Largely tucked behind your walls, your home's electrical system is easy to overlook. However, it provides the power that drives all of your indoor activities. Without it, you wouldn't have overhead lighting, a means to cook or chill your food, or the comfort and safety provided by your HVAC system. When investing in home maintenance, repairs, and upgrades, it's important to remember all of your home's electrical features. The following are three signs of developing electrical problems or three reasons to schedule service with local electricians in Freehold, NJ.
None of Your Electronics Last as Long as They Should
Power surges occur whenever power is lost and then restored. Although lightning strikes and downed utility lines are possible causes of these events, they're hardly the most common reasons for them. Most surge events are incredibly brief and originate from inside buildings. For instance, you might notice that your lights flicker whenever your HVAC system or refrigerator cycles on. This is an indication that your electrical system isn't capable of properly supporting everything that you have plugged in.
Despite their short durations and limited increase in voltage, these mini-surge events can decrease the lifespans of your laptops, TVs, mobile phones, and gaming computers. By working with an electrician, you can get whole-house surge protection and the necessary electrical system upgrades for keeping mini-surges at bay.
Your Outlets Are Emitting Strange Smells, Sounds, Smoke, or Sparks
Apart from plugs that you manually remove, nothing should come out of your electrical outlets. If your outlets ever smoke or emit sparks, you need professional help. This is also true if your outlets have dark, greasy, single marks that indicate sparks and overheating that occurred while you weren't looking.
Outlets that smoke and spark often emit faintly sweet, burnt odors. Some outlets could smell musty or downright dirty. Crackling and hissing noises are cause for alarm, too. You may have aging wiring, loose or damaged electrical contacts or connections, or an in-wall infestation. Bed bugs, rodents, cockroaches, and other pests gnaw on or consume various electrical features. Pests also leave large amounts of detritus behind, such as fur, hair, and feces. Due to the high flammability of insulation and other building materials, unchecked electrical problems behind your drywall can cause fires that spread from one end of the building to the other within just seconds.
Frequent Circuit Breaker Trips
Circuit breakers trip as a safety precaution. They instantly shut down the power supply to their respective circuits whenever problems are suspected. An electrician can identify these issues and resolve them. If your circuits are overloaded, an electrician can also update your wiring, electrical panel, and circuit breaker box to better accommodate the modern gadgets and appliances you own. If you haven't scheduled such an update in more than 20 years, now is the time to do so.
Electrical problems are often progressive. Although smoking outlets, frequent power surges, and frequently tripped breakers might not seem like major issues now, they could lead to serious property damage and physical injury if neglected. To schedule service, get in touch with local electricians in Freehold, NJ, and call Tactical Power Electric Services today.
