Have you ever been worried that your Washington, DC electrician might be scamming you? It’s certainly not one of our favorite topics, but the fact remains that it does happen. There are people out there posing as trained professionals that would love nothing more than to take your money, and give nothing at all in return.

At Kolb Electric, our experts are the real deal, and we’ve learned a thing or two about spotting shysters. We never want any of our consumers to encounter a situation where they have to deal with a scammer. So we’ve built a list of the most common signs that you might be getting cheated!

Need a reputable Washington, DC electrician? Contact us! We’re fully licensed, insured, and have more than 90 years of experience!

Washington, DC electrician scams often follow specific patterns. They’re awful, because they exist. But at least they’re predictable! Here are some telltale signs of a scam:

When it comes to getting reliable, effective service, communication is absolutely key. You need all information on clear, understandable terms. This means get everything in writing, and ensure you understand all aspects of the project. It doesn’t matter if it’s as small as a minor outlet replacement, or as large as home rewiring, be sure you’re working with a pro!

Kolb has been offering dependable, guaranteed service to the Maryland and DC areas for years. We never want to hear that one of our valued patrons has had to deal with a rogue element when seeking electrical assistance!

If you need the fast, effective service of a professional, certified Washington, DC electrician, contact Kolb!

Let’s face it; while working for yourself can be an amazing experience, owning your own business can come with a ton of unsightly costs you may not have been anticipating. One of those may be energy costs for lighting and illuminating your building. This day and age, lighting can account for up to 35% of a business’s energy costs which can be a huge impact on your profit. So what are some ways you can help cut down on this expensive expenditure?

Appliances can make for exciting and valuable additions to your home; however, they use a lot of electricity and can ultimately take a toll on your electrical system. As a Plano TX electrician, I have seen it time and again—homeowners buy new appliances that, even when they have an “Energy Star” label, use a significant amount of electricity. These homeowners are unaware, however, that the more important problem lies in the installation of these devices, taking for granted the safety precautions that were addressed (or not) during the installation process.

The old “set it and forget it” mentality that a lot of people seem to have when it comes to their new appliances is that, whether or not a Plano TX electrician is called to help install the appliance, the importance of appliance installation safety is ignored and the awareness of potential dangers and mistakes in installation is minimized. As a result, things that at the time of installation seemed trivial in the long run can cause significant problems.

Ideally, with the help of a Plano electrician, you should have no problems installing your new electrical equipment. Here are some tips that might help you prevent safety concerns with the installation of your brand new appliances:

Chances are, you don’t need to call your Plano TX electrician to help you with every new appliance installation. However, if you have any doubts or questions about how to install your appliance safely, don’t hesitate to call us at Electric Man so we can make sure that your installation goes off without a hitch.

Give us a call today at 972-792-7270 and connect with us through our website, www.electricmaninc.com. Also, feel free to ask your questions in the comments section of our blog and we will get back to you soon.

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Strips with more LEDs per foot will consume more power.

In short, if maximum energy efficiency is what’s most important to you, choose a light strip with smaller LEDs and fewer LEDs.

In order to ensure your LED power supply doesn’t overheat and fail prematurely, we use this general rule of thumb:

Make sure the total wattage of your LED strip lighting is at least 20 percent less than the power supply’s rated wattage.

For example, if you have an LED strip light that requires 80 watts of power to run, you’ll need a power supply that’s rated for at least 96 watts.

The vast majority of our strips include wattage per foot right on their product pages.

power supplies range from six watts to 1,500 watts for compatibility with a wide variety of LED strip lights.

Let’s take a look at an example:

It’s important to verify that the voltage of the power supply you choose is compatible with the voltage of your LED strip lighting. Also, be sure that the power supply’s input voltage matches that of the location it will be installed in. If you have an LED strip with 12-volt DC operation that you wish to use in a 120-volt AC home wiring system, you’ll need a power supply that includes 120 volts in its input range and has 12-volt DC output.

Another factor to take into account for longer runs is voltage drop. A significant voltage drop is present after a certain distance of LED strip. After this distance, there will not be enough voltage present to light the next length of strip. This varies depending on the type of strip and length being used. Usually, a single-density strip (nine or less LEDs per foot) will need to run back to a power source every 32 13/16 feet (10 meters). A high-density strip (18 or more LEDs per foot) will need to run back to a power source every 16 3/8 feet (5 meters). Please refer to “Max Run” in the specifications table of the strip light to determine how many can be run continuously without a parallel run back to power.

3) the 4) if you want your strip to be dimmable

power supply calculator on the product pages of all of our LED strip lights!

There are a few steps involved:

Step 1: Select your strip and the length you need.

Step 3: Click the green “Power Supply Calculator” tab, and select your product by choosing it from the list OR by pasting the exact part number in the search bar.

Step 4: Enter the number of strips at the desired length you’ve selected and voila! You’ll see a list of all compatible power supplies with the best match at the top of the list!

When dealing with electronics, safety is paramount, and you want everything to work like it’s supposed to. So if you’re still not sure which power supply to use for your LED strip lighting project, just reach out to our technical support team or customer service department at 866-590-3533. Our teams are available from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. CDT Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT on Friday.