What To Know About Your Home Electricity

What To Know About Your Home Electricity

A finger adjusting the Home Electricity breaker box

Most people move into a home and don’t think much about their home electricity. If it works, then it works. If not, you call the electric company or an electrician. Or at least you’re supposed to. When your home electricity goes out, or outlets begin to give you issues, there are some things you should know to understand what might be going on. However, before you start tampering with anything on your home electricity, it’s best to call someone to check it out. Assuming or guessing what some functions are might leave you in a worse spot than you started with. 

Your Circuit Breaker 

You might also know this as the main service panel or breaker box. Knowing how your circuit breaker works will help you in many situations. Your circuit breaker is probably in your basement, garage, hallway, or outside. Your circuit breaker delivers electricity to your home from the power plant. Knowing where your circuit breaker is located will make it faster to fix whatever problem you might have. In most cases, a circuit has a breaker the will shut off when overloaded. Some older homes could have fuses instead of breakers. 

Say you have something plugged in, and your power goes out, which means you have overloaded the circuit. If you move the appliance to a different location and reset the breaker by turning back on and the power goes out again, it’s time to call an electrician. 

Ground Home Electricity

An electrical ground is a built-in safety system that provides a safe path for electricity to flow if there’s a short circuit, electrical surge, or other hazards. This will lead from your home to the circuit breaker. An electrician will confirm that the service panel is properly grounded and has three-prong outlets ensuring that they are grounded. If you smell smoke or see it produce sparks, time to call an electrician. 

Dated Components 

If you’re just moving into a house, especially if it’s an older home, check out your wiring system. Things such as aluminum or know-and tube wiring show signs of old components. Many newer items can cause these old fuse boxes to blow or short out. Getting an upgrade may seem like an investment, but it will be better than losing all your power. This will also help save money on your electricity bill in the long run too.

Omega Home Electricity 

As a licensed electrician, Omega Power can help with electrical installations, diagnosis, repairs, updates, and more! With 24/7 emergency services, we can help you if things go really wrong. Give us a call for information or schedule an appointment.