Common Electrical Problems in Your House| Atlantic Appliance Repair
Human life has become so dependent on electricity whether we are watching TV or doing laundry, electricity has helped us in many ways and cut our load in half. Older homes may have more electrical problems than new ones. Flickering lights, high bills, and damaged appliances can all be signs of electrical problems in an old house. If you currently own an older home or are considering buying an older home, you should check out these common electrical issues that can cause problems in the future, both in terms of security and cost.
Dead Outlets
If the outlet doesn’t work, the connection is loose or burned out. A broken outlet can cause a bad connection, or excessive heat can trip the circuit breaker and melt the wire or outlet. Go to the electrical panel and find and replace a blown fuse or a tripped breaker. An easy way to solve this problem is to call an electrician and report the outbreak as soon as possible.
Light Bulb Frequently Burn Out
If the light bulb in your house goes out frequently, it may be due to excessive power. It could also be due to incorrect wiring. If recessed lights fail frequently, the surrounding insulation can overheat. These devices are designed to be shut off to prevent fire.
Flickering Lights
Flickering lights are an important symptom of another electrical problem common in older homes. Old and loose electrical connections cause problems with electrical repairs and increase the risk of fire. Loose or defective lamps cause flickering and dim lighting, but the problem may be more serious.
If the wiring continues to become loose and malfunction, it may become hot and cause a fire. In less extreme cases, the light bulb will weaken and cause the light to flicker. So, if you notice a flashing light, immediately contact the best Appliance Repair Company, Centreville Virginia.
Damaged Wiring
Many older homes struggle with outdated wirings, such as aluminum-coated wiring. It can also oxidize and corrode, causing overheating. Old and unused electrical wiring can not only cause a fire, but also sparks and further damage to the outlet. But it all depends on the state of the network and the environment.
The biggest danger lurking around bare wires is an electrical short. So, if you live in an old house or just moved in, you should immediately check your network cabling or call Atlantic Appliance Repair, to have your home’s electrical wiring checked.
Knob and Tube Wiring
If you live in a very old pre-war house and haven’t been updated, chances are you have a knob-and-tube wiring system. The main purpose of this system is to prevent the ignition of the hot wire. To prevent the wires from heating up and getting too close to the wood rafters, an electrician drilled a hole in the rafters, installed a porcelain sheathing through the wood, and placed the wires inside the sheathing.
When the wires heat up, the porcelain also heats up, but not enough to heat the rafters and light them. This electrical wiring not only looks unsightly in the house, but it is also very unreliable and dangerous. So, to keep everyone in your home safe, hire someone professional, to replace the old network with a new, modern one.
No Proper Grounding
Older homes have poor grounding for modern electrical systems that use much more energy than they used to be. Many older homes are built using a two-wire system instead of a three-wire system. That is, instead of having three pinhole outlets, there are only two. This was very common a few years ago, but today most items that require an electrical outlet are made with a three-prong cord and will not work with older systems.
The best solution to this problem is to properly ground your home’s electrical network. It is also necessary to replace the fuse box with a more modern and reliable one. Having more than one wire to the ground may cause a short circuit and electric shock. That’s why electrical systems must be tested by professionals, from a freezer repair company, who know what they’re doing.