If you've ever experienced a partial power outage, you know just how weird it seems. You thought you had a steady stream of power, so if it was compromised, you’d experience less power throughout the house rather than half on, half off, right? That’s not always the way it works. From the viewpoint of an engineer or a professional electrician, a partial power outage would be better described as a phase loss.

Although the bulk of your appliances run on 110 volts, your stove and laundry use 220 volts, as does your water heater ad HVAC system. That extra amount of power isn't a doubling of your electric flow, but full use of what's available. Your lights and appliances are actually running on half your available electric source in order to cut your bill by using the electricity more efficiently. The power flow coming into your home is actually two sets of 110 volts, designated as “phase 1” and “phase 2” that share a ground to safely eliminate excess power.

What that means in layman’s terms is that you have two distinct power sources. They run together in what appears as a single line, but that’s why you have a breaker box. There’s more going on in that box than just safety circuits to prevent overflow. It directs the power according to your needs.

In the breaker box, that power that is supplied is magnified exponentially. The full 220 volts is sent to those few appliances that need it. The rest of your home, the lights, outlets, television and hair dryer, well, they are actually only running on one phase, or half the available power. That’s why you think in terms of 110 volts, because your plug-in electric units only use 110 volts.

When choosing lighting installation in Columbia for your home, office, or business, you may not realize how important your choice of lighting is. Lighting impacts every aspect of your environment – and no one knows this better than the electrical and lighting experts at Kolb Electric! Let’s go over some of our top picks for gorgeous, effective lighting.

Looking for lighting installation in Columbia? Contact Kolb online today!

Lighting – proper lighting – will only add to everything a room has to offer. You want ambient lighting to brighten a general area, without causing any headaches with overbearing, blaring lights. You want to draw visitors’ eyes to furniture, decorations, or other items of interest using accent lighting. And, last but not least, you want to utilize task lighting to keep any potential work areas bright enough to see what you’re doing.

First off, let’s take a look at the different types of lightbulbs, and the types of light they give off:

Now that we’ve touched on the types of bulbs, let’s delve into some types of lighting, what they are, and how they can add to your home, office, or business décor.

Ready to beautify your home and find the ideal lighting solutions to fit and add to your decor? Trust the professionals at Kolb to help you get the job done and done right! Contact us today to strike up a conversation, or to set a date for your consultation!

Although your regular power supply is proven to be a steady source of electricity for your home, it’s also known how a major storm can knock out your electrical connections on occasion. Typically, it’s only a short time of power outage for an evening or maybe an afternoon, so you go to bed early or take a much needed nap and the power is back on when you wake up. Two situations result in situations that aren’t so cute. One, you have work to do that can’t be postponed even though your power is off for a couple of hours. Secondly, when power is out for several days so you know you need to cook all the food you kept frozen, but can’t cook it because the power is out.

Preparing for Natural Disasters

When a major storm approaches you’ve certainly seen long lines at the grocery store of people buying last minute needs in case they won’t be available over the upcoming days. A better idea is to prepare ahead of time so you have no worries should a storm take your power out for a few days. A flashlight, bottled water, canned goods, a heater with fuel and perhaps a camp stove are always good to have around in case of an emergency. Better yet is to have a generator so you can continue to run your home as a home and live your life according to how you live on a daily basis.

Generators and Solar Panels

Solar panels may seem like a perfect solution, but unfortunately they don’t work very well when the sun is blocked by the storm that knocked out your regular electric supply. Generators, on the other hand, are ready to run as long as you keep them fueled and can keep you going during a power outage. A temporary outage for thirty minutes won’t be a problem as the generator will turn on so you never know the power went out. You may need to conserve energy for an outage expected to last several days, but your basic needs of heat, refrigeration, and cooking will be met.

Custom Electrical Services your first choice for an affordable electrician.  We offer great rates that are highly competitive.  Don’t choose some hourly electrician that is going to surprise you at the end.  Choose Custom Electrical Services not only for there high quality work but for there flat rates!

Custom Electrical Services offers you a flat rate for there work.  In the end this usually makes them one of the most affordable electricians in the area.  We can come to the place of your project and look at the job in person and give you a flat rate cost!  You will know exactly what your project will cost with no surprises!  If the project takes a little longer than expected for us we cover the cost not you!  A flat rate offers you many advantages.  You know what your project will cost upfront.  We take the guess work out of how long the project will take, allowing you to budget accordingly.

Not only are we an affordable electrician.  We take credit cards too!  We under stand that emergencies happen.  You may not have saved or planed on the expense of the repair.  That is why we take credit cards for our services.

As the saying goes:  If you think its expensive hiring an electrician, try hiring a cheap one!  That is because hiring cheap electricians and electricians doing jobs on the side often end up costing you more money in the end.  They often do the work incorrectly, against code, or are unable to pull the necessary permits.  At Custom Electrical Services we are a real company, have real licensed electricians, carry the necessary insurance, and are able to pull an electrical permit in any location in Iowa.  We also carry an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

We are able to be an affordable electrician for a variety of reasons.  Its simple we keep are overhead low and deal with high volume.  While our process and work is sophisticated our billing does not have to be.  We are the best electrician to call when you are in need of an affordable electrician regardless of the size of the project.  We even work on older homes, and our simply the best at it.  Give us a call now at 515-669-3418 or schedule via our contact page.

Categories: Uncategorized« Electrical Rewires and Older Home Wiring  |  Thumbtack Best 0f 2015 »