4 COMMON HOME ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
By Alfred Hudson of Live WIre Electric and Construction
NOTE: If you have not worked as an electrical contractor and do not understand the dangers, please contact your local electrical contractor professional in Ontario California. Do not attempt to fix anything on your own unless you have some training.
Your home electrical system is extremely important not only because it provides lights and the power to run your appliances and equipment throughout the house but also because it can be a huge hazard if there is any kind of problems with it. Therefore there are certain things that you must regularly keep an eye on to make sure that your electrical system is in good shape. You need to check the power outlets to make sure that they are not lose, check your circuit breaker to make sure it is not heating, check your ceiling fixtures and make sure that they are not heating, watch out for flickering lights, and be sensitive to detect burning odor and sparks. For the sake of your safety and that of your house, it is imperative that you consult a qualified and experienced electrician once you detect any problem with your electrical system.
Before we begin, here is a great electrical safety checklist for your home provided by the US Government. You can get more information on electrical home safety on the gov electrical home safety page.
Light switches or power outlets are not working
Light switches, power outlets or electrical wall outlets are known to become faulty occasionally. They can develop problems in such a way that they only work intermittently. This can be caused by loose wiring and faulty or internally damaged sockets. When your switches and power outlets start behaving in this manner, they become a health hazard within your house. They can accidentally electrocute children and other unsuspecting individuals in your household. They also make your lighting uncomfortable and unreliable, not forgetting that they put your electrical appliances at high risk of damage. To avoid all these risks and problems, you should hire a professional electrician to inspect the wiring, connections, switches and sockets immediately you detect any sign of a problem.
Circuit breaker problems
A circuit breaker is the automated electrical switch designed to trip down when a particular circuit is overloaded. By switching off the electrical supply, the circuit breaker prevents wirers connected on that particular circuit from overheating and eventually starting a fire, damaging other appliances or causing hazards within your house.
Circuit breakers can trip when they have become old. Occasional trips of the breaker indicate power overloads. If this happens, try reducing the number of appliances connected to a particular circuit. However, if the circuit breaker trips more frequently, this is a sign of a potential electrical problem. At this point, you should consult an experienced electrician to have it checked up. Here is more information on circuit breakers.
Ceiling fixtures
It is advisable that you occasionally check the ceiling area that surrounds your light fixtures for warmth. Some fixtures may not be well insulated, yet others may have exceeded the recommended amount of watts for the bulb. Due to this, or several other reasons, the fixtures may end up overheating. When too much heat accumulates, it can pose a fire hazard. A viable solution to this problem can be to switch from the traditional bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL), or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. This is because these types of bulbs do not emit so much heat that can cause a fire hazard any electrical problem.
Burning odor and sparks
Whenever you smell a burning odor coming from any sockets or switches, you should turn off the power at the electrical panel. Then you can contact an experienced electrician to do the relevant servicing and repairs. This problem can be caused by a faulty device, or a wiring or overload problem. A burning smell should be taken seriously because it is a sure indication of a potential electrical fire. Without considering the age of your house, it is important to keep in mind that electrical faults show early signs of potential problems before they get worse and become hazardous. Therefore, it is up to you to be vigilant enough to detect any problem so that it can be prevented before it becomes worse. While the course of some of these failures is due to faulty incorrect wiring, some problems can be attributed to human mistakes.
Considering how difficult it may be to trouble shoot electrical problems, you as a home owner may not have the appropriate know-how to safely fix these problems. And so the only solution is to look for an experienced electrician to service and repair your lighting system. All you need to do is to be alert and watch out for the early signs of electrical problems such as switches and sockets that are not working, circuit breaking problems, overheating fixtures, burning odor and sparks. Overheated, faulty, or old sockets and switches can make them stop working. When the circuit board trips very often, it is a sure sign that there is an electrical problem caused by an overload in a particular circuit. Overheating in the ceiling fixtures is a fire hazard, but can be corrected by installing LED bulbs and the risk of fire when there is a burning odor and/or sparks must be eliminated by switching off the power from the mains and inviting a professional electrician. Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share.
Alfred Hudson Professional Electrician Serving Ontario California
Live Wire Electric & Construction
301 9th St Suite 400
Redlands CA 92374
(909)528-4444
www.lwelectrical.com
