Usually, people hire an electrical contractor without giving it too much thought. You might assume that a professional service will know how to get the job done in quick time and you won’t have to bear any hassle. However, there is more to electrician services than meets the eye. There are a few relevant factors you should consider when selecting an electrical service for hiring. The reasons are simple: you are letting in complete strangers into your home who will be working on the electrical system. You have to be on the safe side than take any risk.

To make things a tad easier for you, here’s a look at the top 5 things to look for in electrician services:

Did you know a certified electrician adheres to the highest standards of quality and services? Don’t you want the electrician you hire to work professionally and deliver you the best possible level of service? This is why it is important to look for electrical services which are certified and have the necessary credentials. Membership of a local professional organization is an added bonus but the key factor is experience. If an electrician has been in the business for a few years, you can be certain that he will be able to get the work done without causing you any inconvenience in the process. So, ask for certifications and qualifications when you interview an electrician service.

Insurance is a must. Regardless of how qualified and experienced an electrician is, electrical systems are volatile and something or the other could go wrong. That would not only cause damage to the wiring and outlets but also connected appliances. In the worst case scenario, the problem could exacerbate to the extent that it causes damage to your property. Now, if the electrician you hire isn’t insured, you will have to pay for repairs and renovation out of pocket. This is why only hire a certified electrician that is ensured as well. In addition, also check licensing to ensure the electrician service is allowed to perform residential electrical work in your area.

There is no dearth of professional electrical services in the market so you can afford to be picky when it comes to the cost of the services. When you get a quote from an electrician, make sure you have him break it down and check how much he is charging for which service. You can also ask around and compare rates to get a better idea of how much you should be paying for the work you need to get done. Rest assured, when you hire a certified, insured and licensed electrician who offers affordable services, the lower price wouldn’t mean a compromise on quality. This is a major reason you should keep these factors in mind when making a decision. This way, you will get great value for money.

It doesn’t take much for you to be able to judge the level of professionalism you can expect from an electrician. When you talk to them on the phone and then meet face to face, get an idea of their behavior and attitude. The best electricians show genuine concern for their clients and are focused on solving your problems rather than charging you as much money as they can get out of you. Be alert and take note of the appearance and attitude of the electrician. If you feel he is friendly, courteous and professional, don’t hesitate to hire. If not, you can always find another professional certified electrician.

As the winter months approach, it’s time to start making your plan for potential power outages that often come with the yearly DMV snowfall. With the Farmer’s Almanac predicting a particularly harsh winter, the sounder the plan is, the more comfortable you’ll be when the cold hits!

Perhaps the best strategy to prevent against home blackouts is to install a stand-by generator. A standby generator supply backup power to your home when the grid goes down, keeping your home toasty and warm against the cold outside. But what else can a standby generator help your home with? Let the experts at Kolb Electric help!

Obviously, the best thing about a standby generator is that it will provide electricity to your home when your power goes out. But aside from that, it has a few distinct advantages over your basic generator that requires a manual start. A standby generator:

Despite common conception, standby generators are actually very affordable. These days, there are standby generators available from as small as three kilowatts, which are both affordable and powerful enough to provide supplementary emergency power to essential electrical systems.

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!

Your home is supposed to be your safe place, your sanctuary, but if you have an older home, it can quickly become a nightmare. Old home wiring, especially if the wiring is 50 years or older , can put your home and everyone it it at risk for an electrical fire. While wiring doesn’t quickly age, it does age, it does break down, and it does carry risks. Keeping an eye on your home’s wiring and the way that it behaves is one of the best ways to avoid an electrical fire and protect your home. Your home is trying to tell you exactly what it needs more often than not, so keep an eye out for some of the following signs that your home’s wiring is too old and needs to be replaced by a professional electrician.

While there could be a variety of reasons you might have dimming or flickering lights in your house, if it becomes a regular occurrence, it’s time to get an electrician out to your house. These kinds of symptoms are your house telling you that there is something going on in your electrical system. Whether it’s that there is too much power being drawn at one time or that the wiring is failing, a licensed electrician can help to diagnose and fix the issue.

If you’ve had a rodent problem in your home at any time, it’s exceptionally important to have your electrical system evaluated. While rodents would prefer to munch on the cereal in your cabinet, there is something about home wiring that is exceptionally appealing to them. While they’re burrowing around in your walls, there is a high chance that they either chomp through wiring or knick it enough to expose the wiring to the insulation in your walls. Both scenarios can put your home at risk for an electrical fire at any time.

If you’ve never had a circuit breaker trip on a regular basis, then you probably don’t know how absolutely frustrating it can be, especially when the problem is probably hidden somewhere behind the walls. A circuit breaker that continues to trip is a big indication that something is wrong with your wiring. Instead of trying to force it on, make sure to call your electrician to help root out the cause of the problem in order to fix it.

If you’ve ever gone to plug in an appliance and been shocked, that’s probably not a good sign. However, if this happens regularly where you get shocked or your switches and outlets start to look discolored from burns, you have a big problem on your hands. These signs are indicative of a wiring problem and wiring shorting from the energy heavy appliances that are more common today. Don’t just hide the problem with a new outlet cover, have the problem checked out and repaired.

Lastly, don’t dismiss random burning smells or the sharp smell of burning ozone. Both could be indicators that something is going on behind your home’s walls that you can’t see. When you flip a light switch, this connects a live electrical wire and allows power to continue into a light fixture or appliance. If there is burning when the switch is flipped on, the odds are the problem is in the wiring that connects the switch and the light fixture. However, a licensed electrician can determine the extent of the damage and what the problem is.

One of the hardest parts of electrical work is accessibility. In some situations, adding a new outlet or replace old wiring can require nearly tearing your walls apart. There is a solution, however: Open building can make things easier by focusing on flexibility, ease of access and disentanglement of systems. If you’re building, renovating or putting an addition on your home, try incorporating open building principles to make it simple to change or upgrade your electrical system.

Total Flexibility

The big picture when it comes to open building is to keep the support structure of the house separate from the interior fill-out. This construction style also keeps wall spaces accessible and strives toward total flexibility. After all, chances are you'll have to replace one or more of your internal systems before you need to rebuild the whole house.

That means infill systems like your wiring are separated from others like plumbing and insulation so it's not difficult to access and remove them. So if you need to remove outdated wireing, add new circuits or upgrade your whole system to comply with local code, there's no need to gut your house. Instead, you remove some panels, install the electrical with no fuss and pop the panels back into place. No need to break through drywall or struggle with ducts and pipes that are in the way.

Rational Form of Design

The open building concept is being driven by the Open Prototype, a collaboration between MIT and Bensonwood Homes to build and test various models for open building principles.

“The simple act of disentangling the wiring from the structure and insulation layer allows you to upgrade, change, or replace a 20-year-lifespan electrical system when new technology arises without affecting a 300-year structure,” Bensonwood Homes founder Tedd Benson said to Ecobuilding Pulse. “Open Building provides a more rational form of design and construction that supports long-term sustainability for buildings with increased shell longevity, and more control and flexibility for the homeowner.”

The idea is to ensure that the home of today is ready to adapt to the needs of the tomorrow's homeowners. “We can’t predict what people will need and want in their living environment,” Benson said. “Open Building principles respond to occupants’ changing needs rather than force the occupants to conform to a preconceived design.