The electrical system in your Sunset Beach home is one of the most important working powerhouses in the structure. The system brings to life all of the useful elements in your home, from the lights to the appliances to those tiny computers we carry around with us everywhere we go, called smartphones.
One thing not often considered is how the electrical system in your home needs to be maintained so it continues to work optimally, and you can help to avoid larger and more serious issues that would require expensive repairs.
Using a regular electrical maintenance checklist can help you prevent potential problems and keep your home in its best shape. Additionally, it can help to increase fire prevention in your home, as many residential fires are caused by electrical issues.
What Should Sunset Beach Homeowners Know About Electrical Maintenance for Their Homes?
Inspect the circuit breaker and panel
The breaker box is the command center for your entire electrical system in your home. It is important to periodically check and inspect the panel to make sure there are no issues. When moving into your Sunset Beach home, you want to ensure that everything in the panel is labeled properly. It seems like this should be standard and already complete, but you would be surprised at how common it is for homebuyers to discover the panel is not properly labeled.
You also want to check for corrosion and overheating. It is equally important to make sure that there is no buzzing. Sounds coming from the panel as well. Each of these is a red flag, pointing to a potential larger issue around the corner.
Test outlets and switches
Outlets and switches are workhorses in our home that receive little maintenance attention. It is important to ensure that outlets and switches are not loose, worn, or discolored. All of these are signs that there is wear and tear in your outlet or switches, a sign that it is time to replace.
GFCI outlets stand for ground fault circuit interrupters, and are the safest outlets to have in a home currently. These outlets are designed to cut off power if there’s a detective imbalance or surge coming into the outlet. It helps to prevent shocks and highly utilized areas like bathrooms and kitchens. You can test these outlets with a button included on the outlet labeled test.
Checking on the lighting
It is a good idea to inspect all light fixtures in your home, both indoor and outdoor, periodically. You want to make sure that bulbs are not loose or flickering. Before upgrading any light fixtures, you want to ensure that it is compatible with the current system. Flickering is often mistaken as just something annoying, but it can be a cause for concern, as it could be a sign of imbalanced power or surging power.
Another issue to be aware of is if lights dim when other electrical devices are being used in the same area. For example, if you turn on the dishwasher and the light fixture in the dining room loses some power and begins to dim. This indicates a possible wiring issue or an overloaded circuit.
Inspection of major systems that use electricity
Make sure to check major systems that use electricity to ensure that they are functioning properly. You don’t want to ignore your air conditioner unit to discover that it is using too much power and is about to overheat and possibly catch fire. Make sure you are checking the bathroom, ventilation fans, and cleaning them on a regular basis. All of the systems that utilize our electricity also need their share of cleaning, maintenance, and attention. This will help to ensure optimal safety and can help reduce your amount of consumption, which also reduces bills.
Home maintenance is essential to keeping your home in great shape and helping it to maintain value. Making sure major systems like the electrical system are in great shape is incredibly important. If you are looking for a home in Sunset Beach, please contact us or browse through our website and blog for more information.
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