Six Frequent Household Electrical Problems

Owning a home comes with lots of responsibilities. One of the most important is ensuring that your electrical system is working correctly. Doing so assures that you keep your family safe. Working with electricity is dangerous, so take extra care when addressing any electrical issues within your home. Many electrical matters within your home are minor, making them easy to fix. However, other issues if left unresolved could lead to a fire and complete destruction of your home. What are some of the most common household electrical problems?

Tripping Circuit Breaker

One of the more frequent household electrical problems is a tripping circuit breaker. There are several reasons that a circuit breaker could be tripping. Some of those reasons include a loose wire, too many watts on one circuit, and a bad circuit breaker. A loose wire can result in a live wire encountering a ground wire, causing the entire circuit to trip. Likewise, when you have too many appliances set to run off one electrical circuit breaker, your breaker will trip to prevent overheating and fire. You may have to run some of your electrical equipment on a different circuit breaker to avoid tripping. Lastly, a circuit breaker can deteriorate once it has had an overload of electricity. From then on, it continues to short-circuit frequently.

Frequent Electrical Surges

Electrical surges are another household electrical problem homeowners frequently face. Outside sources such as lightning strikes and damaged power typically cause these electrical surges. However, faulty appliances and bad wiring within the home are also to blame for electrical surges. To determine if a faulty appliance is causing the surge, look around at your plugged in devices. Try unplugging them to see if the power surges stop. If unplugging your appliances does not fix the problem, it is time to call in an electrician to determine if you have a wiring issue.

Light Switches Not Working Properly

There are many instances in which light switches may not work properly. One such example is dimmer switches not changing when turned. In many cases, someone installed these switches improperly, which is why they don’t work correctly. Another example is when an outlet or switch does not appear to operate anything. This could be because an electrician bypassed this outlet to wire another outlet.

Circuit Overload

A circuit overload is another regular household electrical problem. When you have too many appliances plugged into an outlet, you can cause it to overload. The result of an overload will hopefully lead to a tripped circuit breaker. If not, you could have wires that get too hot and result in a fire. To resolve a circuit overload, you need to redistribute the appliances in your home.

Lights Too Bright or Too Dim

Overly bright lights or lights that are too dim are also forms of electrical problems that homeowners face. This issue generally occurs when lightbulb wattage doesn’t match the rest of the lights in the room. The first thing you should do is check the wattages on all the bulbs. If you notice some don’t match, you’ll want to replace them.

Recessed Lights Going Off

The last of the most common household electrical problems is recessed lights going off. Recessed lights have built-in safety devices that cut the power when they get too hot. Why does the light get too hot? There are two reasons for the recessed light to get too hot. The first is that you are using a light bulb that is the wattage is too high for the receptacle and the second is that the insulation in your ceiling is too close to the housing for the recessed light.

Contact The Electrical Pros Now

As a homeowner, you face many responsibilities to keep your home in top condition. One of the most serious is electrical in your home. Several of these issues are safe enough for you to fix. However, because electricity is dangerous, several of these issues will require an experienced electrician to help you evaluate and resolve. To speak to an electrician, contact The Electric Pros today. We are an experienced industry leader. To get started with a The Electric Pros, check us out online or call us at (844) 249-4733.