Electrical Repair: Most Common Electrical Problems And Their Solutions | Conway, SC

8/6/2020

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From time to time, many homeowners in Conway, SC experience electrical problems that require urgent repair for the house activities to continue running smoothly. Wiring and replacement of light fixtures are some of the simple electrical repairs that you can carry out on your own. However, when carrying out these repairs, ensure that you have the right tools and put safety fast.

There are complex electrical problems that require technical expertise for diagnosis and repair. Unfortunately, many homeowners lack this technical expertise and must hire a professional electrician for the job. Electrical problems are dangerous because they can cause electrical fires and damage your entire property.

Below are the most common electrical issues and how they can be dealt with to prevent catastrophes.

Electrical Surges

Frequent electrical surges are caused by poor electrical wiring in the house, lightning strikes, faulty electrical appliances, and any other factors that can cause damage to your power lines. An electrical surge occurs in less than a second. When these surges become frequent, they can damage your electrical appliances by reducing their lifespan.

The common culprits for frequent surges are probably the wiring or an electrical device connected to your home grid. This problem can be fixed by removing power boards and other cheaply made devices from the outlet. If this fails, it’s time you contact qualified electricians.

A Tripping Circuit Breaker

The work of circuit breakers is to break the flow of electric current when they detect that there is something wrong with the circuit. When the circuit breakers keep tripping, it should tell you there is a severe problem with the current flow.

To fix this, you must locate your house’s electrical panel to reach the main control switches. You will come across a switch panel whose switch has been turned off. You should flip the switch back on, then wait and see whether the problem persists. If it does, immediately seek electrical repair from your electrician.

Unusually High Electric Bills

Wiring in old homes in Conway, SC, wasn’t set up in a manner that can handle modern electrical appliances. Many of the electrical gadgets in your home were most likely not around at the time your house’s wiring was done. The modern devices can consume more electricity, resulting in high utility bills.

To manage the power consumption, always consider the number of appliances plugged into your outlet sockets. You are advised to unplug devices like laptops and mobile phones from the sockets when not in use to lower your energy consumption.

Grounding Problems

Ungrounded Connections

These are connections that lack a grounding system. The grounding system helps when there is a short circuit by providing a pathway for excessive current. It’s your responsibility as a homeowner to ensure that your electrician grounds all connections.

Failure to Install GFCI

The work of GFCI is to break a circuit when there is no balance between outgoing and incoming currents. Without this component, you’re vulnerable to electrical problems like burns, overheated wires, electrical shocks and fires. If your GFCI is damaged, call your electrician for urgent repair.

Flickering Lights

Lights often flicker when the weather is windy. When your lights start to flash, this tells you that the wiring connections require urgent electrical repair. You can tell the connections that need electrical repair by noting the flickering lights. When there is a bad wiring connection in the panel where your utility line connects to your house, then all your lights will flicker. Only a qualified electrician can handle this type of electrical repair.

When there is a loose switch connection, light flickering will only be localized to that one room. You can carry out this electrical repair on your own by checking the connections at all socket outlets in the room because some might be wired to the light circuit.

Power Dips and Sags

This electrical problem can result from a faulty grid with appliances and households connected to it. The problem occurs when homes draw too much power from a problematic grid. To prevent power sags and dips, use the best quality material when creating the network.

Exposed Wires

When you observe your house electrical wiring, you will come across wire nut connections or screw terminal connections. With these connections, the stripped copper wire must be completely wrapped around the screw without extending out. When there is excessively exposed wire, short-circuiting can easily occur when the wire touches other cables or any other electricity conducting metal. Wrapping the wire around the screw should be done in a clockwise manner because if reversed, it loosens.

For nut connections, the stripped copper wire must lie below the nut cap without being exposed. After the wiring installation, some of these connections become loose, and the stripped copper wire gets exposed. To carry out such an electrical repair, turn off the power, disconnect the cables, and then clip off the excess wire.

Bulb Burnouts

Many people wrongly crucify bulb manufacturers when they experience frequent bulb burnouts. Never rush to blame the bulb quality because this might not be the actual cause of the burnouts. Different reasons result in bulb burnout, and they include fixing bulbs tightly, high voltage, and improper air circulation inside the bulb, among others.

Checking whether the holder has depleted or is loose should be the first step. If these are not the causes, specialists in electrical repair can help.

Switch Failures

This is a common electrical problem. It occurs when the switches fail to perform their duty of switching the lights on and off. The recommended electrical repair for this is a replacement of the broken switch.

Electric Shocks

This problem occurs when you are exposed to electric current. It is a nasty experience that you never want to experience again. It is caused by loose electricity connections that allow the current to flow to areas it shouldn’t. When this problem occurs, contact your power technician immediately to investigate and fix the problem.

If one or multiple electrical problems listed above are ongoing in your house, immediately contact the qualified electrical specialists at Mister Sparky of Myrtle Beach for emergency repairs.