With old wiring in your home, there can be serious hazards that can lead to fire or personal injury. Therefore, upgrading the wiring in your home may be an improvement that is more of a priority on your to-do-list. Here are some tips to help with upgrading the electrical wiring in your home to prevent serious hazards:
1. Ensure You Have Enough Service for Your Home's Electrical Needs
The most important issue that you will want to address when updating the electrical wiring in your home is the amount of electrical service. If you do not have enough outlets or breaker circuits for the electrical appliances and devices you use in your home, then it is likely that you need to update the electrical service in your home to meet modern household electricity needs. This will consist of upgrading the meter and installing a larger breaker to provide more circuits for your home's electrical needs.
2. Making Sure Your Home Has Modern Wiring with Grounded Connections
Older electrical wiring installations may not have modern ground connections. If your home does not have grounded outlets, then it is a good idea to talk with an electrician about updating the outlets in your home with a ground wire, which will help protect your home from power surges and the hazards that they can cause when there is not ground wire.
3. Ground Fault GCFI Outlets to Protect You from Electrical Shock Where Needed
Older electrical systems often do not have GCFI outlets, which are the ones with the red and black test buttons on them. These outlets need to be installed anywhere in your home where moisture is present. The ground fault outlets are designed to protect you from electrical shock hazards in areas such as bathrooms, kitchens and your backyard patio.
4. Fixing Old DIY Repairs and Wiring Issues That Can Lead to Serious Fire Hazards
If old DIY repairs have been done in your home in the past, then you will want to have them inspected by a professional electrician. Problems like different types of wire connections can lead to serious fire hazards and will need to be addressed when updating the wiring in your home.
These are some tips to help with upgrades to the wiring in your home to prevent common hazards due to old electrical systems. Contact a professional electrical contractor, such as from Kunselman Electric, Inc, for help with upgrading the wiring in your home.
When we purchased our first home, we realized that there was a problem with some of the electrical work. Some of the lights flickered when we turned them on, and others really seemed to have issues if they were left on long term. I thought the issues was the light bulbs themselves at first, so I replaced several of them. However, after making those changes, it seemed like things were still having trouble. I began going through and thinking carefully about how to identify and resolve the challenges, and it occurred to me that working with an electrician could be helpful. I turned to the professional for help, and it was a good thing I did. Read more about electricians on this blog.