The electrical field is one that has seen a number of remarkable discoveries over the decades. One very important lesson has been the aspect of grounding of electrical currents. It’s true that we need electricity for almost everything in our daily lives and can’t even imagine a world without it. However, it continues to be one of the most dangerous elements on earth. If you haven’t already properly grounded your home’s electrical systems, you are taking a significant risk by not doing so.

Every electrical circuit has an active wire which supplies power; there is also a neutral wire which is responsible for carrying the power back. There is a third wire (grounding wire) that can be attached to the power outlets & the electrical appliances and devices; this wire is connected securely to the ground in your breaker box.

This third wire is the additional path that the electrical current can pass through to be safely returned to the ground, in case there is a short circuit; this prevents any harm being caused to anyone. In the event that a short circuit occurs, the current flows through into this grounding wire and it’s when you notice a tripped circuit breaker or a blown fuse in the electrical main board on your property. If this wire hadn’t been grounded, it would have resulted in a fatal shock.

This is one of the most important reasons to ground electrical currents. It’s the best way to protect your family members from electrical surges when they are operating any electrical appliances in the house. In case a lightning strike causes an electrical surge on your property it can result in extremely high electrical voltages in your system. When the wiring has the proper grounding, all the excess electricity gets diverted into the earth, rather than burning everything that’s connected to your electrical system.

When your installation is grounded, it becomes very easy for the power to get directed exactly to where you need it; this allows the electrical currents to efficiently & safely travel across your home’s electrical system.

A properly grounded system makes it much easier for the power to be distributed in the right amount to the right places. This plays a significant role in ensuring that there is no overload in the circuits. The earth becomes the common reference point for all the different sources of voltage in an electrical system.

One of the primary reasons why grounding is extremely effective in keeping you safe is because the earth is an excellent conductor, and electricity always takes the path that has the least resistance. When you ground your electrical system, you are giving it a path that it can easily take, rather than into you; this can potentially save your life.

If your home’s electrical system isn’t properly grounded, you are just risking the appliances and equipment that are connected to your system, being burnt beyond repair. If the situation gets out of control that can also result in a fire risking your property and causing physical injury, sometimes even death.

One of the most important factors to consider when designing an outdoor kitchen is the lighting. Outdoor kitchen lighting needs to serve a variety of purposes, including but not limited to: task lighting so the grill master can see what they’re doing, ambient lighting for people to see, and walkway lighting to shine the way from the house to the outdoor kitchen. In this blog, we’ll be going over the best types of lighting for various goals your kitchen needs to accomplish.

Remember: whatever type of lighting you choose for various areas, it should always be rated for use in outdoor environments. Even if you have a solid roof or cover above your outdoor kitchen, you want to make sure your lights can function safely in wet or damp environments.

One of the most important elements of outdoor kitchen lighting design is task lighting around the grill. This is mostly a food safety issues: the grill master needs to be able to see whether the food is cooked properly before he or she can serve it!

Grill task lighting can be accomplished with either Halogen or LED bulbs. The most important thing is that you get a nice, bright white light—this will help you see most clearly and ensure that the food coming off the grill tastes good, is presented well, and most importantly, is safe to eat.

In addition to lighting the grill, you want to make sure all cabinets are appropriately lit. This can also be done with LEDs, which can be installed under lips in the cabinet so you won’t be able to see the lights themselves—just the glow they cast. Such lighting can enhance the aesthetics of your outdoor kitchen area while making it easier to see what you’re doing while cooking.

Once the grill lighting has been figured out, the next thing to do is make sure your eating areas are properly lit! The main goals for lighting eating areas should be as follows:

The best type of lighting for outdoor eating areas is LED, which is highly efficient and durable. When it comes to keeping insects away, meanwhile, one of the best things to do is install a ceiling fan, which can be wired with lights and will discourage insects over a wide area.

Last but not least, it’s important to make sure you have adequate lighting along any pathways from your home to your outdoor kitchen. Walkway lighting can be accomplished with any type of low-voltage lighting, but we prefer LED for this task—they’re efficient, long-lasting, and get the job done better than any other type of lighting.

The right lighting can make all the difference when it comes to your outdoor kitchen. For outdoor kitchen lighting, or any type of low voltage outdoor lighting in Maryland, Virginia, or Washington, DC, call Kolb Electric today!

Whether your home is old or new, there are probably some things you would like to change about it. While the layout and existing construction is often the first thing you think of, wouldn’t it be nice to make your work for you a bit more? If you have been dealing with a breaker that trips frequently or have to turn off everything in order to use a certain tool or appliance that is a bit of an energy hog, you could probably benefit from an electric panel upgrade. An electrician in Pasadena, like those at The Electric Connection, can help bring your home up to your electrical standards.

If your home is older (more than 50 years) it wouldn’t hurt to have an electrical inspection. During the inspection, the condition of your wiring will be evaluated to determine if your electrical problems may be due to faulty or deteriorating wires. You have to imagine 50 years ago, the average home had a handful of items that needed electricity. Today, almost every outlet in the house is in use with various computer cords, cell phone chargers and a long list of gadgets that make our lives easier.

Because of this, your Pasadena electrical needs are a little different and an electric panel upgrade will support all the gadgets you need and want without having to share outlets or unplug everything so you can use one appliance. In some cases, the panel itself may be just fine and you will just need an additional breaker installed. All of this can be determined after the electrician does the inspection and talks with you about what your needs are. From there, you can make a decision about what will work best for you. When you are ready or if you would like to learn more about an electric panel upgrade, give The Electric Connection a call today.