Top 5 Signs of Electrical Health
There’s a lot of talk these days about the concept of health, whether it be mental health, emotional health or physical health. Now, obviously, all of these versions of healthy refer to human beings, but when you think about our homes, we rarely think of them in terms of their overall health. But the truth is your home is a series of systems, that, overtime wear down and need to be serviced and eventually replaced. The electrical systems inside your home can sometimes function without being repaired or upgraded for many many years. Many of us, especially in and around the Frederick area, have purchased homes that are somewhere between 50 and 100 years old. This means that sometimes, the electrical systems within your walls and ceilings are also that old. So how can you tell if your home is electrically healthy? Below are five things to consider in regards to your home’s Electrical health.
The Age Of Your Home.
Electricity has been a modern technology since the late 1800s when Thomas Edison began running “Knob & Tube” wiring technology to provide electricity for lighting mostly. A lot of those historic homes are located right here in downtown Frederick Maryland and many of them still operate using the original wires, boxes and devices from all the way back when (between 1880 & 1930).
If you have a home that was built before the 1930s (and through the 1970s), odds are you’ve got some very old wires in your walls and ceiling that are still powering most of the lights in your home. Obviously, the older the electrical system is, the sooner you may need to remedy this situation. But why are older conductors such a big problem?
There are a couple reasons that older conductors (and older wiring technologies such as knob and tube wiring) are an issue inside of your home.
First, the age of these conductors alone is cause for concern. The earliest electrical conductors that were brought into homes and still power homes today or sometimes over 100 years old. This means that not only the copper conductors are old and more brittle. Then they originally were but the outer insulation surrounding the conductors is so old and brittle that it often times cracks and falls off of the existing conductor, leading, sometimes long stretches of exposed, live copper. This is a big cause for concern. Exposed, live conductors laying in or underneath thick insulation is a major fire hazard.
The other reason that these old Electrical technologies are an issue in modern homes is that they were originally designed to be installed in “open air.” This means that they were not designed to be surrounded by insulation. A long time ago. Homes did not have the insulation that we have nowadays, and they were designed to breathe. The conductors that were installed in the homes were designed to exist inside the walls and ceilings without being surrounded by insulation. Nowadays insulation is blown into every home, some of which still have live versions of this historic wiring. This is cause for concern. Heat build up overtime on these old conductors. Encased in insulation can be a major fire hazard.
If you have purchased a home built between 1880 & 1930 and would like to know if the Home has live knob and tube wiring, please visit our contact page and fill out a form. Someone will be with you shortly.
2. Smoke Detectors
There have been a lot of upgrades in the world of smoke and fire detection/prevention. The latest code change requires that smoke detectors inside homes be fitted with a 10 year, sealed lithium battery. This new device prevents homeowners from having to change a 9 V battery in multiple smoke detectors throughout each year. This gives a nice/smooth 10 year era of effective smoke and fire detection/prevention. Smoke detectors are also now required to be placed in all “living Spaces.” This means one per floor and one per bedroom, roughly.
What should you do if your homes smoke detectors are out of date? Just visit our contact page and fill out the form. We will be happy to help.
3. Whole house surge protection
Surge protection has come a very long way since it’s inception. Surge protection can prevent your homes’ sensitive electronic devices from absorbing the brunt of multiple small surges every single day. This will increase the lifespan of all of your homes, electrical appliances, such as your range, microwave, televisions, computers, etc.
While surge protection devices are typically thought of as protecting your home’s electronics from major surges, such as lightning strikes, and or power restoration from the local Utility, they actually do more than we think. Throughout every single day, you’re home, produces minor surges. These can be created by motors starting up, such as the motors inside your refrigerator, condenser, your air conditioning condenser or any other device in your home that has an electric pump. These minor surges can take their toll on the sensitive electronic equipment inside of your appliances overtime. By installing a whole home, surge protection device, we minimize the amount of mine are surgeons that you’re sensitive electronic equipment have to endure, thereby extending the life expectancy of the appliances that you have invested so much money in. Whole house surge protection is a big sign of your homes overall Electrical health.
4. GFCI & AFCI protection
in older homes, the lack of ground fault in arc fault protection can be a big sign of an electrically unhealthy home. While ground fault protection has been a code requirement for quite some time, arc fault protection is a somewhat newer technology. Arc fault protection has come along way, since it was first required on specific circuits back in the earlier part of the 2000s. Back then, arc fault protection devices were finicky, and too sensitive for their own good at times. Now, with combination arc fault detection built into most electrical breakers, arc fault protection is something that is being required in most living spaces.
If you live in an older home, you may not have ground fault and arc fault, protection devices, where they are needed most. If you have questions as to where these devices are needed, and whether your home is up-to-date on its ground, fault, in our fall protection, please contact us and will be happy to help.
5. Your Electrical Service
Last, but not least, let’s discuss your homes’ electrical service. This is the electrical panel (breaker box) that’s typically located in your basement Utility space or your garage. It also includes the exterior equipment such as the electrical meter box and any major conductors coming from the overhead connection point down to the meter and into your home.
Electrical panels have changed so much in recent years. With the advent of new, smart panels and sensitive specialty breakers, an electrical service upgrade can propel your historic home into the 21st century. This is why it’s important for you to understand when you should replace your existing service. Our general rule of thumb for replacing your electrical service is about 25 years. We land on this number for a couple of reasons. First, the breakers inside your electrical panel are, for the most part, mechanical devices. They function via levers, springs and switches. All of these components can rust, fatigue, and lessen in efficacy overtime. In order for a breaker to be functional, it must trip at a specific threshold. Overtime their ability to do this diminishes.
Another reason someone may want to replace their electrical service is to bring it up to the modern era. Newer electrical panels are larger, providing more space for new circuitry, as well as offering newer style, smart breakers that offer more protection for your home’s circuitry. Many older homes are being provided with smaller services (100 amps) and small, completely fully electrical panels. This makes renovations on your home nearly impossible. By increasing the size of your electrical service, can you provide yourself with more flexibility moving forward for the future of your home.
Becoming familiar with your home’s electrical systems is not as scary or confusing as one might think. Most of us do our best to ignore the electrical systems until we have an issue (lights going out, appliances getting fried due to a surge, etc.) but, just like your overall health, the best approach is to better understand and monitor these systems throughout their lifespan. This can help greatly reduce your risk of personal injury and your home’s risk of fire. We want to be here to help our clientele better understand their home’s electrical systems so that we can all rest easy knowing that we have provided for our home’s electrical health.
Curious about the electrical health of your home? Complete the short survey below and someone will be in touch with you.
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