As your household increases its use of electronics, it seems that the clutter of cords associated with them tend to pile higher and higher. You are constantly stepping over cords or tangling them together behind entertainment centers. There are cords from your tablets, smartphones, TVs, video game consoles and laptops. It seems that you may drown in the clutter of cords before you can find a way to get them organized.

Declutter with Washi Tape

When winter weather hits, a standby generator can be crucial for keeping your home’s essential functions, including heat (either from your main HVAC system or from a space heater) running. But ice storms and freezing temperatures can prevent the generator from working properly when you need it most. Fortunately, there are a number of add-ons you can install on your generator to keep it running smoothly, even when the thermostat plunges!

You probably already know that cold weather can kill your car’s battery. Well it’s the same for your generator! Thermostatically controlled battery warmers go underneath the battery, turning on when the temperature drops below 40 F. The best part about battery warmers is you don’t have to monitor them—they’re just set and forget.

Warm oil acts as a slippery lubricant, keeping all the parts of your generator moving the way they’re supposed to. Cold oil, on the other hand, turns into a sludge-like substance that can actually prevent movement! A cold weather kit will include a crank case heater that prevents the oil from getting so cold that it becomes unusable.

Manufacturers recommend replacing the standard 10W-30 oil with 5W-30 Synthetic Oil if you do decide to add a heater.

Generac cold weather kits are recommended for CorePower units installed in areas where temperatures below 32 F are common, which includes our area. For generator services in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, call Kolb Electric today!

As a facility manager or building owner, it is nearly impossible to know everything about everything in your building. But it is vital to know something about everything, and that goes for your facilities lighting system too. Whether you manage a warehouse, factory, or other industrial sized building or space, the lighting is a huge factor of many things including safety, productivity, and consistency in the work in your facility.

So while you don’t need to know every facility managers and building owners should know about there lighting system and how lighting can make all the difference in various amounts of ways.

1. Not all lights are created equal. This is an obvious one, not all lighting technologies are created the same and all output at different levels. Firstly you have lighting technologies that are less efficient than others. Such as metal halide and HPS which are 2-3 times less efficient than LED technology is. Then you also have efficiency based on a “product to product” basis. For example; while LED is the clear winner in efficiency over metal halide (and really any other lighting technology), one LED product from one company isn’t going to be the same as the next company’s LED product. This is where you really need to dig deep and find the company that offers the most efficient lighting products over all other companies.

Key takeaway? First, understand that LED is the most efficient in a general sense, but also understand that each company and product varies on its own personal efficiency and you should always do your homework before going with one LED product over another!

2. New lighting system upgrade costs can be reduced with rebates. This is only a true statement when you are buying commercially qualified lighting products that are DesignLights Consortium qualified. return on investment overtime by decreased energy costs associated with running your lights. Obviously this ROI period will vary depending on how long you run your lights per day on average, but especially in big facilities they almost always are used often and thus, provide a good and even quick payback period.

4. Create safer environments with a proper lighting system. With low quality light output, you create an unsafe environment that can cause various issues. Lighting fixtures that aren’t outputting the proper amount of light after a few years into there life is all caused reasoning to retrofit over fully replace.

video in which Kathleen Packard, their Healthcare Market Development Manager, discusses how some innovations in lighting can positively affect the healing process (and save energy and money). Packard describes hospitals as being historically “institutional and very uncomfortable,” and her mission is to educate the public on the “importance of design” to patient health.

intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell in the human eye, which senses light and regulates the body’s systems, including melatonin levels, which are directly related to sleep. Visa’s Amber Night Light, she says, creates ambient light that won’t disturb the intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cell. This allows nurses to check on patients without disturbing their sleep.

Of course, all this valuable information leads us to the problems solved by Visa Lighting’s healthcare light fixtures. Packard calls special attention to the benefits of using LED fixtures. She reminds us that LEDs are indeed a great option for hospitals because they are energy efficient and therefore save money, reducing the cost of healthcare; they render color well, which is necessary, so that doctors and nurses can accurately assess skin pallor; and, unlike fluorescent lamps, LEDs contain no mercury.