We often blame the power supply without even considering the apparent problems that lie with the wiring of the house Electrical Problems. It can be outdated or inefficient enough to provide sufficient electrical supply to all electronic appliances and lighting.
The problem with all electrical wiring and fittings of an early age is that they are not strong enough to power the electronic devices of this era. There are obvious signs of strain and overload issues with multiple extensions from a single outlet. The wiring can be weak or damaged due to the continuous use of high-power electronics. If you experience high electricity bills, flickering lights, and damaged appliances, you can be sure that your home circuit is not in proper working condition.
What is the most common cause of electrical problems?
Here is the list of Top 10 Electrical wiring problems caused in the home
- Electrical Surges
Electrical surges are common electrical problems at home and can be caused by several reasons like poor electrical wiring, lightning strikes, faulty appliances, or damaged power lines. Electrical surges last for a microsecond but can cause fatal damage to electrical devices connected to outlets or reduce their lifespan with minimum damage.
Solution for Electrical Surge:
The easiest way to fix power surges is to check the device that connects to the home grid or the wiring of the wiring board and try disconnecting it from the device’s power outlet. If that does not solve your issue, you probably have a wiring problem and call an electrician to do a full check of your wiring and power outlets.
- Electrical Overloading
Sometimes a light fixture is fitted with a bulb with a higher wattage than the designed fixture. This is a serious code violation and can cause severe damage to increased risks. The high heat of the bulb can melt the socket and insulation of the wiring attached to the fixture, causing an unexpected fire. The danger does not mitigate even if you remove the light bulb from the fixture.
The simple way to avoid such accidental damages to the house wiring is to stay below the wattage level of the fixtures. If the fixture is not marked with wattage, it is safe to use a 60-watt bulb or less to avoid any damages.
- Power Sags and Dips
Sags and dips only happen when electrical appliances are connected to a faulty power grid. It can also occur when the grid is made of low-quality material and cannot sustain a high-power machine connected to the outlets.
- Uncovered Junction box
A junction box has a lot of interconnected wires. If not covered, people might contact and suffer from electric shocks from damaged or open wires. Although the risk is minimal if the junction box is beyond reach, the continuous exposure to air and moisture can cause severe damage to the cables leading to other electrical problems like overload or flickering lights.
- Faulty light switches
One can easily recognize lousy craft or substandard products with dim switches that fail to adjust lights properly. On the other hand, the problem may also lie in the wiring, circuit, or outlets. Consult an electrician to solve these issues.
- Flickering lights
Flickering lights are a severe issue with high damage risks. These are experienced due to loose weather heads that connect and disconnect on windy days. Call an electrician immediately to fix the weather heads and stay safe from accidental fires.
- Tripping circuit breaker
A circuit breaker trips when there is an unexpected power surge in an outlet due to a high-power appliance like a microwave or a hairdryer. It is a safe sign and is easy to resolve. Use a lower setting on the electrical device or try not to connect too many high-power appliances to a single power outlet.
- Fewer outlets
Most people use extension cords or power strips to extend the number of outlets present and plug in more devices. Using a heavy load extension cord reduces the risks of an outlet burn or insulation melting, but it is always advised to increase the number of power outlets in the house for better safety.
- Electric shocks
Electric shocks are a terrible experience and can be severe or fatal to some. The most common reason for an electric shock is an open wire or a faulty earthing in the house. Other lesser-known reasons for electric shocks are old fixtures and poor wiring or bad quality electrical appliances.
To resolve this issue, you can try testing another device to the same outlet or call an electrician to do a full check-up of the outlet wiring.
- Aluminum wiring
Aluminum is a cheap substitute for copper when it comes to house wirings. It was the best option for older days but is no longer a safe option. Aluminum corrodes when in contact with copper and can lead to loose connections and fires.
The only way to resolve this issue is to retrofit the entire wiring with copper fixtures and wiring, which reduces the risk of corrosion and accidental fires.
The above listed were the most common electrical problems and solutions in and around the home(Signs of electrical problems in the home). If you are facing issues, Hire or ask an electrician’s help. Most of the time a quality electrical product will reduce the electrical problems. At Eleczo.com, we supply only qualified and certified products, for ensuring your safety which makes it our first priority, you can write to us at sales@eleczo.com to get the best electrical products at discounted prices.
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