will be announced via our Facebook page.

One of our friendly electricians will come out to install the ceiling fan for you.  We will remove your current fan or replace your light with your new free fan!

Well lets not forget to mention the obvious.  It’s free!  A ceiling fan can help reduce your heating and cooling cost.  In the summer your fan needs to rotate in a counter clockwise direction.  This will blow the air straight down and produce that cool summer breeze you have been looking for.  In the winter you want to turn your fan on so that it rotates in a clockwise direction.  This will help push the warm air trapped on the ceiling down.