Tired of breaking the bank just to keep up with the Joneses? Forget fancy cars and other status symbols. How about a way to maintain a friendly neighborly competition that actually involves saving money instead of spending? Americans have a wealth of resources at their disposal to empower families to cut back on energy consumption and reduce their electricity bills, but we don't do a stellar job of taking advantage of that information. Recent research, however, has shown that homeowners are more likely to take efficiency measures with their electrical work when they can compare their own consumption to that of their neighbors.

Whose Bill is the Lowest?

The experiment took place last summer, when the Vermont utility company Green Mountain Power worked with Opower, a software company that specializes in behavioral economics. During very hot days when air conditioning use was expected to be high, the utility reached out to customers with tips on reducing the amount of energy they need to power their home electrical work.

Afterward, the utility gave a report which ranked households in the neighborhood based on how well they had done on cutting back. By the end of the summer, electricity consumption among Green Mountain customers had dropped by five percent during hot days. That's some serious savings!

Peer Pressure at its Best

That five percent resulted from simple behavioral changes like bumping the thermostat up a few degrees and using curtains to block out sunlight during the hottest part of the day – no major investments or new equipment needed, just a little peer pressure. This research should be useful in helping understand what motivates people to save energy in order to develop more effective outreach programs for utility companies around the country.

One of the big takeaways is that the utility didn't give its customers any kind of incentives or payments to change their behavior – just the money they saved through efficiency, and the bragging rights of being more conservation-minded than their neighbors.

"Some of the decisions we make are not entirely rational, and they are due to a lack of context," Kevin Hamilton, Opower's vice president of marketing, said to Utility Drive, "and by providing that context you can encourage individuals to adjust their usage in ways that can benefit both the customer and the utility as well."

Little Changes Mean Big Savings

People come up with all kinds of reasons not to implement efficiency measures: It costs too much in initial capital, they are too busy to think about it, or they simply don't think the savings are worthwhile. But the reality is that even making small behavioral changes can add up in the long run.

If you want to decrease the cost of your electrical work and impress your neighbors, have a qualified home services technician perform an energy audit on your house to identify the most cost-effective ways for you to cut back.

2. In order to open the headlight housing, it must be heated to soften the glue that seals it. Preheat the oven to 270 degrees Fahrenheit, and place the housing in the oven (top rack). Heat the housing for approximately seven minutes. Note that this time will vary by vehicle manufacturer and that you should be careful not to overheat your assembly. Also note that the headlight will be hot when removing it from the oven, so take care not to burn yourself.

*Please note that this can damage your headlight assembly and that you do so at your own risk.

4. LED angel eye installation will vary by headlight. In this instance, we mounted an

5. Place the second layer back in the housing to ensure that everything is aligned the way you would like. This is also a great time to clean the inside housing, as you will not be able to do so once you reseal it. The cleaner you get it the better; smudges and dirt will be more visible when the lights are on.

8. Now it’s time to reseal the headlight housing. Preheat the oven to 270 degrees again, place the layers together, and put the headlight in the oven (with halo rings installed) for seven minutes. Remove the headlight from the oven, and press the layers together firmly as you work around the lens to ensure all of the edges are sealed (this might require gloves, as the headlight will be somewhat hot). Be careful to only press on the edges so as not to warp the lens.

*Please note that this can damage your headlight assembly and that you do so at your own risk.

10. With the headlight housing installed, complete your wiring, and test connections to ensure proper installation. Be sure to tape/heat-shrink any wiring connections that were added, and clean up any loose wiring.

Now that the weather outside seems to have finally transitioned from frosty and cold to more seasonally appropriate, warmer conditions, homeowners across the Mid Atlantic are getting ready to dust off their gardening tools and begin tackling large-scale landscaping projects. However, before sprucing up the bushes with your sheers or using a weed whacker to edge your plot, make sure that you aren't putting yourself in harm{'}s way by conducting a precautionary inspection of your home's exterior wiring.

By becoming aware of where the electrical outlets and wiring on your property are, you'll be better prepared against the dangers of a costly mishap. For instance, you may have an important cluster of wires hidden behind an overgrown bush on your front lawn. If you were to accidentally cut or damage any of these wire, you are not only likely to cause a blackout within your home, but you may be at risk of electrocuting yourself.

In the same vein, wires run underground around most properties. It isn't uncommon for these wires to be placed only a few inches beneath a stretch of lawn along the perimeter of the house. If you were to shove a trowel into the ground at this point to maybe plant some vegetation, you could sever the wire, which would require you to potentially rewire the entire house.

Kolb Electric, here, and we wanted to discuss a fairly common topic we’ve noted with our patrons as of late. We’ve been getting a lot of “Is this normal?” Or “Is this a common problem?” questions on our projects and calls recently. This got us to thinking; maybe people would be interested in learning a bit about what electrical problems our Baltimore electricians encounter regularly.

What would we consider to be a fairly normal issue? And what would be an oddball? Answers to this and more today in:

No problem is ever “normal’, per se. That’s why it’s a problem! But there are certainly some issues we see regularly:

So why do we feel like it’s a good idea to clue you in on our most common repairs? Partially because information is fun, but mostly because problem is the key word here. Understanding that these common issues are indeed problems that should be looked into by our Baltimore electricians is important.

Any instance of poor wiring, flickering lights, under-maintained equipment or general electrical funny business should be addressed right away! Leaving them alone or ignoring them can be hazardous, or can lead to much larger electrical problems. So have them handled by a pro right away!

If you note any of the issues we mentioned today (or any other electrical problems), contact the certified Baltimore electricians at Kolb today! Our experts can have your electrical appliances and wiring in perfect working order in no time at all!