Electrical Safety Inspections
Modern homes use too many appliances at the same time. Our current generation relies on many electronic devices all day, every day. That lead to having too many appliances plugged into the same outlet. Problems can arise from this and need to be taken care of. Home inspections are helpful in that regard. To do so, you can hire an electrician to check and inspect your home for necessary upgrades according to the standards set by NEC electrical code, as well as their training.
The Most Common Electrical Problems
The standards set for home electrical inspection are pretty elevated and strict. Did you ever have your home inspected? If it was over five or ten years, you may want to consider having an electrician look at it. Especially if something if something does not seem right. For example:
- Some outlets don’t work
- Flickering lights
- Tripping breakers
The above problems are common signs that the system could be at jeopardy and the only way to find out is to have is thoroughly inspected.
Pass or Fail a Home Electrical Inspection?
For residential properties, most official home electrical inspections are ordered during a sales transaction or if there is a problem that seems difficult to diagnose. While we hope your home passes the inspection, we will let you know the most common reasons that homes fail an electrical inspection.
- Still using knob and tube wiring systems
- Wire overcrowding
- Wiring in contact with insulation or other wires
- Outdated, broken smoke and fire detectors
- New appliances installed on old wiring systems
- Outlets in kitchens, bathrooms, utility rooms, and outside the home are not upgraded to GFCI
- Using normal plugs for major appliances vs dedicated outlets (e.g. fridge)
- Outdated, wrong-sized wiring
- Pull-chain lights vs wall switches
These are just a few examples. The most common ones. Electrical safety is key for every home and family, especially when we rely so much on it. Although these inspections and sound frustrating, keep in mind that they are meant to ensure and keep your home safe for you and your family.
When to Order an Electrical Inspection
Electrical systems are complex and there is a lot to check. It is hard for the homeowners to handle everything. It can be dangerous and challenging for you to reach and assess everything. We strongly recommend hiring a licensed professional inspector. You should hire an electrician to inspect your home in the following situations:
- Your wiring is old and has not been inspected in while - for a commercial property, it is ideal that inspections be performed every five years, while for residential properties, it should be ten. However, with the growing in technology, it is recommended for homes to be inspected a bit more often to keep up with the change
- Electrical Problems – we went over those earlier in these articles. For example, tripping breakers, flickering lights, outlets that don’t work, etc. Don’t hesitate on having your home inspected if this is happening.
- You are selling your home – When you are selling your home, the buyer will order a home inspection which involves electrical. Because safety is so important, if something is wrong it can make the buyer drop out or ask for you to fix it. To avoid stress and headaches, you should have someone look at it and upgrade what needs to be upgraded before listing your home in the marketplace.
Keeping your home safe should be a priority for you and your family. To avoid risks and extra expenses, be prompt to contact an electrician as soon as you notice something is wrong. Moreover, keep up with the technology and don’t overcrowd the outlets with multiple devices. Have an electrician install more outlets and upgrade your meter if need be. Just like anything else, prevention is key.
