In some of our previous posts, you’ve likely seen our experts mention the presence of “ungrounded” outlets in homes and buildings. But what exactly makes an ungrounded outlet such a negative? Are they dangerous? Our certified electricians come to you today with answers to the real important questions regarding ungrounded outlets!

If you have ungrounded outlets and need an outlet upgrade, contact us today!

Ungrounded outlets are easily identified by simply taking a look at the face of the outlet (where you plug things in). On nearly all modern homes, there should be three holes. Two are the vertical slits, and one roundish one located underneath the pair of vertical ones. That’s a grounded outlet, which have been required by electrical safety standards for all structures since the mid-1960s.

Ungrounded outlets lack the third hole, the roundish one on the lower portion where the, somewhat obviously, ground plug goes.

To understand the why, you kind of have to understand what a grounded outlet does. The two vertical slots represent both a “hot” wire, and a “neutral” wire. The ground wire in a grounded outlet ties into the neutral vertical slot. Why the redundancy? Well, it acts like a failsafe. Should anything go awry with your outlet, such as a short, the renegade electricity simply travels safely along the ground wire back to the panel. Without the ground wire, that electricity can channel into materials, such as fabrics located close to the outlet, or a very unlucky person.

Is it dangerous in that it might jump out and bite you? No. Is it dangerous in that it dramatically increases personal and property risk? Yes, absolutely. Ungrounded outlets increase the chance of:

We’ve encountered a few arguments over the years about the safety of ungrounded outlets. Like how they were used just fine in the past, or how the home that has them hasn’t “burned down yet”, etc. Well, that’s just the thing. Yet.

We haven’t been hit by a car, but that doesn’t mean we should go walking down the center of a busy highway at midnight. Grounded outlets became a standard in electrical code for a reason. They prevent possible problems that homes consistently encountered in the past. It’s all about preparedness and prevention!

So to conclude, are ungrounded outlets dangerous? Yes, they represent a very real potential risk. Worried that you may have ungrounded outlets in your home or business? Contact the certified master electricians at Kolb Electric today! We’ve been bringing our consumers the very best in electrical advice and service for years, and your complete satisfaction and safety are always our top priority!

Since electrical work isn’t for amateurs, many homeowners don’t know much about the electrical systems in their homes. With all the wiring hidden behind the walls, it may be that all you know is what you learned in your pre-sale inspection -- if you remember, that is.

When it comes to electrical infrastructure, one attribute that sets homes apart is the type of wiring in the walls. And for several decades’ worth of older homes, that type is old-fashioned knob and tube wiring.

What Is Knob and Tube?

Knob and tube wiring dates all the way back to the 1880s, but it was still in widespread use as recently as the 1950s. For most of its heyday, it was the most economical choice for wiring a new home, both in terms of installation and cost of materials. But by the 50s, mass production of modern electrical cables offered a cheaper, safer alternative.

This type of wiring consists of two wires -- a hot wire and a neutral wire -- strung within walls and above ceilings using porcelain knobs and tubes. The tubes provided a safe place to run wires through studs and joists, and the knobs supported the wires and made it easy to wrap them around corners.

The wires are protected with sheaths. In the early days, these were made of treated cloth, but electricians eventually switched to rubber. Neither material was designed to last forever.

Is it Safe?

Electrical code prohibits the use of knob and tube wiring in most new construction, and homeowners insurance companies often won’t insure homes until they’ve replaced these systems. While it’s true that it’s not the safest choice, knob and tube wiring can still be used safely, but with limitations and special precautions.

One thing knob and tube wiring still does well is release heat. Because the wires are spread out and suspended in air, there’s lots of room for electrical heat to dissipate, which is good for energy efficiency and the wiring itself. But that also means knob and tube wiring can endanger flammable materials like insulation.

To safely use this wiring in any structure, you must be certain that all wiring is clear of flammable materials and that the system is well maintained.

What About Limitations?

Another risk with knob and tube wiring is that there’s no ground wire, which increases the possibility of electrical shock. It also means you can’t use any electronics or appliances with a three-prong plug, as the third prong connects to the ground wire. This inconvenience is often what motivates homeowners to upgrade.

But even where knob and tube can be made to work, homeowners may want to expand that system to other areas of the home. This often means splicing new wiring and fixtures into the existing system, which can lead to overloaded fuses.

A dangerous mistake is to simply upgrade the fuses when this happens. This will get the juice flowing again, but the wiring can get dangerously hot, and the protective sheaths may have deteriorated over their decades of service. It’s a fire waiting to ignite.

Stay Safe

If your home still has knob and tube, it’s important to have it periodically inspected. Even if it’s deemed safe, there’s no substitute for the safety and convenience of modern wiring. And if you’re not sure what kind of wiring you have, just reach out to your local, licensed electricians for a quick inspection!

Soaring Efficiency

The energy efficiency of several major appliances has increased dramatically over the past three decades. The AHAM report found that between 1981 and 2013,  average efficiency shot up by 46 percent for room air conditioners, 63 percent for freezers, 102 percent for washing machines, 123 percent for dryers and a whopping 217 percent for refrigerators.

Advances in technology have fueled the savings — for example, modern dishwashers use sensors to adjust how much water they use, and cut back when appropriate. Refrigerators have been almost entirely overhauled since their early days, with big improvements in insulation, compressors, heat exchange and fan motors.

Federal Intervention

The federal government has helped nudge appliances toward higher efficiency. Since 1987 the government has incrementally increased the efficiency requirements for most household equipment, with 25 new standards since 2009 alone. All told, the Department of Energy projects that its rules will save the nation more than $1.7 trillion by 2030, in addition to lowering our greenhouse gas emissions and impact on the environment.

Slashing Prices

Not only do modern appliances save you money on your utility bills, most of them are cheaper to purchase initially as well. The American Enterprise Institute noted that a common dishwasher in 1981 cost $359.88. By contrast, a similar model today goes for $349.99. Accounting for inflation and average wage, that’s a big discount. It would take the average worker 48.5 hours to purchase the 1981 model, while today’s dishwasher would take 17 hours of work at current average wages, according to the AEI analysis.

A separate study by the Appliance Standards Awareness Project found that the price of refrigerators dropped by 35 percent between 1987 and 2010. The bottom line: Households in the modern era save on appliances up front and over time.

Discover How to Save

If you are in the market for a new appliance, you might be shocked at how much you save on your electricity bill — replacing an older refrigerator, for example, can save you hundreds of dollars per year. Check out the federal Energy Star products listing to find equipment certified to meet the strictest efficiency standards.

Office spaces are a place for color temperature of 5600k, we don’t need to quite match this. A level between 5000k to 6000k will do fine for an office environment to prevent sleepiness.

Exposure to non-artifical light (aka, natural light from the sun) is known to this post by luxreview.com that should lead you in the right direction.

From there, ensuring you know all of the rules in your area will be the best route to ensuring you aren’t breaking any laws with an improper lighting system. The added benefit to following these rules is you can drastically reduce any possible liabilities you may incur if you had otherwise ignored these rules. So, we find it best to follow them!

Additional considerations

Not only are the above tips important to consider, but strongly considering LED office light technology can prove to supply the above benefits along with the following:

Energy savings.

It’s not uncommon for companies to list of 9 ways LED beats fluorescent on our blog, it’s certainly worth checking out.

Longer lifespans.

Longer life spans by 2 to 3 times is very common when converting to LED from other lighting technologies, just as much as its very common for the insane energy savings we talked about above.

This has two mains benefits which we always talk about: the less often need to buy replacement tubes as well as fewer maintenance costs to pay someone to replace those lights. We like to think of the second as an indirect way longer lifespans saves you money, and it’s certainly a great benefit.

Conclusion

We’ve not only covered tips to consider when implementing a better lighting system into your office but also why LED might be a great option for doing so while also reducing overhead costs. Hopefully, by following these tips you find your way to a more productive office and lower overhead.