At home, electricity is a necessity. But when you are left with electrical problems, your family and property’s safety is at stake. Plus, you are literally left in the dark!
It is difficult to diagnose electrical problems, especially if you have no background in electricity – with different wires running through your entire home and inconsistent electrical performances. One room may light up perfectly while another one has broken switches or other wiring issues. If you’re experiencing wiring issues in your home, you are not alone. Chances are, thousands of others around the world may be experiencing them, too.
Home Electricity: Top Issues and Their Solutions
While qualified electricians haven’t checked your electrical problems yet, here are four common electrical problems that you might encounter at home and their solutions:
1. Overloading
If you use bulbs with higher watts than the designed fixture, it’s not only a code violation but also comes with an increased risk. The high heat coming from the bulb can result in the socket and insulation in the fixture’s wires being melted. This will lead to sparks from one wire to another, which causes electrical fires. Even after you remove the bulb, the socket and wires are still damaged.
To avoid this problem, it’s always best to fit a bulb or any other fittings by staying within the wattage. If there’s no marked wattage in the fixture, it’s safe to use a 60-watt bulb or even smaller ones.
2. Electrical Surges
This is a typical electrical problem at home due to poor wirings, damaged power lines, faulty appliances, or lightning strikes. These are common, which last for microseconds, but they can often lead to equipment damage that reduces life expectancy.
You can check the device connecting to the home grid or the wiring and consider disconnecting the poor-quality powerboards or devices from the outlet. If the surges don’t happen again, the issue is solved. If it’s not, contact professional electricians like Fairway Electrical. Fairway Electrical is a utility installations company that also does electrical repairs both for residential and commercial properties.
3. Circuit Breaker Issues
Your home’s circuit breaker is the first defense against damage caused by short-circuiting or overload. Its purpose is to interrupt current flow when a fault is detected. In other words, it tells you if there are electrical problems. When it trips occasionally, it’s serving its purpose in preventing fires and overheating. But if it happens repeatedly, there are more significant problems at hand. In fact, a tripping circuit breaker is not only the problem itself, but it is an indication of other electrical problems in your house.
The first thing you must do is assess your electricity usage. If you’re using multiple large appliances simultaneously, you might be pushing the current flowing more than its capacity, causing the tripping. If you know your chores are the obvious reasons for your circuit breaker to overload, call licensed electricians near you to inspect ground faults, signs of bad wirings, and other more complicated electrical problems.
4. Scarce or Dead Outlets
Scarcity in outlets can result in overloading of existing outlets causing tripping of circuits. If your home doesn’t have enough outlets to accommodate your needs, you will most likely depend on extension cords, which increases the chances of frequent surges. If your house has too few outlets, a temporary solution is to use heavy-duty extension cords or UL-listed surge protectors. This allows you to extend the cord range while waiting for a qualified electrician to install new outlets. Fairway Electrical also offers this kind of service as well as electrical installation services for residential properties.
On the other hand, if an outlet stops working, it could be due to faulty wiring or burning. So, dead outlets should not be forced to work because this can spark a fire that severely damages your home. When it comes to these issues, it’s advisable to call your electrician right away to replace the dead outlets.
Getting Help from Qualified Electricians
These are only a few among the most common electrical problems homeowners face. Whether it is a circuit breaker or outlet problem, remember that you’re not alone who is faced with these issues. Also, it’s important to know that when we say “common,” it doesn’t mean they’re “simple.”
Fairway Electrical has a team of licensed electricians that can diagnose and fix your electrical issues. Click here to know more about them and their services.
