Safeguarding Your Home Against New Device Electrical Failure
Bringing in the latest big ticket electronic items can spell disaster for your warranty and home wiring. If your home is old and in need of an electrical upgrade, you could find out the hard way when a wall outlet overloads or an expensive new home theater system burns out. To avoid having a burnt out shell of a device or expensive new toys without electrical wires to power them, here are a few maintenance and upgrade points to discuss with an electrical contractor.
Get A Home Wiring Inspection First
Is your home over a decade old? Are you not the first owner? If you haven't had an electrical inspection in over ten years—or at all—there could be some surprising damage that isn't obvious with just a few basic appliances hooked up.
Through years of electrical storms, surge issues from the power company, and general wear and tear over the years, you could have brittle wiring that barely gets the job done. Over time, different intensities of electrical charge can leave the wires just touching enough to keep lights and devices that are always plugged in with power.
When you add new devices to the mix, you're playing a game of supply and demand with poor electrical "roads" to transfer the electrical supply. A new device such as a home theater system or washer/dryer set could provide that new, high demand of electricity that finally burns away the brittle and barely touching electrical wire bristles that were lucky to stay together to begin with.
An electrician can find these wiring problems before they become a problem and provide repairs. It's better to get this done before a problem occurs so you're in a better position to negotiate for specific services and not in a desperate situation where you have no power and no plans to get around the problem.
Upgrade For Better Use Of Electronics
In addition to electrical maintenance, an electrical contractor can perform upgrades that boost your home's ability to transfer electricity safely. The upgrades can also make it easier to use your new devices.
The electrical load can be spread across more wires and delivered in a pattern that doesn't generate as much heat. As new wiring and modern wiring techniques are used, you can ask for new electrical outlets in areas that you're likely to place your devices.
Better outlet placement means being able to put your consumer electronics in places that are more comfortable or design-chic instead of relying on extension cables and surge protectors to make the power cables reach. Along with power socket placement, network cable sockets can be added to the walls if you have nearby internet devices such as modems. The internet is usually an Information Technology (IT) professional's job, but simple wire pulling and avoiding high temperature wires is within an electrician's expertise.
Contact an electrical contractor like those found at Kunselman Electric, Inc to discuss upgrades for your home before bringing in expensive, new electronics.