We often forget how important it can be to call an electrician if a problem arises with a home’s electrical system. In fact, most homeowners are complacent that their wiring system is just fine and needs no care or maintenance. More often than not, the only time a licensed electrician is called to a house when something is going wrong. It’s important to understand how to recognize when you may need to be preemptive about electrical problems and subtle signs that your electrical system needs maintenance or repairs. Keep an eye out for the following issues that could arise, indicating a bigger electrical problem in your home.

If you’re a fan of power strips, that’s not necessarily a problem right away. The problem happens when you start to overload a specific circuit in your home. Attaching a power strip and then packing it full of energy-heavy devices can quickly cause circuit breakers to flip. In addition to that risk, they can quickly become a fire risk when used inappropriately. Opt for power strips with surge protectors and be careful concerning how much you plug into them. If you need more outlet availability in a space, that’s when you need to call a local electrician.

While the rugs themselves aren’t a sign of electrical problems, the wires and cords run under them are. More and more people are adapting older homes to their current needs, leaving exposed cords and cables throughout the house. You don’t need to run them under carpet and rugs. In fact, that can be a tripping hazard. An electrician can quickly run wires and cables through the walls to get the cables out of sight and out of mind.

If you own an older home, you may have noticed how your outlets don’t look quite like outlets in newer homes. For a long time, two prong outlets were the standard. No many appliances use a three prong plug style in order to provide a ground for the electricity. Don’t be someone who just cuts the third prong off of their appliances or bends it back to make it fit in the two prong outlet; upgrade your outlets instead. Properly grounded outlets can reduce the risk of electrical fires and other risks due to electricity.

It’s important to regularly check your home’s main service panel. Regular visual checks and professional checks by an electrician can help to prolong the life of the panel and help avert any problems from improper care. When you visually inspect the panel, check for any signs of problems, including potential rust. If your panel is rusting, it’s time to have an electrician install a new one for safety and performance.

If you’ve ever turned on a light switch and found that the plate was warm to the touch, then you should call an electrician. Points where power is utilized in the wall should never be warm, and definitely not hot. It’s a sign of a bigger electrical problem that could be a safety hazard.

With that major storm from a couple weeks ago still fresh in everyone’s minds, more and more people in the Maryland, Virginia and DC area are starting to think about the benefits of installing a standby generator. Generators are still fairly new, however, and a lot of people still have questions about them.

To put it simply, generators supply backup power to your home when the grid goes down. Most standby generators are powered by gas or propane and are connected to your home’s main distribution panel via an automatic transfer switch. The generator constantly monitors incoming voltage, activating automatically when it senses a power outage. When it turns on, it also closes the line from the power company and opens its own line so you don’t accidentally get power coming from two sources. When the power comes back on, the generator shuts off and reopens the line so you get power back as usual.

Once used more by farmers, businesses and construction companies, generators have evolved significantly over the past decade from their loud, large and expensive roots and are now well suited for use in homes. Standby generators are quickly becoming even more popular than portable generators thanks to their ease of use, quiet operation and aesthetically pleasing design.

One of the most common misconceptions about standby generators is that they’re not affordable to most people. Fortunately, this is not true! Standby generators have come down in price significantly over the years. In fact, these days there are generators available from as small as three kilowatts to as large as 45 kilowatts! Smaller units provide supplementary emergency power for general lighting, a refrigerator, or an air-conditioning unit alone, but large units can run multiple AC units and provide power for other household needs such as appliances or sump pumps. The money you’ll save in spoiled food is practically enough to cover the cost!

Standby generators are becoming increasingly popular as part of new home construction, and while this is obviously an easier job, retrofits are still more popular. At Kolb Electric, we install Generac generators. Generac generators have a number of additional benefits compared to others on the market. They:

Standby generators are safer, more reliable, and less expensive to run than portable generators, and require no input on your part – they start and stop automatically. If you live in Maryland, Virginia or Washington, DC and want to install a standby generator in your home, call Kolb Electric today!

By Clarissa Allison | June 24th, 2016

Energy is the crux of many social, economic, and climate problems.  Renewable energy sources offer a brighter, more sustainable future.  International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that almost 1 billion people will still be without access to electricity in 2030, in part owing to rapid population growth, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. The number of people without access to clean cooking stoves and fuels is similarly projected to drop only slightly, from 2.6 billion to 2.5 billion.