Every three years, it’s a good idea to bring in an electrical professional to check out your home by performing an electrical safety assessment to make sure everything’s safe.
That’s according to this article in Forbes, which explores the potential cost and reasons to set up regular home electrical safety inspections.
A professional electrical professional will be able to check your home for possible problems that you can’t see simply by looking around.
At Capital, we can check your entire electrical system and make recommendations based on the National Electrical Code.
Here’s what we check when we come out to perform a whole-home assessment.
Electrical Panel
Your electrical panel is the heart of the electrical system in your home, so we start by checking its condition. This includes checking for a main breaker, tightening each connection, and looking at the age of your panel.
We also check the brand of your panel. Two brands that were popular several decades ago, Federal Pacific and Zinsco, have caused house fires through arcing and sparking. If your home has one of these panels we will recommend an upgrade.
Interior And Exterior Outlets
We’ll look at every outlet in your home to make sure each receptacle is properly grounded and attached. Having outlets that function the way they should is crucial to the safety of your home.
GFCI Outlets
We check ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) outlets to make sure they’re working properly. These are the protected outlets you typically see in bathrooms, kitchens, garages, and other places where an outlet is located close to a source of water.
These outlets are important because they protect you from electric shock so it’s imperative to make sure they’re working like they should.
Smoke Or Fire Detectors And CO Monitors
We check the age and lifespan of your smoke or fire detectors and CO monitors and confirm that they’re hooked up and properly energized. A smoke detector is good for about 10 years. A CO monitor will be effective between 5 and 10 years, depending on the brand.
If these devices stop working the way they should, they could fail to alert you in case of an emergency.
Fixtures, Appliances & More
If you have a concern about a light fixture or one of your major appliances, we can take a look and make sure that the circuit is functioning properly.
If you have a surge protection system, we’ll make sure that’s working well, too.
Keep An Eye Out But Call In The Pros When It’s Time
It’s important to keep an eye on your electrical systems — at least once a year, take a look around your home, note any concerns, and get them fixed, if possible.
But every three years or so, it’s a good idea to have a professional perform a home electrical safety inspection to make sure you’re safely plugged in.