When was the last time you had an electrical inspection done? If you said “never” or “I’m not sure” then you might have a problem—especially if your home was built decades ago. Today, homeowners are increasing the demand on their electrical systems more and more, with the addition of high efficiency appliances and equipment, as well as mobile devices that require charging, and intricate home theater systems.
The problem is, your wiring and electrical panel might be outdated, and therefore incapable of handling this demand. This not only threatens your electrical system, but your home and your family. To schedule your next inspection from professional electricians in Nashville, TN, simply contact our team. In the meantime, we’ve shared some signs below that you should watch out for. These signs indicate that something is amiss with your electrical system and you should call us for repairs right away.
Flickering Lights
As much as we’d like to agree with you that your house is just haunted by a friendly poltergeist, flickering lights are not the sign of paranormal activity. The cause of flickering lights is a little more boring than that—it’s almost always due to a short circuit in your electrical system.
If it’s just occurring in one fixtures, it might just be that you need to replace that lamp or fixture, and nothing else. However, if its impacting an entire section of your home, then the short circuit is likely somewhere in the home and you have a bigger issue at hand.
If you notice this symptom pretty often, we recommend that you call us ASAP, before the problem has a chance to grow any worse.
Hot Spots
Have you ever placed your hand on a light switch, or even a random spot on the wall, and felt that it was warm? Hot spots usually indicate points in the electrical system where current in a direction it shouldn’t. Electrical current that is diverted to a point that it’s not supposed to go, like another wire, throws off energy as heat.
This is what you’re feeling when you notice a hot spot in your home. Hot spots are a sign of a very serious problem with your electrical system, one that could potentially cause a house fire. You should never ignore this sign, so make sure you call for repairs as soon as you notice this. Do keep in mind, however, that dimmer switches operate a bit different and will be warmer than traditional on/off switches.
Frequent Circuit Breaker Tripping
Your electrical panel is designed to protect your home, or rather your electrical appliances and equipment, from power surges. When a part of your home’s electrical system suddenly starts carrying voltage beyond safety limits, the circuit breaker trips and that part of the system is shut down until the problem can be fixed.
More often than not, a circuit breaker will trip because you’ve overloaded the circuit. Unplugging a few things and resetting the breaker are often all that’s required for that kind of thing. But if your circuit breakers keeps tripping, you may have a bigger issue.
At Covenant Heating and Cooling, we are dedicated to the promise of serving you. Contact us today!