If you live in the modern age, you are going to be using some type of electrical service to one point or another. The unfortunate thing about this, is that it is pretty much guaranteed that something is eventually going to go wrong with it, that time usually being the most inconvenient time of all. No matter if you are looking to add a new light fixture, to running some electrical so that you can light up that new addition to your home, here are some of the best tips that THG Electrical electricians wish that you knew.
Be Aware of Any Warning Signs
The most important thing that you can ever do for the safety of your home and all the people who live in it, is going to be to never ignore any of the warning signs that are indicating potential problems within your home’s electrical system. No matter if it is a popping noise that is coming from an outlet, a light switch that just seems to run hot, or even a breaker that you can simply not reset, whenever you experience any type of electrical issue, it is going to be very important that you take the problem very seriously.
As a bonus, when you do pay attention to these warning signs, they are more than likely going to be a much easier and quicker fix than if you were to wait for a more serious problem to occur. This is actually the reason why being aware is the number one step to preventing electrical fires in the home.
Understand What GFCI is All About
One of the more common kinds of call electricians receive is going to be about why the circuit in the bathroom has just suddenly stopped working. However, according to code, any outlet that is anywhere within 6 feet of a water source is going to need to be protected by having a GFCI, or ground fault circuit interrupt. In case you are wondering what this is, it is going to be a very important safety device that is going to cut off the power to the outlet if that circuit starts to lose its amperage.
Because of this, GFCI outlets are normally going to be seen on the exterior of homes and in bathrooms and kitchens. The big take away here is that you will need to remember that one GFCI outlet is going to help protect everything else that is ‘downstream’ and relying on that particular circuit. For example, since most bathrooms are not going to be on their own isolated circuit, it means that when the GFCI outlet is triggered, it is going to not only kill the power to that outlet, but to all of the other outlets and even the lights on that same circuit, even though it may seem as though it is unrelated.
Essentially, when you do know that you have GFCI outlets in your home and the power just suddenly goes out, try to reset that outlet before you call up your local electrician.
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