The little community of Victoria Park in central Florida is beating out Los Angeles when it comes to saving electricity on street lighting. Last November, I wrote a blog post about the street lighting program here in Los Angeles, which is currently yielding higher-than-expected energy savings — 60% compared to the expected 40%. Well, that’s something to crow about regardless of what they’re doing in Victoria Park.

The Nitty-Gritty in L.A.

Electricians are using LEDs to replace the conventional incandescent bulbs in 140,000 Los Angeles street lights. Maintenance costs for LEDs, though not as significant as electric bills, also take a smaller bite. Nothing to be sneezed at! LEDs are good for the City budget, good for climate change, and good for energy independence.

An LED (Light Emitting Diode) is a light created by the kind of tiny parts that are in a computer. LEDs are used, for example, in many kids’ light sabers. They’re brighter and use a lot less electricity than the incandescents that you and I screwed into sockets when we grew up. As for what Victoria Park is up to….

Electricians Retrofit Gas Lights in Victoria Park, Florida

Victoria Park is now upping the ante. Electricians are retrofitting its gas-burning street lights with special LEDs that will save the community 92% on its combined energy and maintenance bills.

Victoria Park is a planned community in central Florida. Residents enjoy the charm of real gas-lit street lights, but the expense is a concern. As the community builds out, the annual costs for gas and maintenance were being projected to top $1,000,000 a year, just for street lighting.

When residents formed a committee to look into alternatives, the committee hit upon low-voltage LEDs. While typical house current runs at 110 volts, low-voltage current can run at around 24 volts, reducing power needs.

Victoria Park is now retrofitting their existing street lights with low-voltage LEDs. The retrofits, an innovation by Solas Ray™ Lighting in Anderson Indiana, look, for all the world, like real gas lights. They mimic the look of a candle flame. The lights create charm and a warm glow, but also five times more light than each pole would create with gas. Not to mention the 92% energy and maintenance savings. In fact, the Mayor of the City of DeLand, where Victoria Park is located, awarded Solas Ray a proclamation of appreciation for saving Victoria Park residents nearly half a million dollars in 2010.

Fortunately for all of us, in the energy efficiency race, we all win as cities out-do each other to help out their budgets and help the environment.

Want to save energy in your home or business?

One of the specialties of my electrical contracting company, The Electric Connection, is energy-efficient lighting. Call us to discuss your lighting needs (800) 990-9490.

Kim Hopkins

CEO, The Electric Connection.

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Rolling blackouts occur when delivery of electricity from a large power source is intermittently stopped in varying places across a wide area. Rolling blackouts usually occur in tandem with natural disasters or energy crises.

Rolling blackouts prevent large power sources from blacking out completely. They have been implemented in places with a high demand for electricity, such as Japan, the U.S., Pakistan, and Ukraine.

By limiting the amount of power that can be used at one time to only certain areas, power station operators can control the power output from their generators. Should a part of the generator be at risk for failure, operators can begin a rolling blackout to limit the amount of work the generators must do. From there, they can pinpoint the problem areas and find a useful fix without taking away power from an entire area.

Rolling blackouts can prevent power outages from:

In the case of power output problems like station faults, short circuits, and electrical overloads, a rolling blackout can mitigate the risk of explosion and prevent the acceleration of large scale disasters.

Since power can only be distributed over a limited area, 100% of the electricity supply to some places will be temporarily cut off. Household items such as lights, outlets, and appliances will cease operation for a predetermined amount of time. You can gather information about rolling blackouts from the radio or news before they occur.

You should have an emergency kit in your home or business that has the necessary supplies for survival without electricity. Items to include in an emergency kit are:

Be sure to lock all of your doors and windows if possible. In developed countries, law enforcement will bolster its forces to protect areas affected by a rolling blackout. You should still remain safe and prepared whenever possible.

Should a rolling blackout elevate to a blackout, don’t be afraid to use your supplies. Even if electrical generators are running at low capacity, they still have the potential to cause larger problems should they become overloaded. A rolling blackout can quickly become a city-wide blackout.

Rolling blackouts are relatively rare. Conditions must be extreme for a rolling blackout to take effect. While the climate in the U.S. varies widely across the country, devastating natural disasters don’t compromise the electric grid more than once every 20 years.

Custom Electrical Services offers affordable electrical solutions for your home.  They can handle any electrical project from the simple to the most lavish.  Recessed can lighting?  They can add modern lighting to provide accent lighting or general illumination.  Can lighting can be very neutral lighting providing general illumination without being noticed.  Have a piece of art or that favorite family photo you want to spot light?  Recessed lighting can be used to focus light onto the favorite picture.  New LED lighting options offer a low energy affordable solution.  LED lighting can reduce the amount of heat put off my traditional incandescent lighting.  LED recessed lighting can provide years of low cost general lighting as well.  [gravityform id=”2″ title=”true” description=”true”]

The refrigerator may arguably be the most critical appliance in your home. We rely on them all day, every day to preserve foods and keep them fresh. And they aren’t exactly the quietest appliances out there, either, usually emitting a tonal drone when in operation. But occasionally that standard hum may become a rattle, or worse. Having trouble with a noisy fridge? If so, our electricians in Upper Marlboro might be able to help.

First thing first: is your refrigerator on a dedicated circuit? If not, noises are the least of your problems. Need help installing and wiring a new appliance for your home? Contact the team at Kolb Electric! We can bring you the service and quality care you deserve, and our electricians in Upper Marlboro are unmatched in skill and knowledge!

There are scant few things that can actually contribute to an unusually noisy refrigerator, which is technically a good thing, since troubleshooting the problem doesn’t tend to take too long. You could be dealing with:

Fun (Not Actually Fun) With Refrigerator Fans

The majority of undue fridge noise comes as a result of a dirty or damaged fan. There are a few fans that could be at fault here, somewhat depending on the type of refrigerator you have. If your issue is indeed a fan, it could be the:

Strange Sounds at the Base of Your Refrigerator

A consistent rattling noise coming from somewhere near the bottom outside of your refrigerator is almost certainly a loose drain pan. This is a really obnoxious noise, but actually a very simple fix, since it usually only needs a quick tightening using the appropriate tool (screwdriver, hex key).

A Troublesome Refrigerator Compressor

Your compressor can be found on the back of your refrigerator. It is almost always a big black metal fixture; looks sort of like a funky space helmet. But if the sound is your compressor, you’re in for some fairly bad news, since it’ll need to be replaced. In some situations, it’s a better idea to just replace the refrigerator in total.

Looking for an electrician in Upper Marlboro that can bring you superior service to meet your electrical appliance installation needs? If so, you can count on our electricians in Upper Marlboro! Our team has been proudly serving up the best in service for decades, and we’re just a quick click away!