Outdoor lighting of many varieties can effectively keep your space well-lit, safe, and inviting for you and your guests. These lights are typically reliable and long-lasting, but if they stop working and leave you in the dark, it can be a frustrating experience. Having an understanding of your lights and their potential issues can help you if you need to conduct outdoor lighting troubleshooting. There are several types of outdoor lights, all with different looks and objectives. Spotlights provide bright, direct light onto a specific area. Uplights are installed at or below ground level to shine upwards onto objects while downlights are installed high in a tree or structure to shine down. Floodlights use a motion sensor to shine directly onto an area when they sense someone there. Path or walkway lights are installed as individual fixtures along a walkway to illuminate it. Solar lights gather energy from the sun throughout the day, then turn on at night. These lights are installed in a variety of areas such as on a home; on a deck;  around a patio, deck, sitting area, or pool; or on the ground. There are also a variety of bulbs including halogen, incandescent, LED (light emitting diode) and bug light, each with their own uses and benefits. Each of these fixtures has several parts and can be susceptible to different issues depending on their parts and assembly. If your lights aren’t working properly, it can be concerning, and create potentially dangerous situations.

water and vinegar to remove residue and keep your lights shining brightly.While some outdoor lighting troubleshooting can easily be done on your own, outdoor lights are complex fixtures that aren’t always easy to diagnose and fix.

If you live in the United States, you’re likely well-familiar with our typical wall-socket setup. Your plug has two flat pieces of metal roughly half of an inch wide, with one side sometimes being slightly wider than the other. Your wall socket has two slots that match this, with one side also being slightly larger than the other. However, sometimes there’s a variance: some plugs have a third prong below and between the normal two, and most electrical sockets also have a third hole to match this plug. What’s the difference between these two types of plugs and is one better than the other?

To put it simply, yes, one is better than the other. When it comes to electrical plugs, the old adage “less is more” does not apply—the three-prong plug is far better than a two-prong. To learn why, let’s discuss the difference between the two.

In order for electricity to flow, you must complete a circuit. A circuit essentially is a connection from your power source to the device, and then from the device back to the power source. The line that brings power from the power source to the device is called your “hot wire”, which is most often red and comes off the positive terminal (noted by the large “+” sign). The line that then returns from the device to the terminal, usually a black wire connected to a “-“ sign, is known as the “neutral wire.” A plug must have both of these lines in order to work.

However, the third prong in a three-prong plug is a “ground” plug, which dramatically improves safety. When an unexpected burst of electricity happens, such a short in the device or a surge from your power supply, the ground plug will take that abundance of additional electricity and move it away from the device and down into the ground where it is safe. This prevents your device from being overloaded which can cause overheating, sparking, and fires in addition to ruining it.

Three-prong plugs didn’t become the standard in homes in North America until the late 1960s. If you have a home that was constructed around this time or after, odds are your wall sockets are probably already of the three-prong variety. Two-prong plugs can work with three-prong sockets just fine, and you’ll rarely experience any issues.

However, if you have any old two-prong plugs, you’ll likely need your electrical system updated in order to upgrade to a three-prong setup. Properly installing ground wires can involve several hours of electrical work and even cutting into your walls in order to do so properly, so it’s a rather large undertaking. However, it’s by far the safest and most prudent option.

Another option that doesn’t involve tearing open your walls is to install a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet, otherwise known as a GFCI. These sockets are two-pronged, but feature a miniature circuit breaker that measures the resistance through a plug and mechanically shuts off when the risk of a shock is present. While this can help you avoid being shocked by a faulty device, there is still no ground wire present so your electronics are not protected from a power surge.

It is difficult to obtain total peace of mind when you can’t really see what is going on behind the walls of your house. Because of this, you may want to look into having an electrical safety inspection completed by an electrician in Glendale. The electrician will go through and check some of the most common problems that lead to an electrical fire. The inspection will certainly make you feel better knowing your home is safe or identifying problems that could lead to a disaster if left unchecked. The Electric Connection has the staff available to complete one of these inspections in a professional and timely manner.

A quick inspection takes only a few minutes, but can quickly identify any potential problems. If you are not sure whether you need an inspection follow these guidelines.

*Lights that flicker, pop or don’t work at all could indicate a bigger problem.

*An outlet that doesn’t work or when it is in use, the breaker trips.

*You have exposed wiring anywhere in the house.

*A home that was built before 1950 and has had no electrical updates.

These are just some of the most common and obvious signs of trouble. If you have recently moved into a house, but are not sure about the condition of the Glendale electrical system, it is always a good idea to get a complete safety inspection. Older homes may have been constructed with aluminum or cloth insulated wiring. Today, we know this is not an ideal situation and should be upgraded. This isn’t something the average person would be able to see just by looking at it. This is why you need an experienced professional to take a look and determine just how safe your home’s electrical system is. Give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your electrical safety inspection before it is too late.

Acquiring a new home in Baltimore is an extremely exciting event for any homeowner. But it can be a time for stress, too. There’s a lot going on—keeping tabs on it all can become a bit overwhelming and, at times, outright frustrating. Because of this, our Baltimore electricians wanted to provide a quick, easy checklist for what you should be checking for in the wiring in your new Baltimore home. 

In the world of Kolb Electric, superior service is the name of the game. We’ve built our reputation of quality and dependability by providing just that! And when it comes to wiring and the electrical needs for your new home, there’s no one better in Maryland.

Keeping NEC codes in mind, unique layouts, etc; wiring can get a little bit complex and confusing. So we’re keeping this one simple, stating the primary and most important goals and methods of wiring a new home.

That got a little confusing, we know. But honestly, there are just loads of factors that come into play with your new wiring. This is why certified and licensed experts are so important! But when you work with the experts at Kolb, our Baltimore electricians can ensure you’re getting everything you want and need out of your new home wiring. Contact us today to learn more!

The smart grid can be thought of as national and personal all at once. On a personal level, the smart grid connects all of the electronics in your house, letting them communicate on an internet for electronics. This electronic internet also communicates with you via your smart phone or computer in real time, letting you monitor your electricity usage.

Your appliances will talk to each other and organize times of non-peak electrical usage for them to complete cycles that use a lot of energy. Your home will talk to you, letting you know if you’ve left your television running or if the light in the garage is still on.

On a national level, your home will be tied into the national grid like it is already, but two-way communication will happen with the power plant. If your home has solar panels installed by an electrician, any extra energy you produce will be sold to the power plant. The power company will be able to monitor your electrical usage too. They will use this information to create a picture of your neighborhood. This tells them exactly how much energy needs to be sent in your direction.

This system will be a replacement for our current power grid, and it will allow two-way communication between the power plant and your home. The meters for this system will report themselves. You won’t need a stranger tromping through your yard once a month to read your meter anymore.

This system will create a more efficient use of electricity by sending it where it needs to be. It will also report problems as soon as they happen. Before you could find a flashlight during a blackout, the power company will know exactly what wire went down and why. This will cut repair times. Since everything will operate more efficiently, there will be less cost to keep everything operating, which will translate into cheaper power prices for you.

Maintenance for your home will be easier. Having an electrician wire your house for this system will let you know exactly what your home is doing. If your water heater sees problems that could indicate a breakdown, you will get a text message alert. This will let you drain it before it turns your basement into a hot tub.

While you will need to replace your current electronics with applicances designed for this new grid, the cost will be worth it. The power grid will be more reliable, which means fewer blackouts. Your house can even report suspicious electrical activity to you, creating increased security. You may find yourself pressured to have an electrician install solar panels, but the power company will pay you for the extra energy. It will be an improvement for everyone involved.