There is really nothing more frustrating than putting toast in the toaster, walking away and coming back to what you think will be some warm toast only to discover the appliance wasn’t plugged in. When you have to share outlets in the kitchen, bedroom or living room, it is a lot of extra work. You can’t use this if you want to use that or you have to perform some acrobatic maneuvers to reach the one available outlet. Stop the frustration and call a California electrician to give you a hand. You can have new outlets installed so you aren’t forced to constantly plug and unplug appliances. The Electric Connection has a team of electricians that can help you.

Having new outlets installed by an electrician is something many homeowners are taking advantage of. One of the most common outlet additions is one or two installed halfway up the wall in the living room. With the trend in flat screen televisions and surround sound systems being hung directly on the wall, it eliminates the unsightly cords running down the wall. The mid-wall mounted outlet gives the room a much cleaner look. Adding additional outlets to the kitchen to accommodate all of your appliances will make meal prep a breeze and means you can have several helpers in the kitchen using various appliances at the same time!

You can also have additional light switches installed if that is your issue. Walking into a dark hallway when the light switch is at the opposite end can be hazardous. Having additional switches in rooms with two entries is a safety measure you will appreciate. You will be amazed at the difference a little electrical work can do to improve the functionality and safety of your home. Give The Electric Connection a call today and let our electricians help you make your home life a little easier.

The start of the new school year for kids means cooler weather is just around the corner! The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting another wicked cold winter, with our area getting cold, wet, and white…yikes!

Since winter is often the time when energy bills are the highest, we thought we’d share a few of our favorite energy saving tips to help keep you comfortable without breaking the bank this season. Keeping your electrical system safe is important, especially when snowstorms threaten to knock out power (and with it, heat!), so read up and remember: for all your electrical service needs in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, call Kolb Electric!

If you use a heat pump to heat and cool your home, you probably already know that they’re among the most efficient HVAC systems you can install—if you use them correctly.

During the winter, set your thermostat to the lowest setting you’re comfortable with and keep it there for the whole season—the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recommends 68 F, but ultimately this is up to you. Every degree you set the thermostat lower will lower your energy use, so if you like to bundle up, this is a great way to save!

Most heat pumps come with a backup heating system to give you a little extra heat if the pump itself can’t make it. Unfortunately, electrical resistance heat is very inefficient and can get expensive if you use it too often. This electrical backup kicks on when you turn your thermostat up, which is why it’s best to set your thermostat once during the winter and then leave it there.

The one time when you should adjust your thermostat is when you’re leaving the house for a few days—the backup heat will kick on when you come back and set it back up, but the amount you save from being gone should offset that.

With any other form of heat, you’re free to adjust the thermostat as needed throughout the day. Again the DOE recommends 68 F as a balance between comfort and efficiency, but you may want to set the thermostat lower during the day when you’re not home and higher when you are home (a programmable thermostat makes this easy!).

If you’re going to be away and want to set the thermostat down, don’t go lower than 55 F. If your home gets too cold, your pipes could freeze and create a very messy situation for you when you return!

Whatever type of heating system you use, make sure you keep your filters fresh all season. Change them about once a month during times of peak heating system use. Just keeping on top of this can save you as much as 10 – 15 percent on your monthly energy bills!

Your water heater is usually the second largest energy consumer in your home, next to your heating system. Saving money on your water heating is not too complicated:

Fix all leaks when they happen! Even what looks like a small leak can waste hundreds of gallons of water per month—all of which you still have to pay for.

Take showers instead of baths. A normal shower uses about half the water of a bath, which also means less water heater needs, lower sewer costs, etc.

Use a flow restrictor to maintain water pressure while minimizing the amount of water use.

Don’t let the hot water run when doing dishes, shaving, or brushing teeth.

Like a heat pump’s backup heater, a space heater uses electrical resistance heat that can be expensive to operate. That said, they can be useful to heat small areas like the bathroom for short periods of time. In fact, it can be much cheaper to use a space heater in the morning than to raise the temperature in the whole house for a short period of time.

Hi Nick,

Mike and I just wanted to thank you and Rick for the excellent service yesterday, a Sunday during a major power outage at that.  From the time I placed the call for help to the time Rick walked out of our soon-to-be-warm-again home, it was only an unbelievable 1.5 hrs!!  I so appreciate your ‘straight-shooting’ with me on the phone about whether our problem could be Oncor related or in our wiring and the option to switch our dead furnace thermostat to the one working leg of power we seemed to have.  Rick arrived just when he said he would, went right to work and determined that we were indeed receiving full power from Oncor, but one of our breakers was bad.  He replaced it, checked things out and was on his way.

You have impressed us with your quality of service.  We certainly will use you again and recommend you when someone asks if we know a good electrician….we do now!