If the electrical panel in your home is the “heart” of your electrical system, its electrical wiring is the veins and arteries. When things start to go wrong with your home’s wiring, it’ll become readily apparent in many ways.
If you live in an older home that was built 30+ years ago, then the risk of experiencing electrical problems is greater than if you lived in a new home. Early electrical wiring was not always well grounded or insulated, which means that older wiring has a higher chance of having issues and potentially igniting an electrical fire.
Also, modern-day appliances and usage make excessive demands on your home’s wiring that older home electrical systems aren’t necessarily used to. High-efficiency appliances, smartphones, and all modern electronics can be taxing to the system.
You should never attempt DIY fixes when it comes to your home’s wiring. Let’s go over some issues that require a highly trained electrician for rewiring in Nashville, TN to take care of it for you.
- Tripped circuit breakers and blown fuses: Does your home still have a fuse box instead of a breaker panel? If so, we recommend you schedule a visit so we can check your home’s electrical system. At the very least, we may need to replace the fuse box with a breaker panel for safety reasons and to get it up to code. If you have continually tripped breakers, it means the circuits can’t handle the electrical load.
- Acrid, burning smells: The smell of an electric fire is distinct and will smell acrid or like plastic burning. Needless to say, if you ever detect this smell in your home, you need to get it checked out ASAP. If you can’t find the source of the smell, it could be coming from wiring or behind an outlet or switch.
- Lights that go dim and flicker: Does your home seem like it could be in a horror movie? When your lights go from dim to bring or flicker, it’s the result of power fluctuations through the electric system. This happens when a large appliance puts extra demand on the electrical system that the wiring can’t handle.
- Lightbulbs that need frequent replacement: Standard incandescent or LED light bulbs should last for several years or more. If you seem to be changing bulbs much more often than you should need to, it’s likely that the fixture can’t handle the voltage levels.
- Electrical buzzing sounds: These sounds are highly concerning, especially when you can’t tell where they’re coming from. It could be caused by burning wires that are out of sight. We recommend you call an electrician immediately to get to the bottom of it.
- Sparking and arcing from outlets and scorch/burn marks: Each time you put a plug in an outlet or unplug one, do you ever see sparks or electrical arcs? This is another red flag that the wiring is having difficulty handling the electrical load. Black scorch marks on outlet covers and light switches are most commonly attributed to arcing.
When you need a professional electrician, look no further than Covenant Heating and Cooling. Contact us today. We are “Dedicated to the Promise of Serving You!”