When it comes to power issues, safety is at the top of the list. How should you go about safely troubleshooting home electrical problems?
In this guide, we’ll look at 10 of the most common electrical issues that homeowners experience.
1. Light switches not working properly.
Dimmers or switches not working properly could be due to poor workmanship or inferior products.
If you have switches in your home that don’t do anything, they may be either redundant or faulty. This could be faulty wiring on the switch or the circuit.
Solution: For problems with faulty switches or dimmer controls in your home, speak with an electrician.
2. Fuse Boxes
In 2022 fuse boxes are much less common than a circuit breaker panel, but they can still function & remain reliable as long as the correct fuses with proper amperage are used. If someone installs a fuse with a higher amperage than the wire gauge can safely handle it can cause the wires to overheat, damaging the protective insulation thus increasing the risk of fire. Once this insulation has been damaged, the danger will remain until the circuit has been completely rewired. Simply replacing the fuse with the proper amperage will not fix this issue.
Solution: To rewire a compromised circuit speak with an electrician.
3. Circuit Breaker Tripping
High-wattage appliances such as microwaves can cause a circuit breaker to trip, especially when multiple appliances are in use at the same time.
Circuit breakers are there to protect your home from electrical fires. If a circuit breaker trips that just indicates it’s doing its job properly.
Solution: Identify which appliance in your home caused the circuit breaker to trip. If there happens to be a low-power setting on that appliance try and use that in the future. Otherwise, it's best to limit the number of high-power appliances you use at a time.
4. High Electricity Bill
A high electricity bill in itself is not a sign of concern. However, if you notice your bills have shot up, but the unit cost of the electricity hasn’t risen and you’re not doing anything differently, then something in your home could be using too much power.
Solution: Try to identify any electrical appliances that may be causing surges in power. This could be caused by a fault in the device or a poorly manufactured part or device.
If there are leaks in your hot water system, this could also cause you to consume too much power.
5. Lightbulbs Burning Out Quickly
If you’re going through lightbulbs frequently, there could be several causes. The wattage on the bulb may be too high, or there could be bad wiring on the circuit or the mains. If you have a dimmer switch, there may be too much wattage for one switch.
Solution: Try a bulb with a lower wattage. If you are still experiencing issues, then you will require the assistance of an electrician.
6. Overloaded Circuit
If your circuit breaker is tripping often, it may be because you’re overloading the circuit.
If your home doesn’t have enough electrical sockets, you may be tempted to daisy chain power boards. This will overload your circuit. If you leave devices plugged in and switched on, even when not use, then they will still be drawing power.
Solution: Limit the number of devices you use at one time & try to distribute the power loads across more than one circuit. If possible, you can check the amperage on your devices & add them up to see which you should eliminate. Or call an electrician to add additional circuit in your home.
7. Overlamping
Overlamping is when a fixture has a light bulb with a higher wattage than the fixture is designed for.
The bulb’s heat can scorch or melt the socket and insulation on the fixture’s wires, which increases the risk of arcing (sparks that jump through the air from one wire to another) a main cause of most electrical fires. There will be damage to the socket and wires even after the bulb has been removed.
Solution: Stay within the wattage limit listed on all light fixtures made since 1985. For older, unmarked fixtures, use only 60-watt bulbs or smaller.
8. Uncovered Junction Boxes
Junction boxes house the splices where wires are connected to one another, with an open or exposed junction box someone could easily damage the wiring or be shocked by a live wire.
Solution: Buy a new cover or covers and install with the screws provided.
9. Over Wired Panel
This is when a panel contains more circuits than it’s rated to handle because too many single-pole breakers (one circuit) have been replaced with tandem or twin breakers (two circuits) in one slot. (Tandem breakers aren’t the same as high-amp double-pole breakers, which take up two slots with one circuit.) A label on each panel specifies how many circuits the panel can accommodate.
Solution: Add a subpanel with more slots, or you can replace the existing panel with a larger model.
10. Aluminum Wiring
Homes built in the 1960s and ‘70s used aluminum wire as a cheap substitute for copper, and that is no longer considered safe. Although it's grandfathered in aluminum corrodes when in contact with copper, so connections often loosen, which can lead to arcing and fires. This is not limited to older homes though, many contractors to this day will use aluminum on a home's main power supply to save money. This almost insures power issues in the future.
Solution: For only cents you can try a dielectric wire nut which is approved for aluminum wire. Add onto each copper/aluminum connection where needed. These nuts have a special grease that stops corrosion while maintaining conductivity. To change your main power supply to copper call an electrician.
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