How do tripped circuit breakers happen in the first place? An overloaded circuit is the most common reason for a breaker tripping and usually happens when a circuit has more electrical load connected to it than it really should have. Let’s say you have a 15 Amp circuit breaker that is protecting a 15 Amp circuit. If 20 Amps of current start flowing through it because a toaster, TV, radio and space heater were all connected to the same circuit and were on at the same time, then what you’re left with are tripped circuit breakers aimed to prevent overheating of the circuit.

Allow Kolb Electric, one of the premier electricians in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax and all of Northern VA, to guide you through the process of resetting tripped circuit breakers, which is actually quite easy.

If your breaker continues to trip immediately after you’ve reset it, this is indicative of a direct short. Do not try to reset your breakers at this point. If these steps don’t help you resolve your tripped circuit breaker problem, it’s time for you to contact a quality electrician in Virginia who can uncover the source of the problem, which could be due to one of the following:

efficiently as possible. Your attic fan can be installed one of two ways, either gable mounted or roof mounted, and is controlled by an automatic thermostat that shuts it off or turns it on.

An attic fan will perform as effectively as it should in a properly sealed and insulated attic, so that no heat or moist air can sneak its way in. This helps with your HVAC efficiency, and also protects your roof and your attic’s structure.

Your attic fan serves as a way to efficiently ventilate the space, but it is so much more than that, too. As we stated above, the temperature in your attic can be far above the outdoor temperatures. This is if you do not have an attic fan installed. Regular vents do allow for some cooling, but not to an extent that you’ll notice the difference.

A properly installed and serviced attic fan can help drop your attic temperatures by as much as 50 degrees, making your entire house cooler. This means you’ll be able to turn up your air conditioner’s thermostat by as much as 10 degrees, but still remain comfortable.

In the wintertime, moisture can quickly turn to ice or frost, and as that expands in can damage your roof and the structural integrity of your attic. An attic fan, however, can fend off the moisture before it is able to damage your roof in this manner.

Ice is not the only danger that moisture brings, either. When moisture cannot be ventilated and is left to sit, mold can start growing. Unfortunately it’s very easy for moisture to reach your attic—even your showering and cooking allows this to happen. But an attic fan can resolve this problem.

Your air conditioner will not have to work so hard to do its job when it is assisted by an attic fan. Also, it’s likely to last a lot longer—given that you schedule regular maintenance—when you don’t have to run it as often. Repairs will happen from time to time, but an efficiently working AC system is a lot less likely to give you problems than one that doesn’t have the assistance of an attic fan.

I grew up in the 90’s, back when thrift store shopping was considered alternative and grunge.  While I tooled around Goodwill listening to Nine Inch Nails on my Walkman, my more sophisticated friends were at the mall, looking adorable & stylish in the latest trend from The Limited.

But that was the 90’s.

Thrift-store shopping, dumpster-diving, and hand-me downs deliver a new parlance that has clever DIY’ers quaking with excitement for Saturday yard sales and obsessively scouring Craigslist for the Next Big Find.  This elegant new term for taking used items and making them new = REPURPOSING.

Also commonly referred to as recycling, upcycling, reinventing, revitalizing and/or reusing, entire boards are dedicated to this subject on Pinterest. Everything – and I mean everything – can be repurposed.  So why not the light bulb?

With a few basic tools and a steady hand, a light bulb can be hollowed out and transformed into a unique gift or decorative project.  Prepping the bulb, however, is not a task that we recommend for the kids.  Before you undertake any of these projects, take a moment to read a tutorial on how to safely hollow out a light bulb.

1. Witches Brew