Today, appliance timers are useful to turn on and off many items automatically around the home today. The timers control lights, coffee pots, sprinklers systems, and other small appliances. This can save on power costs, electricity, and water. The timers also make life more convenient for you. Let’s look at the various types of timers you can buy today to provide you with Energy Savings.

Savings

You can well imagine the savings in power, water or money you can have using these timers. Of course, the savings will vary from person to person depending on the habits practiced prior to using the timers.

Cost of Timers

The Appliance Timers range from just under $10 to over $100 depending on their functions. You buy the timer that best suits the job you need it for to get the right Energy Savings, do not buy a wall-mounted timer if you want to control your sprinklers for example. Do your research for the type of timer you need and then make your purchase accordingly.

Underwater lighting gives your pool a charming, romantic look at night. It also makes swimming after dark more enjoyable. Such lighting can be a big help when you’re trying to test your pool water after dark. However, changing these underwater bulbs when they burn out isn’t quite as simple as changing a household light bulb.

When you go to replace a pool light bulb, keep in mind that working with water and electricity requires special attention to safety. Be sure to switch off the electricity to the pool area, either at the breaker box or the main shut-off switch. You will need your new bulb, a lens gasket that fits your pool light fixture, both a Phillips-head and a regular screw driver, a couple of towels, and a circuit tester.

The type of bulb you need is generally written on the edge of the fixture. If this information is worn, you can measure the diameter of the existing bulb and compare that number to common replacement bulbs. It’s important that the replacement bulb be the right size to prevent water from entering the bulb fixture and shorting out the bulb.

After you have the right equipment assembled and the electricity off, it’s time to switch out the bulbs. Start by removing the bulb from its casing. Most light fixtures have a screw at the top that holds the unit together. Next, pull the bulb assembly from its casing. There should be a long enough cord so that you can set the whole thing on the deck outside of the pool while you work.

Now that you have the light out of the pool, gently remove the face ring, gasket and lens so that you can get at the bulb. Once that is done, the next part of your pool light repair is to carefully unscrew the bulb and wipe off any moisture. Clean the entire assembly gently to remove any corrosion, but don’t scrape it or the unit may not seal properly when it’s put back together.

Finally, insert the new bulb, install the new lens gasket and put everything back together. Return the light fixture to its casing and replace the set screw. Turn the electricity back on and make sure that the light is working properly.

At Kolb Electric, we want you and your family to enjoy your swimming pool—at night as well as in the daytime. If you don’t feel comfortable replacing the pool lights yourself, we’re here to help. In fact, our licensed electricians are experienced in all aspects of pool light replacement, so we can help you with any service you require. To schedule an appointment for your Maryland, Northern Virginia, or DC-area home, call us at 877 287-1179.

Looking for a creative way to save energy? Don't forget about your cable box. The television might not be the first device most people think of when it comes to energy conservation, but that's about to change. A voluntary agreement among manufacturers, cable providers and the federal government calls for big efficiency overhauls in the set-top boxes that bring cable and satellite signals into consumers' homes.

Meeting Efficiency Goals

Certain cable boxes can use half as much electricity as a refrigerator, according to the Energy Collective, so there's a lot of room to conserve. And a full 85 percent of American households have some kind of set-top box, according to the National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the Consumer Electronics Association. In households with multiple set-top boxes in different rooms, there may be a shocking amount of electricity consumed merely by piping in everyone’s favorite shows.

Set-top boxes don't have minimum federal standards, so the voluntary agreement is an alternative way to bring all the products up to a certain energy conservation threshold. Since technology changes so quickly in telecommunications, and the federal regulatory process is so cumbersome and slow, voluntary compliance allows stakeholders to advance efficiency goals without waiting for new regulations that might be outdated by the time they are enacted.

The agreement was put into place last year and should save consumers $168 million in electricity bills annually, according to the NCTA annual report on the program. Even more stringent voluntary standards will kick in in 2017.

Cutting-Edge Efficiency

The highest standards are found in the federal Energy Star program, which certifies set-top boxes that are 40 percent more efficient than average models. If every cable box hit the Energy Star benchmark, the program claims, consumers would save a total of $1 billion annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking two million cars off the road.

Most boxes are always drawing power, even when they’re in standby mode. One way in which more advanced models save energy is through deep sleep mode, which consumes a maximum of 15 percent of the power used during active mode. Automatic power-down is another feature that many new boxes include.

Providers are also offering “thin client” boxes for homes with multiple televisions. Under this arrangement, the main cable box may use a fair amount of electricity, but the additional boxes would consume considerably less.

Of course, most people don't buy their own cable boxes, so to make sure you’re getting an efficient model, remember to ask your cable provider. Your cable company may also be willing to upgrade your existing box or swap it out for a more advanced model.

All of our employees, from the customer service representatives who answer your calls, to the licensed electricians who restore safety and functionality to your home, to the warehouse staff who make sure we have the necessary tools, products, and equipment, to the managers and owners who oversee everything, work diligently year-round to assure that your needs are always a priority. We strive to be leaders in the electrical industry as well as in our local communities.

Using a warm white or RGB COB (chips-on-board) LED, these flood lights emit up to 1,000 lumens of illumination in a wide 120-degree beam pattern. The weatherproof LED fixtures have a low-profile die cast aluminum housing with an integral heat sink and a tempered glass lens. An adjustable mounting bracket is also included to direct illumination where it’s needed.