In the winter months, having a standby generator is important for your business. But is it right for you? Not all businesses benefit from a standby generator, but for the ones that need one, a standby generator is almost essential!

If you’re in need of a standby generator in the Washington, DC, Maryland, or Virginia area, contact Kolb Electric today! Our expert electricians can get your business set up and ready for any bad weather that could come your way.

Ready, an initiative launched in 2004 by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), focuses on business preparedness. Ready helps owners and managers of small- to medium-sized businesses prepare their employees, operations, and assets in the event of an emergency. If you own or operate a business in MD, DC, or VA, it’s important you understand some of the potential consequences that can result due to extended power outages, as outlined by Ready. These include:

Here at Kolb Electric, we can install a standby generator for your business that automatically kicks on within 10 seconds of power loss—which can give you complete peace of mind during a violent storm. We have years of experience installing standby generators for businesses in MD, DC, and VA, and we can tell you that installing a standby generator is a simple, affordable process—we’re one of the top electricians in the area, after all! Why wouldn’t you want cheap insurance against the threat of extended power outages? The standby generators we carry even conduct ultra-quiet weekly self-tests to test operation and performance.

If you’re ready for a standby generator, contact Kolb Electric today!

Even though the summer brings high temperatures, don’t let it bring high electric bills with it as well. Did you know that you could find huge savings on your electric bill in your attic? With functioning attic ventilators, savings can be yours. Let the experts at Mr. Electric® help you understand what method will be of greatest benefit to you.

Brad Richards with Mr. Electric of Tucson offers his expert opinion on attic ventilators and will explain how to save money on your electric bill in the summertime.

Mr. Electric: What exactly does an attic ventilator do?

Brad Richards: An attic ventilator fan is essential in the summer because it evacuates the hot air that accumulates during the day from the attic and draws air in from the outside. Think of it as a means of cycling the trapped air out with fresh air from the outside. It ensures that the temperature of the air in the attic is closer to the air temperature outside. With stagnant air, the sunlight on the roof heats the air inside the attic greatly. It is best to evacuate that hot air in the summertime so that you can save money on your cooling. If you’re air conditioning unit (A/C) is running and you don’t have a functioning attic ventilator, your attic is acting like a radiant heater while you’re A/C is trying to cool the room at the same time. Essentially, they are working against each other and costing you more money.

Mr. Electric: What are the different types of attic ventilators?

Brad Richards: There are two types. One of them is a roof-top unit that draws air directly out through the roof and pushes outside air into the attic to regulate the temperature. The other type is a 120-watt gable fan system. This system consists of one fan that blows air into the attic and another fan that blows air outside, creating airflow that is constant to reduce the temperature in the attic. The gables are triangular in shape and are located on opposite ends from each other on the sides of the attic.

With both types of ventilation systems, there is a solar option. The system that we recommend most often is the roof-top solar fan. Hot air rises and the fan tends to pull the air up and out of the attic, while both gable openings are open for the fresh air to come in. This is the most efficient and best money saver because when the sun comes up, the solar cells power the fan and the fan speeds up the more the sun becomes more direct. Then, when the sun goes down, it naturally turns itself off because there’s no more direct sunlight on the attic.

Mr. Electric: What are the benefits of a homeowner installing an attic ventilator?

Brad Richards: The number-one benefit of having an attic ventilator in the summer is you are able to keep your home cooler for less money. Solar-powered fans offer an even higher return on investment because you aren’t paying for electricity to run the fan. Using natural sunlight to cool your attic is a great way for homeowners to save money in the process.

Mr. Electric: Do you have any additional tips or recommendations?

Brad Richards: Regardless of whether you choose roof-top vents, gable fans, or solar powered fans, any home in the summer would benefit from attic ventilation. In other words, if you have an attic, there is a benefit to having ventilation.

For more information about attic ventilators and how they can benefit you, your home and your wallet, check out this article from the experts at Mr. Electric. 

The year of 2017 brings along more advancements in the commercial lighting space. And in a world in which things are changing so rapidly with lighting technology in virtually every way, it can be difficult to get everything you need to know in one place. For this reason, we’ve created this post in hopes of helping you get a rough guideline of the actual stadium lighting costs for the current year, 2017. Along with that, giving you the outlets to research more on the topic and get you one step closer to getting the most efficient and ROI focused technology illuminating your fields.

This post will be broken into two parts; the typical costs associated with the physical light itself and everything related to buying stadium lights. Secondly, the typical costs to powering your lights and how certain technologies may save you more money than others and how you can go about getting the highest return on investment when choosing a lighting technology and brand to go with.

To start off, we are going to cover the technical terminology of stadium lighting.

Firstly, stadium lighting is the simple term for high mast lighting. other technical terms, there are far too many to cover here. But, we think you should know the definition of lumens as we will be using it quite often. To explain, a Click here to view more about the pros and cons of both and which one is better for you.

All in all, it is too variable to give a definitive price to all situations. Keep in mind though, that a comparable LED fixture could cost double but, cut energy consumption by nearly 75% in some cases.

Since we seriously believe LED is the best option for stadiums and sports fields to illuminate their place, we are going to use that as our example (and recommendation).

Let’s keep it simple so you can use our example to get a rough idea what it will cost to run your lights.

Let’s say you have 10 lights. Currently, your high masts are metal halide and use 1,500 watts per fixture. Now, let’s say you are looking for a more efficient technology and you come across LED. You find a comparable light which will output the same amount of light (or lumens), and only consumes 400 watts per fixture.

In total, the metal halide lights are consuming 15,000 watts in total (when in use) and the LEDs would (if chosen) be using only 5,000 watts. That is 3 times less energy, which can lead to some great savings. This reduction from 1,500 watts to 500 watts per fixture is the exact reason fields both small and large fields are converting to LED over other technologies like metal halide and HPS.

For example, we often find that fields that convert to LED with us from metal halide or HPS high mast pole lights realize a payback of their investment in as little as 1 year. Additionally, since LEDs last much longer they get to realize these cost savings for much longer and thus; a much higher ROI over the lifespan of the light.

Additionally, since LEDs last longer they enjoy an additional benefit of less maintenance requirements. This allows more cost savings as an indirect benefit of LED high mast lighting.

Tips for Reducing Costs

We hope this post has answered your questions regarding most sports field lighting costs, if not, either use our contact information above or leave a comment below and a commercial lighting professional will personally reply to your questions and input.

Fuses and circuit breakers are part of any home or business that has electricity. These devices are extremely important to your safety, but what exactly are they?

It can be easy to take the technology around us for granted, and that includes the collection of strange switches in that metal box in the basement you never mess around with. You might have heard something about a “tripped circuit” or a “blown fuse,” possibly around the time the air conditioner shut off when someone plugged in a new appliance. But you might not be clear on what exactly these terms mean. Read on as we uncover the mysteries surrounding fuses and circuit breakers.

Circuit breakers and fuses (which can sometimes be found instead of breakers) are safety mechanisms put in place to ensure you don’t exceed certain current limits. If the wiring in a building has too much electrical current moving through it, these devices stop the flow of electricity until you address the problem.

The media room is perhaps the most lived-in area of your home.  Whether you are watching TV or reading a book, the lighting should be comfortable, energy-efficient and beautifying.  Tune in to a picture-perfect setting with lighting tips from Capitol Lighting’s professional consultants.

1. Track and Recessed:  General or ambient lighting is a must in any room, but it is especially important in a multi-functional space such as a den or media room where there will be a wide range of activities that call for specific light settings.  Overhead lighting should be installed as part of the initial room design.   Oftentimes, a standard grid lighting pattern does not work well with your seating and furniture layout, so it is best to draw up your lighting design in the initial stages of planning.

NOTE:  In general, recessed cans should be installed 30 inches away from the wall and 4-5 feet apart.

Track heads, recessed and/or rail lights should be strategically located so as not to create glare or cast unflattering shadows upon individuals in the room.

Rail lighting from WAC Lighting highlights artwork;  hanging pendants provide soft ambient illumination and artistic accent light.  Rail and track lighting are highly versatile and allow for easy adjustments if you decide to change your decor.

2. Wall Lighting: Wall lights work well in a media room as they expand the space and provide an evenly distributed balanced illumination.

Image from HGTV.com “Must-see Media Rooms”

“Jaxon” wall lighting from Troy Lighting, available in a variety of color options

3.  Portables:  From sturdy reading lamps to decorative table lamps, portables are a useful addition to the multifunctional media room.  They provide individualized task light, as well as general illumination throughout the room.

Room design by Sandra D’Amata International

Ambience table lamp (shown above), Frederick Cooper “Script Reader” floor lamp and Minka-Aire’s “Great Room” fan from Capitol Lighting

4. Control Systems:  Dimming and automated control systems are a must for the media room.  Even if you have programmed your lighting controls into your Smart phone, wall switches with a variety of room settings and dimming capabilities are a good idea and are available in a choice of colors to complement your rooms’s decor.

Dimmer switch from Kichler Lighting

5. Special Considerations:  LED bulbs and LED light fixtures are suitable for media room lighting designs, just be careful to choose all your light sources with the correct color rendering, color temperature and shielding. Look for LED light sources that are dimmable and in warm (2700K)  color temperatures. *

LED torchiere floor lamp from Holtkotter

* Solid State Lighting and LED light sources are being refined so that predictable color rendering and color temperature will be more visually accurate.  A new metric to measure LED illumination is in the works:  The Color Quality Scale (CQS) will help to identify the visual characteristics of LED light sources more clearly, but right now–a bit of trial and error may help you find LED light sources that are complementary to your media room’s decor.

3 Keys to Remember:

*  Avoid having sharp areas of contrast between dark and light–illumination should be evenly dispersed with slight variations that allow your eyes to transition from reading a book, conversing with friends or watching  TV.

* Make sure lighting/fan controls are easily accessible–opt for a remote control system in addition to wall switches.

* Go for the most energy-efficient light sources, but do not sacrifice the overall look of your room.   If you are not using fluorescent or LED light sources, opt for eco-halogen or top quality incandescent bulbs in portable light sources.