Electricity is an essential part of everyday life It’s used to power your lighting and heating systems, your cooking, and even to recharge critical devices, such as your phone. Yet, electricity is also very dangerous. It has the power to electrocute you or to start a house fire. In short, you need to treat it with respect and pay attention to the warning signs that you have an electrical issue in your home.
By Team Savant
Image: Federica Giusti
1. Tripping Circuit Breakers
Your circuit breakers are designed to trip when there is a fault on the circuit. It can occur when a light bulb blows, a spider crosses two wires, or when you have a more serious issue.
If your breaker trips once reset it and see what happens. If it keeps tripping you’ll want to unplug everything on the circuit and then plug them back in one at a time. Repeat this and, if the same appliance makes the breaker trip each time, there’s a problem with the appliance.
If it’s not the same appliance then you have an issue with your circuit and need to get it checked.
2. Sparking Sockets and Lights
Sparking sockets and light switches often make a buzzing sound when you operate them. This indicates the electrical current is short-circuiting across two wires. It poses a risk to your electronic appliances, increase the risk of electric shocks, and can cause a fire.
Stop using the socket/switch and get it checked.
3. Electrical Burning Smell
The smell of electrical burning is distinctive and not pleasant. If you detect it your circuits are probably overloaded. This could be too many things plugged into the same circuit. It could also be a sign that the cable can’t handle the current. As it heats up it will melt the outer protective layer, increasing the risk of short circuits.
4. Old Wiring
A simple sign that you have an issue is the age of your wiring. It naturally deteriorates as it ages. If your wiring is older than 10 years you’re going to want to have it replaced, for your own safety.
Wiring generally only lasts for 8-12 years before the outer casing starts to break up, increasing the risk of short circuits and other issues.
5. Loose Sockets
If you struggle to plug or unplug items or notice that the sockets move then you may just have an issue at the socket. Equally, the wiring circuit could be damaged and need to be replaced.
It’s important to verify this as quickly as possible and get the problem resolved before you get an electric shock or worse.
Electricity is essential to the modern way of life. Treat it with a little respect and pay attention to the warning sounds and it will serve you well. If you don’t you risk an array of issues that could cost you your home, or worse.
It’s equally important to have the number of a qualified and competent level 2 electrician available. They can help you if you have an issue and conduct your annual inspection for you.