This modern living/dining area designed by This award-winning kitchen designed by The last thing you want in home lighting design is for your house to look like you just stepped into the lighting aisle at Home Depot.

Honestly, there is no hard and fast rule about how much is too much.  Generally we’d say to be careful not to over-do it in open areas that flow into other rooms (like kitchen/dining/family rooms). Space the lights appropriately and alternate between recessed & pendant lighting. The last thing you want is for your home to look like a lighting store.

The bottom line is that there really is no one way to do lighting, and at the end of the day if it makes you happy, then it’s perfect.  Experiment with your style and create Pinterest boards to develop your look.

Do you find it effortless to incorporate a wide variety of styles into your home design or do you struggle with the need to keep it consistent?  We’d love to hear about it!

An electrical emergency can cover a number of different situations. If the emergency is someone suffering from a severe electrical shock, you need to call 9-1-1 immediately for an ambulance. In this post we will deal with other types of electrical emergencies you may encounter in your home, such as sparking and power outages.

One piece of advice should stand atop everything else: call for the assistance of professional electricians when it comes to emergency repairs. You should never tamper with an electrical system on your own in an attempt to fix a problem, no matter how urgent it seems. The danger of electrocution or fire is high, and you cannot take the risk.

Electrical fires are one of the more common ways that house fires start. If exposed wires, an electrical short, or a malfunctioning appliance triggers a fire, do not throw water on the flames. If an appliance is on fire, disconnect it from its power source if possible or shut down the power. Use a fire extinguisher if you have one. (If you don’t currently have an extinguisher in the house, put it on your immediate “to-do” list.) Call 9-1-1 if the fire continues. You will need to call electricians after the immediate danger is over to track down the cause of the fire and discover what repairs and new installations are necessary to prevent it from reoccurring.

A power outage may come from the municipal grid, or it may be the result of issues with the electrical system in your home. If only your home is experiencing a black out, first check the circuit breaker panel to see if any tripped breakers are at fault. Then call for licensed electricians to look into the possible causes.

A power surge from a lightning strike or downed power line can cause damage to appliances, take out the power, or trigger an electrical fire. If this occurs in your home, you should consider contracting professional electricians to install a whole-house surge protector in the electrical panel so you will have few worries in the future.

Always remember, call emergency services first in the case of imminent danger such as fires or electricity. Once the immediate threat has ended, look to licensed electricians for repairs and other services that will prevent further problems and keep your home safe.

Austin Energy provides many significant energy efficiency programs that will provide you with significant financial savings while helping Austin conserve energy wisely. The list of programs Austin Energy has in place is comprehensive, generous, and quite frankly, astounding. These are designed to help everyone from business owners to residential home owners. These include the following programs and products; Austin Energy Green Building, GreenChoice® Renewable Energy Program, Federal Weatherization Assistance Program, Residential Power Saver™ Program, Free Home Improvements, Free Thermostats, Energy Miser vending machines, & air conditioners, Solar Photovoltaics, Residential Refrigerator Recycling, and Commercial Power Saver™ Program.

As a DC or Maryland resident, electricity and natural gas are deregulated, giving you the option to choose your energy suppliers. Virginia residents can choose their natural gas supplier, but electricity is not deregulated in the state.

Deregulation occurred back in 1999 when the Electricity Competition Act passed with the hopes of introducing competition for Pepco, the primary electricity provider in DC. Nearly 170 companies are now licensed as alternative energy suppliers in DC.

In theory, increasing competition is a great plan. It allows you to comparison shop and choose the best alternative energy supplier based on rates, customer service, and other factors.

Unfortunately, this also sets the stage for unscrupulous alternative energy suppliers to pitch low rates by phone, direct mail, and door-to-door salesmen—only to charge more than the customer was originally paying. Learning how to spot these phony propositions can help you choose a legitimate alternative energy supplier!

Hundreds of DC residents make complaints about alternative energy suppliers every year. According to a recent Washington Post article, Starion Energy is one such company that’s had its fair share of complaints in recent years. The article reports that in some cases, the switch to Starion has caused customers’ electricity bills to increase by more than 50 percent—despite having agreed to make the change for money-saving purposes.

Since alternative energy suppliers are prohibited from “engaging in…unlawful, misleading or deceptive” marketing tactics under District law, customer complaints are taken very seriously. If you have had a bad experience with an alternative energy supplier, file a complaint with the DC Office of the People’s Counsel.

Despite the bad press a handful of alternative energy suppliers have received, there are plenty of legitimate electricity suppliers in the DC area:

Even with shady suppliers ruled out, you still have dozens of legitimate options. Narrow down your selection by:

At Kolb Electric, we want our Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC customers to save as much energy as possible. By lowering your consumption each month, you lower your bills! Contact us today for more tips to keep your electricity bills down—or check out our blog with more great electricity saving tips.

It’s incredible the way lighting can change outdoor spaces. As is the case with indoor spaces, spending comparatively little on lighting can produce dramatic results. A DIY outdoor lighting project might be just the thing to make you fall in love with your home all over again. But before you begin an outdoor lighting project, it’s important to think about your options. Here are 10 tips for 10 approaches to outdoor lighting.

1. Using Outdoor String Lights

Outdoor string lights are just great. But there are so many different kinds! Some have bare bulbs; some have lanterns. Some are LED; some incandescent. Some are white; some are colored. Make sure you research your options and choose the ones that are right for YOU!

2. Taking DIY Outdoor Lighting to the Next Level

Sure, you can install a standard low voltage lighting fixture and be justified when you say you Did It Yourself, but have you ever considered making your own DIY outdoor lighting fixtures? Mason jars seem to be the ingredient of choice when constructing your own outdoor lights. The internet is full of instructions for making DIY outdoor lighting fixtures, so do your homework and find the perfect project to make your outdoor area more luminous.

3 . Making it Modern

Let’s get weird! Isn’t that what modern outdoor lighting seems to say? I guess it depends on whom you ask. Modern outdoor lighting usually consists of interesting light fixtures with unusual, playful designs, and they can really make your outdoor vibe more interesting and thought-provoking.

4. Showing Off Textures

Sometimes you start with a particular light source in mind. These days, that light source is often LED. If you’re sure you want to use outdoor LED lights, you have a wide variety of outdoor LED light fixture types, from LED rope to LED tape to LED path lights, step lights, puck lights, recessed lights, and string lights. LED outdoor lights are highly efficient and look great. And some, like the one above, run on solar power! That means free!

8. Decking Out the Deck

If you are focused specifically on outdoor deck lighting, make sure you think about caution. Outdoor deck lighting should entail step lights if there are steps and should include lights around the perimeter of the deck. LED tape or rope, colored or white, are often great for running on the underside of deck railings.

9. Using Timers