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Electrical problems are always a headache. Not only are they difficult to solve, but they can pose a serious danger to the people living at home. With potential risks like fires from overheating and injuries from electric shocks, it’s important to take any issues with electricity seriously. Not to mention that it’s important to find out about the open electricity market as well.
That said, it’s simple to combat some common problems if you have the right tools and knowledge on how to deal with them before they cause more damage to your home. Read on to find out more about four kinds of common electrical problems and how to deal with them safely.
1. Your Circuit Breaker At Home Keeps Tripping
It can be annoying if your circuit breaker at home keeps causing power trips without warning. It’s disruptive, but more importantly, it could be a sign of a greater problem with your electrical wiring or electrical appliances at home.
When in doubt, the first thing to consider is always if there are overloaded electrical circuits at home. Are there any wall outlets with multiple high wattage appliances plugged in and switched on? Or are there any extension cords that are maxed out with phone and laptop chargers? Or your squirrel food container keeping squirrels tangling around the wires? If you see any of these at home, chances are that it’s causing the overload and hence the power trips.
To combat this, all you need to do is to unplug or shift the appliances around such that they’re not all plugged into a single source. Spread the high power appliances like hairdryers, kitchen ovens, and desktop computers around so the burden is not all on a single electrical source. Alternatively, if that’s not possible, you may have to use the electrical devices at a lower setting to consume less power.
That said, if the power trips frequently even after managing electrical loads, you may want to consult a professional electrician to take a look at the wiring of your house and possibly organise a switchboard upgrade.. It’s always safer to have a professional rule out more serious issues like ground faults or short circuits which are much more dangerous.
2. Your Appliances Often Have Electrical Surges
While you can probably afford to ignore a single, rare electrical surge, it’s problematic when you get them frequently in your home. These don’t last very long, but make no mistake — frequent electrical surges can cause severe damage to the electrical appliances and components in your house, making them more prone to insulation and wear-and-tear issues.
Apart from faulty wiring, there are other common causes of frequent power surges, such as heavy use of high wattage electrical devices such as lawn mowers, even the best zero turn mower can cause power surge. This can cause power to suddenly spike when the device is switched on, meaning that all other devices linked to the same circuit may be affected. If you find that this is an issue, consider separating the circuits and relocating other, smaller electrical appliances to another wall outlet.
Moreover, if you find that more power surges are happening upon resetting your power, you may want to unplug all your electrical appliances and slowly plug them back in one at a time. This should safely manage how much current is flowing back to the appliances, so there isn’t a sudden surge of power needed for the entire house.
Finally, another common cause is circuit breakers that have already tripped. Now, these are designed to protect your home and are effective most of the time, but they can become dangerous if left unmaintained. If you suspect this to be the problem, do get it replaced by a professional electrician.
With that said, prevention is always better than cure. To prevent power surges from happening in the first place, try unplugging or switching off appliances when you’re not using them. Needless to say, this has the added benefit of saving money on the electrical bill at the end of the month!
3. You’ve Gotten An Electric Shock
We all know that electric shocks are unpleasant experiences. Even if they are small static shocks, they should always be taken seriously as they can lead to serious injuries, even death, if not managed with care.
An indicator of a faulty appliance, for one, is when you get a mild shock every time you switch it on or off. Or worse, if there are sparks coming out of the wires, signs of overheating, or a burning smell when it’s in use. If you have experienced any of these, perhaps it’s best to call in an electrician to take a look at the inner wiring to check for exposed wires or any other faults. If it’s not able to be fixed, you should also be prepared to toss the appliance out and replace it with a brand new one for the safety of you and your family.
4. Your Electrical Appliances Are Not Working Well
Whether it’s a faulty lightbulb or an overheated hair dryer, these seemingly insignificant faults can be dangerous, even indicative of a larger wiring problem in your home. As such, it’s important to pay close attention to them and to look out for signs that they’re not working as well as they should.
A common issue many households face is getting too much heat from a single appliance. This can range from a hot television set to a whirring dishwasher that doesn’t seem to cool down as fast as it should. If anything, these are indicators of overuse, or more seriously, incorrect insulation on the electrical appliance. As these are fire hazards, do check with a professional whenever in doubt to make sure that everything is running correctly.
Next is the issue of having light bulbs burn out frequently, way below their average life expectancy. If this happens in your home, you may wish to check if the wattage is too high for the bulb, or if there’s insulation too close to the light itself. Deeper problems include faulty wiring and poor connection to the circuit, all of which can be fixed easily by calling in an electrician when needed.
Conclusion
All in all, electrical problems are not to be taken lightly. As soon as you notice any of these problems, do look into them as soon as you can, or call a professional electrician to help you out with it. After all, safety at home is always of utmost priority!
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