Your home’s electrical system is fascinating. This system allows you to refrigerate and prepare foods, watch streaming services, light up the darkness in the yard, and much more. However, the system can only operate properly through maintenance and inspection. Plenty of critical and even life-saving reasons exist to schedule regular inspections for your home’s electrical system.
1. Fire Prevention
Electrical fires can lead to devastating and deadly consequences in your home. Regular professional inspections can help to ensure that wiring and other electrical components are up to date. For example, old outlets in a house could start a fire. Electricians can replace outlets as necessary to protect against this issue. An old electrical panel may also not be able to detect faults in the home’s system. An inspection can reveal this issue, thereby allowing you to replace the panel and get new breakers. Updated breakers can reduce the risk of a fire by shutting down electricity if a problem is detected.
Other issues, such as constantly drawing too much power or improperly using surge protectors, could lead to a fire. Having the electricians go through the home with you can aid in the identification and resolution of these issues. Some problems may require minor changes, and other issues may elicit larger renovations.
2. Increased Efficiency
When the bills come in at the end of the month, you might sigh with frustration about how much money you’re paying for electricity. Regular inspections can help to reveal faults in the system that might be causing you to pay too much for the electricity in your home. There might be simple changes that you can make to your daily routine to reduce the cost of the bills, or they may be larger upgrades that the electricians can recommend.
Your electrician can help to identify problems with both the system and the appliances in your home that are costing you money. For example, even if upgrading the house’s electrical system will cost more money now, you could see greater savings in the long term. Your electrician may also be able to identify some appliances that are drawing too much power. If you have older appliances in your home, the electrician might suggest that purchasing new ones could be a more energy-efficient solution.
You can also learn about upcoming products and solutions that could lead to lower bills. Then, you could start to set aside money to make those improvements in the future. Even if you do not want to have major changes done to your home, you can talk with the electrician about ways to use your current system and appliances more efficiently. This move can help you to save money on your bills each month while also being friendlier to the environment.
3. Identify Major Issues
Getting your home inspected for electrical issues regularly can alert you to any major work that is needed. For example, an inspection might reveal that your house is not grounded, which can pose serious threats, such as electrocution. If lighting strikes an ungrounded house, major and minor appliances could face destruction. Electricians could also point out that your entire home should be rewired at some point in the future. An untrained eye cannot necessarily spot these issues. In fact, you may have no idea that the wiring in your home is bad or that the house is ungrounded until a professional inspection is conducted.
Some electrical issues are urgent. Grounding a house, for example, is typically a project that should be taken care of right away. However, in other cases, electricians can talk with you about time frames. Rewiring the entire house might not be in the budget now, but you can speak with the experts about a reasonable time period in which to do so. You could also slowly make changes to one space at a time. Continuing with regular inspections can also allow you to know if the problems with the wiring are getting worse and you need to move toward that major renovation more quickly. Regular inspections, therefore, can help with major work in both the short and long term.
4. Adding Appliances
Throughout your time in your home, you’ll likely make some upgrades and renovations. These changes can involve the procurement of new appliances that draw electricity. Regular inspections from a professional can help you to determine if your house can withstand those new additions. For example, if you’re planning to get a new air conditioner installed in the wall, speak with your electrician at the next inspection to find out if the house needs more amps to cover those additional power needs.
Regular electrical inspections can also ensure that your house stays up to code when you make more major renovations. At some point, you might decide to upgrade the kitchen. You may need to add more lines to the kitchen to accommodate the new appliances. Refrigerators are supposed to be on their own dedicated line. Without regular electrical inspections, you could end up with situations that are not up to code, which can increase the risk of a dangerous situation in your home.
You can also speak with your electrician during a regular inspection about upcoming plans for the house. If you are thinking about a renovation, you may also want to know how much the electrical upgrades will be so that you can factor those numbers into your budget. An electrician who knows your house can help with providing estimates.
5. Meeting Codes
Ensuring that your house stays up to code is critical, and regular inspections can keep you on the right track. Electrical codes change over time. Even if your house was perfectly up to code when you first moved in, there may have been significant changes since that time. Having regular inspections can keep you informed.
You might wonder why staying up to code is so important. Electrical codes play a crucial role in safety. If your home is not up to code, everyone living inside can be at risk. Keeping your house up to code can also help other types of home renovations to run more smoothly. For example, the electricity in your bathroom might not be up to code. If you have a bathroom renovation done, the renovation company will have to update the electricity to be up to code, which can add unexpected costs to your bill. Regular electrical inspections can prevent you from having to deal with this surprise. Another reason to keep your home up to code is to have an easier time selling the property.
Thermo Direct, which serves Raleigh, the Triangle community, and surrounding areas, can schedule regular electrical inspections for your home. Our professionals provide other electrical services as well, including whole-home surge protection and generator assistance. You can also book heating and cooling repair, replacement, and installation. We work with furnaces, heat pumps, and mini-splits, too. Check out the same-day service guarantee to have your project tackled in a timely fashion. Contact us at Thermo Direct today to speak with a representative and schedule an appointment to get started on making your home a safer and more efficient space.
