Here at Kolb Electric, we’ve had numerous business owners throughout MD, DC, and VA approach us for more information about commercial light-emitting diodes—more commonly referred to as LEDs. Businesses everywhere have been forced to find ways to reduce their monthly expenses and save money in order to survive in these challenging economic times. Transitioning to commercial LED lighting is one of the ways businesses in the area can save money and enjoy other benefits as well.

Commercial LED lighting is very energy-efficient—replacing incandescent, halogen, or compact fluorescent light bulbs with LED lighting reduces energy consumption 50 – 85 percent. Some studies reveal that businesses have the potential to save as much as 60 percent on their electricity bill each month by making a total change from incandescent bulbs to LED lighting. ENERGY STAR reports that lighting is the largest cost component of a commercial building’s electricity bill and a significant portion of the total energy bill.

Some businesses shy away from LED bulbs because of their higher initial cost compared to other bulbs.  However, it will not take long for businesses to recoup this cost in the form of direct savings on electricity bills. Also, LED bulbs work by generating light using a semiconductor rather than relying on heating up a traditional filament. What does this mean for you? It means the highest quality LED bulbs can last up to 50,000 hours. The typical incandescent bulb, on the other hand, lasts only about 750 hours.

Work environment upgrades are closely tied with an improvement in the performance of employees. A Cornell University study estimates that a 3 – 5 percent gain in worker performance can be achieved with better lighting. In many cases, the gains in worker productivity alone are enough to offset the costs associated with commercial LED lighting. Light has a direct correlation with ease of reading, lower eyestrain, reduced errors, better turnaround time, reduced risk of musculoskeletal injuries, and psychological well-being.

The great thing about commercial LED lighting is that it can be tailored to meet your needs for color accuracy. Whether you want lighting that’s warm, cool, or neutral, the right type of LED lighting is available. Color rendering—the ability to make colors look true—must also be taken into account when it comes to LED lighting. The color rendering index (CRI) characterizes light sources in view of their ability to produce “natural light” and can be between 0 and 100. The closer an LED light comes to 100 on the CRI, the more naturally colors are rendered, and the light is perceived as more pleasant.

Transitioning to commercial LED lighting can help you save immediately on your electricity bills. The fact that LED lighting lasts significantly longer than incandescent bulbs and has the potential to improve employee performance is also beneficial to your business. If you want to learn about what type of commercial LED lighting is best for your business, contact us today.

Every home has a fire detection system. This vital safety feature should be well understood. Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and security systems give homeowners peace-of-mind. Furthermore, when combined with a security system, these devices work together to form a complete home protection plan.

The second type of detector is an ionization detector. It uses a small amount of radioactive material to ionize the air in an internal chamber. This in turn, generates a voltage that can be measured. By-products of combustion will change the voltage that is generated and trigger the alarm. This type of detector is better at identifying active combustion with little to no smoke.

While both types of smoke detectors will safely alert a homeowner to a fire, combination alarms exist that employ both methods. Consequently, the responsiveness of the whole system increases. Hard-wired detectors are also available which can be wired to trigger all the alarms in a home if anyone detects a problem.

In any appliance that uses combustion, such as a furnace or stove top, a potential exists for hazardous carbon monoxide buildup. This by-product is tasteless, odorless, colorless, and highly toxic in large concentrations. Therefore, a carbon monoxide detector is highly recommended. It will monitor the levels of CO in the air and alert inhabitants before they become dangerous. They are available as stand-alone units that can be plugged in to standard wall outlets or as combination roof-mounted CO and smoke detectors.

Home security systems have been around for decades and make use of a combination of sensors including door, window, glass-break, and motion sensors. Historically, these devices were hard-wired and fed back to a central control panel. Many modern systems make use of wireless sensors that allow for easy retrofitting of existing homes. Door and window sensors utilize a small magnet and magnetic strip held open when the door or window closes. If the magnet is moved away, the magnetic strip springs closed and triggers the alarm.

Glass-break sensors are placed near windows and use a microphone to listen for the distinctive frequencies associated with glass breaking. Motion detectors take advantage of a variety of technologies, such as passive infrared, microwave, or ultrasonic. This technology detects something moving within its range. These can be part of exterior security lights or interior motion sensors. Security cameras can also play a role in home security. Install them indoors or outdoors.

When installed and used properly, a home security system can easily increase home safety while reducing the chances of burglary or fire. Most insurance companies offer discounts for home security systems. Because of this, the entire cost of the system may be offset or eliminated altogether. Be sure to ask your insurance company about discounts to homeowner’s insurance for improving or installing a new security system.

Now that my wife has married an electrician, she insists that I take every possible measure to ensure that the electrical system of our Los Angeles home is safe. One important step was to ensure that it’s properly grounded.

What is electrical grounding, anyway? Grounding adds a safety factor for your family and your electronics. Here’s how it works. Electricity travels the path of least resistance. If an appliance like a toaster breaks, electricity can flow on the metal outside of the toaster. Touching it could result in a serious shock, causing injury or even death. But if the electrical system is grounded and the toaster is plugged in with three prongs, the electricity won’t flow to the outside of the toaster. Instead it will flow through the third prong back into the wires and harmlessly into Mother Earth. Thus, the term “grounding.”

An electrical system can be grounded with various types of devices. A “ground wire” is simply a wire attached to your electrical system that’s been pushed securely into the ground. Metal pipes (electricians call them “conduit”) that hold and protect your electrical wires can also act as a grounding device. Sometimes, grounding is provided by running a wire from your electrical system and attaching it to metal plumbing pipes that run into the earth.

Grounding protects not only people but also sensitive electronics. Without grounding, electrical charges build up in wiring and create slight but continuous damage to delicate electronics. This damage can shorten the lives of computers, phones, and any electrical appliance that has “smart” (computer) components — possibly your fridge or dryer.

How can I tell if my electrical system is grounded? Homes built before 1950 were sometimes grounded. Homes built after 1950 were usually grounded. Even if your system was originally grounded, wiring mistakes may have rendered the grounding ineffective. The only way to know for sure is to have a qualified electrician check out your electrical system with a special tester. My electrical company, The Electric Connection, offers this check as a complementary service. It’s part of our Free Home Safety Inspection when we do an electrical job for an L.A. resident or business. If you’re outside Los Angeles County, you may find an electrical contractor who offers testing as a free service or as a service call.

My electrical outlets have three prongs — are they grounded? If your home has electrical outlets which accept three prongs, it MAY have a grounded system. The third prong allows an appliance to be grounded IF it’s plugged into an electrical system that has a grounding device.

Sometimes three-pronged outlets have been installed in electrical systems that aren’t grounded. This can make it look like the system is grounded when it’s not. Do-it-yourselfers or handymen may install three-pronged outlets in an ungrounded system not realizing the hazard or that such a set-up violates the National Electrical Code.

Sleep sounder with a grounded electrical system If you’ll sleep sounder knowing that your family and electronics are safe, give your electrician a call. If you’re in L.A. County, we at The Electric Connection will be happy to provide you with a full safety check of your electrical system, including grounding. Give us a call at (800) 990-9490 between 8 and 5. If you have other electrical work that you want us to do, use this coupon for a Home Electrical Safety Check and we’ll add your safety check for free.

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There is a very dangerous myth floating around, one which could actually result in severe injury and even death – “Electricity always follows the path of least resistance”. This is one of those myths that results from a general fact being blown way out of proportion.

Forget colleges and engineering schools, most high school students learn that electricity does behave this way, as a part of the basics of electricity and resistances. Worryingly, this myth isn’t just stated as a fact, it’s a commonly followed practice in many electrical circuit designs, especially when it comes to grounding.

Walk into any industrial plant that uses motors or pumps and you’ll find they’re all connected to ground rods. Ask anyone why that’s done and you’ll likely get the same response everywhere (even from the people in charge of the electrical maintenance) – It’s to eliminate the potential differences.