One of the most important aspects of having a safe and secure home is the quality of the electrics that are installed inside. Your home will use huge amounts of electricity annually, especially if you spend a lot of time indoors watching TV or playing video games.
Therefore, being able to carry out a simple home electrical safety check is hugely important. It’s going to be a big part of making sure that your home remains safe and also cost-efficient.
While we think that electrics are hard work to damage, overuse and a lack of downtime will lead to damage to your circuits and either hamper your energy output or potentially put you in danger in the future. Taking the time to carry out some basic home electrical safety check parameters can pay huge dividends, especially if you are dealing with problems such as;
- TV pictures that aren’t optimized
- Constant flickering lights
- Any form of irregular lighting from the electrical system
- Sizzling and/or buzzing sounds coming from the electrical system
- Clearly damaged wiring insulation system
- Circuit breakers tripping regularly
- Fuses that blow regularly
If you are dealing with any or all of these problems, then you may be in need of some basic electrical repairs in the future. If you are suffering from these issues, then some of these simple checks will give you a better idea of what the original problem might actually be.
The issue with electrical issues is that the problem can stem from an area that might look totally unrelated, meaning plenty of trial & error until you find the problem.
For example, make sure that you start;
- Checking all light switch plates to check for any signs of discoloration. A discolored light switch can imply that the wiring behind is overheating, causing the quality of the switch to be minimized.
- Also check the faceplates of any and all electrical outlets. If the plate is warm to touch, then you may have a potentially significant problem going on behind the box – this should be checked out by a professional right away if this is the case.
- Making sure that all plugs are fully inserted into the extension cord. Without this, you run the risk of starting an unnecessary fire on your property – this is far more common than you might think.
- Ensure that all extension cords are balanced in terms of output. If you have one half-full and another completely full, try balancing the plugs out to take away the extra strain on the full chord
For any required electrical repairs, please contact a professional electrician for help.