By: Jason Lee

It’s that time of year again. Everyone is making resolutions, turning over a new leaf, and looking to make this year better than the last. Make this year great by making sure the leaf you’re turning over is green and consider solar power and the benefits it could bring to your home and/or business. 

Solar power is a popular form of renewable energy that helps keep the planet clean. Oil, gas, and coal will produce energy, but require manpower to refine it into a usable form. With solar power, as long the sun is around, you have power. Solar power can be used for many things around the home or office, including generating heat and electricity and it’s great for indoor and outdoor lighting. In fact, the installation of solar powered outdoor pathway lights is one of the easiest ways to use solar energy in your home or business. One of the best uses of solar power is heating water. Homes that have hot tubs or swimming pools should consider looking into heating them with the help of solar power. Due to low operating costs of the solar power, it is very cost effective.

Benefits to solar power include the slowing of global warming, saving homeowners money, energy reliability, and energy security. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, home values rise an average of $20 for every one dollar of reduction in the annual utility bill. Another great thing about going green this year is that it will continue for years to come. By switching to solar power, homeowners may be eligible for tax credits, rebates or other incentives, and you will be reducing the amount of environmental impact you have on the planet.

So start the new-year off right by looking to make this year and the years to come a brighter and cleaner place not just by turning over a new leaf, but by making sure that leaf you turn over is green.

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As a homeowner, you tend to notice electrical issues like flickers, breaker flips and outages. But keeping an eye on your electrical meter is important too! Without the occasional peek, you could find yourself with higher than average bills, or even a completely unexpected shut off.

The certified electricians at Kolb Electric naturally have spent loads of time with electrical meters, and we’ve got plenty of good information to share this week. Follow along to learn about issues that may arise with your meter, what they mean, and whether or not they indicate a faulty electric meter.

Hard to find a problem if you can’t find the meter, right? Electric meters are most commonly located on an outer wall; usually near where your power line runs. In some homes, particularly older ones, the meter might be found in the basement or a utility closet.

If you live in an apartment, the meter is almost always found near your building (or on it) in a cluster. The cluster houses meters for every unit, and all of them should be clearly labelled with the apartment number on them.

Do be aware that the chances of your meter being outright faulty are fairly low. The machines have exceptionally long lifespans, and are built to endure. It’s more likely you have one of many other electrical concerns, however, it is always best to check with a certified professional electrician if you have any questions or problems. While uncommon, a faulty meter is a pretty big issue, and you don’t want to leave it to chance. Just don’t be surprised if the issue turns out to be something else!

Whether you’re worried about your meter, or you’ve got any number of other electrical problems, the experts at Kolb can help! We provide our consumers with only the absolute best, both in service and skill, and we’re confident in our ability to meet your unique needs. Contact Kolb today to learn more!

Oil and natural gas resources are highly in-demand for the fuel and energy sectors, and this demand will continue to grow. Companies working in these sectors are often hard-pressed to put effective electrical systems in place that can handle the energy requirements without compromising on safety and reliability.

The good news is that modern electrical solutions are designed to handle the pressures and demands of processes in every aspect of the oil and gas industry. Today’s electrical infrastructure combines safe and reliable power supply with state-of-the-art information management systems customized to suit various requirements.

Let’s take a look at some of the electrical equipment available for oil and gas industry applications:

These can easily be considered some of the most essential products for the oil and gas sector, since they offer improved safety and security for employees as well as production units. Efficient warning systems can reduce the risk of casualties and save lives in case of untoward incidents.

When you think of caring for your home, you don’t often think about the electrical system unless something is going wrong. With an electrical system, when things go wrong, they often go very wrong. You don’t want to lose your home to an electrical fire or even a life due to not having the knowledge you need to safely complete an electrical project or upgrade. That’s why you need your local electrician in Gladewater for any electrical projects you have around the house. But we truly cannot stress it enough that electrical work is not a do-it-yourself project, and to prove our point (and to keep you safe), keep reading in order to to learn the top five reasons that residential electrical work is not a do-it-yourself project.

While changing out things like light switches may seem like simple tasks around the house, and arguably they are, you’re still exposing yourself to bare wires that carry an electrical current. The average American home runs on 120 volts AC. While a quick zap from accidentally touching a bare wire will probably not be enough to kill you, you could easily be gravely injured. Low amperages can easily kill someone and amps vary widely. Additionally, if you accidentally hold onto a wire with a normal voltage, for any number of reasons, this could also kill you. The number one most important thing when dealing with electricity is safety. A professional electrician knows many of the proper techniques and processes in order to perform a variety of electrical services safely.

Like any other home project, there are some electrical projects that you can easily completed with a screwdriver or hammer, and there are others that require very specialized tools in order to complete the job properly. In fact, buying the tools to do the job may cost you substantially more than hiring a local electrician in order to complete it. Tools like a multimeter, insulated hand tools, wire striping or crimping tools, and fish poles or tapes are all essential tools for most electrical services. The costs can easily add up, especially if you just have a small project or two that you need completed.

Along with saving yourself the money associated with buying specialized tools you may only attempt to use once or twice, there are several other factors that can save you both time and money. You could spend hours trying to solve and repair a problem that would take a trained electrician a fraction of the time. Also, you may incorrectly estimate the amount of materials you need to complete the project, which can cause additional incurred costs. Lastly, you can’t get the same prices on materials that contractors can, which just increases your overall costs.

You may be great at following a manual, step-by-step guide, or YouTube video for a standard electrical repair or upgrade, but in older homes, standard is rarely the case. In fact, many older homes have wiring layouts that are anything but standard. Trying to find where wiring runs for an outlet that connects to a lightswitch may not be as easy as it sounds. This creative wiring will be tackled the quickest by a professional with the right level of experience, not by yourself when you don’t know what to expect.

Electrical work also involves keeping your home up to code for safety and for resale value. Most everyday individuals don’t have a clue what building codes are and what is required in order to keep home wiring adherent to code. That’s where your local, licensed electrician comes in. They are educated in how to keep your home up to code and the most affordable, safe ways in which to do so. If you own an older home, you may run into a situation where you need to upgrade the wiring to keep your home up to code. This can easily get expensive and complicated, but is well worth the hassle in order to protect your home, family, and investment.