You could not ignore house electrical problems if they occur frequently. It can risk your family’s lives as well as damage your home.
If your appliances get damaged every other day or bulbs flicker too often, your house may have major electrical issues. Also, if you have been getting higher electricity bills than your usage, it’s an indicator of a bigger issue.
Don’t panic, you can detect and even sort out some major household power issues if the problem doesn’t need professional intervention. Stay along as we will talk about these problems and the possible solutions.
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Your circuit panel trips frequently
Nowadays most houses have circuit panels rather than fuse boxes. A circuit panel is a primary line of defense to prevent short-circuiting or overloads. Its job is to hinder electric charge as it finds an issue.
Put simply, it will indicate that you have an electrical issue at hand. It’s normal for a circuit panel to trip once in a while. But if it occurs frequently, it’s a sign your power grid has bigger problems.
That said, it can be just because you have been using a lot of big devices at a time. It overloads your power system and the breaker stumbles. If not, you should have your power grid inspected.
A company that provides electrical services in Dubai can better tell whether it’s a ground fault, poor wirings, or any other bigger fault.
A circuit breaker performs well if it holds fuses with a suitable amperage that wires can tolerate easily. If the amperage increases, wires could become so hot that their insulation material could deteriorate.
This can lead wires to catch fire. Moreover, even if you change the damaged breaker, the previous damage to wires is still a threat. The solution is to rewire the existing circuit.
Your house experiences power surges
You may have experienced electrical surges. They last for only a blink of an eye and aren’t harmful if they occur just a single time.
But they can create problems if they become a routine. They can deteriorate your home appliances. Also, it can lower their longevity. Check if your house has improper electrical wiring.
Other reasons may be thunderbolts, damaged power cables, and defective appliances. If wiring isn’t the offender, a power appliance linked to your power grid may be causing the problem.
Don’t ever connect low-quality appliances or switchboards to the main system. If the problem persists, it is time to consult a professional to prevent more damage.
Your house has fewer or dead electrical sockets
Some buildings or houses have a scarcity of electrical sockets. It becomes hard to charge your devices while using them.
Fewer or dead outlets pose a big danger. You use your home outlets very often and they have to bear a lot of loads. This may result in fast tripping. A building should have enough power sockets to fulfill the requirements of the residents without causing the sockets to get overloaded.
Moreover, scarcity of power outlets compels people to excessively use extension cables. As a result, electrical surges can become a regular occurrence.
The solution? You should use a highly rugged power extender. Or you can use a UI-approved protecting device to elongate the cable range. Keep in mind that you still have to get new electrical sockets mounted by an expert technician.
But what should you do for dead sockets? We recommend not trying to bring them back to life. Because they may be either exhausted or damaged due to problematic cables. If you poke in these outlets, they can catch fire which can be very damaging for your building.
To sum it up, you should not overlook a dead outlet and get it replaced by a technician as soon as possible. Even if just one plug of a socket isn’t working, the outlet would be considered dead.
Moreover, dead electrical sockets make residents use the active sockets more which overburdens them. It’s the same issue that fewer outlets pose. Get professional help before it’s too late.
Circuit boards with more wires than they can accommodate
It’s a common issue in houses. If your powerboard contains too many circuits, it can become overloaded. It happens when most sockets in a powerboard hold tandem breakers instead of single-pole breakers. Powerboards come with labeling that tells the number of circuits they can manage.
Though it’s not highly dangerous, it can become a problem when you are selling your house. Try adding a sub switchboard containing extra sockets to resolve this issue. Or if you are willing to spend some extra cash, buy a bigger panel.
Also, we have some quick tips to stop this issue from occurring in the first place.
· Say goodbye to daisy-chain switchboards
· Don’t leave appliances like juicers or grinders connected when the power button is switched on. Either switch off power or disconnect devices
· Try not connecting a lot of devices to one power board or overusing a specific circuit.
· Disconnect appliances after using each time. Only keep necessary devices switched on all the time.
Your house experiences frequent power dips or sags
Let us clarify the difference between power surges, dips, and sags. These three are close in meaning. However, there is a small difference. A surge occurs by the increase in current within the electrical cables which results in a rise in charge flowing towards your house’s electrical sockets.
You may have experienced it. When all fans, light bulbs, and other devices start switching on and off fastly. It can harm your appliances and severely decrease their life expectancy.
Dips and sags, on the other hand, produce irregular voltage fluctuations. All of us have experienced this partial power outage called brownouts.
Lights fade and brighten up rapidly sometimes in the blink of an eye. This situation is caused by power dips and sags.
But what can we do to prevent it? Never connect appliances into a faulty socket. Also, make sure that you don’t make your devices pull out excessive amounts of electricity from an old power board.
Wattages of sockets and bulbs don’t match
Sometimes, house owners install an electrical bulb that draws higher voltage than their sockets can handle. As a result, the bulb can burn or melt the fixture and the protective covering on its wires. And the damage to the fixture and its power lines is permanent.
Additionally, it can lead to arcing. You may have heard that sometimes a wire catches fire from the other through electrical sparks. It is called arcing. It is mostly the underlying reason for electrical fires.
You can prevent it easily. Never install a bulb with higher voltage in a socket that can’t bear it. All fixtures are marked with their range of wattages made till 1985. For older sockets, limit yourself to 60-watt bulbs.
Conclusion
While knowing about possible major electricity problems and their solutions is good, sometimes taking professional services becomes necessary. Contact an electrician when needed as your safety can’t be compromised.