When we look around the house, most of the stuff is electronic appliances. Everyone knows electricity can be dangerous, but did you know your electrical panel is a critical element to keep your electrical system working correctly? Well, homeowners don't know anything about the electrical panel and its complex wiring, therefore hiring a residential electrician in Oxley is quite beneficial for people. A professional electrician can repair, install and maintain electrical panels appropriately. Well, homeowners don't know anything about the electrical panel and its complex wiring, therefore hiring a residential electrician in Oxley is quite beneficial for people. A professional electrician can repair, install and maintain electrical panels appropriately.
Mostly, house fires start due to electrical malfunction and if you neglect your house electrical health it could lead to short-circuiting or fires. Here are a few signs which indicate that you need to upgrade your electrical panel:
1. Indoor Lights Frequently Dim or Flicker
Does your lights flicker or dim a lot, especially when you are using heavy appliances like a washing machine or microwave? The dimming and flickering will happen if there is an overload in your panel and it is not able to support all the electrical appliances. The overload can cause power outs and short circuits. To avoid the situation, it's time to get in touch with a professional electrician from Tweed Heads.
2. Old or Faulty Wiring
Flickering of lights is a sign to update your panel but if you face the same problem after updating to a new panel, your wires are old. You can recognize that you smell burning near a piece of equipment or discoloration near plugs. In these cases, call an emergency electrician from ocean grove and get it checked.
If you live in an old house or neighbourhood it is good to get your wires checked regularly to see if the wires are faulty or to check its requirement to replace the wiring system.
3. The Panel Has an Outdated Design
Your electrical panel’s design has much more importance than just meeting the aesthetics. Every panel is designed with its electrical requirements in mind and if you are using an outdated one it is not meant to meet the demands of your electrical appliances.
The same design may have worked years back but now that we are using too many appliances, new designs should replace the old ones keeping the safety and function of the system in mind.
4. Burning or Melting
When it comes to electronics, burning and melting is always a bad sign. Sometimes the outlets are overburdened with appliances, loaded power strips, etc., causing overload. This results in the wire becoming hot and possibly ignite or melt anything that comes into contact with it, including the plastic outlet. When there’s burning or melting, a fire may soon follow.
If you smell any burning coming from near your circuit breaker, immediately turn off all appliances and call an electrician.
5. You’re Installing New Appliances
Installing large appliances requires a lot of energy to function properly. If you are adding more appliance, your electrical panel may not support it to keep these appliances working.
If your new appliances require more amperes than your panel can provide, your circuit breakers will trip regularly to protect your system from electrical overload, regular trip can cause trouble and installing a new panel according to the requirements is advised.
6. The Panel Often Feels Warm to the Touch
People often believe that it’s okay for electrical panels to be warm because the electrical appliances when used are warm. Electrical panels are not meant to heat up like other appliances, the wires are designed to keep the heat contained. Electrical hazards are not always implied by the burning smell, if the panel heats up or is warm to the touch, the wires are not functioning properly and need to be replaced.
7. Circuit Breakers Fail or Trip Regularly
The circuit breakers are placed to prevent short circuits or overload circuits by interrupting the flow of electricity as soon as they detect one of these issues.
When a circuit breaker fails, you can simply reset it but if it trips regularly or the breaker fails to stop detecting circuit overload that’s a sign of malfunctioning in the breaker and requires replacement. If not replaced in time, it can start an electric fire.
8. Extensive Use of Extension Cords and Power Strips
Who doesn’t use extension cords. In every household, numerous appliance and equipments are connected to extension cords and power strips. The more appliance connected, the more electricity passes through the outlet. The outlets are not designed to take that much load.
So get an electrician in to inspect your electrical panel, if your house doesn’t have enough outlets, install new ones, overloading will only result in a short circuit.
Wrap Up
As the saying goes: “Better safe than sorry”. Always keep an eye out for these signs. If you sense any of these eight conditions, get an electrician and get it checked right away.
Hope this article helped you know to look out for situations that might lead to a short circuit or house fire due to your electrical panel. Do annual checkups to be sure your electrical panel is in good condition and try to prevent overload.
