How To Achieve Greater Electrical Safety in Your Home

Electricity allows us to power so many useful and indispensable appliances in our home, and yet it is also a dangerous resource. Every year, thousands of electrocutions and house fires are caused by unsafe or faulty electrical work, and a death from electrocution occurs every day. Ensuring the electrics in your home are safe and up to code is critical for the safety and wellbeing of your family and any workers in your home. Your residential electrical system might be unsafe if your home and wiring is old, or you have conducted DIY electrical work or had unlicensed work performed that may not be up to code. Your home may also lack circuit breakers and the most modern safety features which can help to maintain the highest safety standards. Homes throughout the Bay Area including Livermore, Hayward, Oakland, and San Leandro are also at risk of fire due to electrical faults. Here we look at how to assess the safety of your current electrical system and the steps to take to achieve a safer and more effective electrical system for your home or business.

Have An Electrical Safety Check

An electrical safety check is a vital safety inspection that can be conducted by your trusted electrician. This check can establish the current safety status of your electrical system, and provide advice on how to improve the safety of your system to benefit your home and your family. An electrical safety inspection is generally recommended when you are purchasing a home that has been previously occupied, your own home is more than 25 years old, or you haven’t had your electrical system checked for a while and you have concerns about your appliances or installations.

A qualified and experienced electrician can conduct a thorough safety analysis and inspection of your electrical system to identify potential weak points for safety, and offer advice as to how to create a safer electrical system.

Install Circuit Breakers and Safe Outlets

Any good residential electrician will tell you about the importance of circuit breakers for your home. In a normal power circuit, the current flowing to an appliance or through the circuit returns via the neutral wire. If the circuit is compromised, the electricity can escape through a person in contact with the appliance, causing electrocution and death or serious injury. A circuit breaker will immediately shut off power supply, preventing serious electrocution.

A circuit breaker also helps protect your wiring and appliances by shielding them from power surges that can cause permanent damage to your appliances and fittings. If a circuit breaker continually trips even after being reset, it could be a sign of a larger problem that needs to be addressed by your electrician. Circuit breakers are essential safety features that every home electrical system should include. Some older homes have fuses instead of circuit breakers. The main benefit to having fuses in your home is how easily they can be replaced. The downside to this is that installing the wrong fuse can cause a fire from the wires within your walls!

Choose a High Quality Electrician

It’s essential to hire a properly trained and trusted electrician for every electrical installation and repair in order to assure the safety of your home electrics. Certified Electricians are more experienced, knowledgeable and capable when it comes to dealing with difficult and potentially dangerous electrical work. These experienced electrical technicians are more likely to be fully insured, bonded and licensed and will provide exemplary work that is fully compliant with building codes. Quality electrical work means less worry about potential safety concerns both while the work is being conducted, and into the future.

If possible, choose a highly acclaimed and qualified electrician with additional certification such as Diamond Certification. Check online reviews and license status if necessary. Ask for recommendations from friends and family for a high quality and safe residential electrician they may have hired before.

Ensure Your Electrical System is Up To Code

An electrical system that doesn’t meet building codes can be more than just dangerous. If work is performed on your residential electrical system by an unlicensed contractor, this work may be of poor quality and may not meet the building codes for your local area.  Not only does this pose a risk to your home and family of causing electrocution or fire, it also means your home may not qualify for insurance. This can also affect your ability to sell or rent the home in the future, as the local council may ask for permits for any work performed on the home.

The best way to avoid this situation is by ensuring your electrical system is always up to code by using a professional licensed electrician for all repair and installation jobs whether small or large. This ensures you maintain the safety of your family, and the value of your home.

Recognizing Potential Hazards

Do you have a circuit breaker that keeps tripping? Old wiring that’s starting to look frayed and worn? Just installed a new appliance and it’s not working correctly? Recognizing potential electrical hazards can be as easy as simply noticing that something seems to go wrong again and again. If you know your home and electrical system is old, that’s another sign you may need expert electrical help. If you notice a potential electrical hazard or suspect that something may be wrong, don’t try to conduct the repairs yourself. Untrained and unlicensed electrical work can be extremely dangerous.

Call your local electrician to provide electrical troubleshooting to accurately pinpoint the cause of your issue and provide an appropriate solution. When you choose a professional electrician for electric troubleshooting and repairs, you get peace of mind from knowing that your issue is in the hands of the experts and the right solution will be provided the first time.

Having a safe and efficient electrical systems are vital to the function of your home and the wellbeing of your family. If you have any concerns about the safety of your electrical systems or would like a safety inspection conducted for your home, call your local electrician for a detailed and high quality electrical safety inspection to ascertain the safety of your electrical installations and provide safe repairs and replacements as needed.

By: Scott Mamola of Maine Home Services