Basic Electrical Problems Around The Home That Require Professional Electrician

Electricity is a basic necessity for everyone and it is so common that we often forget it has a dangerous flip side too. There are many electrical problems that require expert and certified electricians who’ll get to the root of the problem and provide the applicable solution for your home.

You should make sure that electrical system of your home is running smoothly. In case you encounter any of the problems, be sure to call a professional electrician.

Common Electrical Problems Around the Home

1. Your Lights are Flickering/blinking.

If some of your lights are flickering or blinking, the reason might be a poor connection along the circuit. Firstly, you must try to replace the bulb. However, don’t just go for a quick fix. If the flickering continues, a poor connection or faulty wire connection may be the culprit behind your electrical problems.

You must call a professional electrician to diagnose the root cause and resolve it.

2. Your Circuit Outlet/Breaker has Tripped and won’t Reset

The circuit breaker/outlet often trips when you use a microwave or a hair dryer. The tripping is caused mainly because the circuit is not designed for high-wattage loads. For a hair dryer, you may try to run it with low-watt settings.

If the problem still persists, you’ll require expert electrical services for upgrading your circuit or adding a new circuit for the heavy-load appliances in your home.

3. Plugs won’t Stay in the Outlets

So your plugs are falling from the outlets. That is because the contacts in the outlets are starting to fail. This problem may cause an arc which can ignite a fire behind the drywall. Furthermore, this hazard will add to more electrical problems in your home.

These contacts are in place to hold the plugs steadily so that there’s a good connection. In case of failure, you need to call your local electrician who will replace the receptacle.

4. Your Electricity Bills are skyrocketing

Electricity bills on the rise and higher side are a direct indication of higher energy consumption in your home. While the average electricity consumption of your home may vary on a variety of factors, an expert electrician can help you assess your electricity usage and suggest energy-conscious upgrades for your home.

As an instance, you may ask your electrician to install Solar Panels or 3-Phase energy system in your home. These kind of eco-friendly products are eligible for rebates offered by the Australian Govt.

You’ll be in for a surprise to see how effective these small changes and upgrades will be for your home and electricity bill.

5. GFCI has tripped and won’t reset

Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter protection is required at every outlet to reduce electrical hazards in your home. GFCI automatically shuts off the power circuit if the electricity is flowing down a wrong path.

If your GFCI has tripped but wouldn’t reset, you’ll require an electrician to inspect the place for any electrical problems and replace the switch outlet. You should also keep portable GFCI(s) in your home if any additional temporary requirement comes up in and outside your home.

6. There are multiple extension cords and power bars in your home

Most of us have been in a situation where there are just not enough outlets for our electrical needs. We tend to use extension cords and power bars for our rescue. Please make note that Extension cords and power bars are just a temporary solution.

Overloading your extension cord with too many cables and wires is not just an eyesore but also a tripping hazard. Moreover, it can cause a short circuit in your home.

If this seems like a relevant problem, hire an electrician to upgrade your panel and/or install more outlets suiting your needs.

7. Strange Smell is Always a Bad Signal

A foul or faint smell coming from outlets or switch boards is always a bad sign. Stop using it right away. Try to locate another source of the smell and if you are unable to find it, there is a possibility of arc formation. As discussed above, these arcs can ignite fire.

Steer clear of such electrical problems and get your electrician to replace the receptacle immediately.

8. The Wires are Hanging Out

Unless you’re trying your hand at abstract art for your home, hanging and exposed wires are a big NO. Most often a leftover of DIY projects and renovations in the home, hanging or exposed wires are simply stated, a great electrical hazard.

All electrical wires should be either covered or spliced, or attached to structural straps or staples. Ask your electrician to tidy up your wires and place them as they are supposed to. This will reduce the risk of electrical problems and ensure safety for you and your family members in your home.

9. Your Outlets Have Gone Dead

An outlet has just gone dead in your kitchen, garage, bathroom or home exterior. The most common cause may be that your GFCI has detected potential danger that might cause electric shock or electrocution.

One of the devices tripping off in these areas is the basic cause of outlets going suddenly dead. There might also be a case where the half outlet is working and the other half has just gone dead. After years in your home, overuse can cause the half outlet to lose grip on the cords you plug into it.

10. Your New Dryer won’t Heat Up

If your clothes dryer is not working properly or just won’t heat up, possibly your circuit breaker or dryer receptacle has a poor connection. In case you own a fusebox, most likely the dryer’s fuse has blown out.

You should ask your electrician to replace the damaged parts and it’ll be as good as new again.

11. Some Lights are extra bright and some are dimming out, Electrical Appliances are dying faster.

The root cause of this electrical problem is a bad main neutral connection in your home. Call a licensed electrician to repair the faulty neutral connection immediately to prevent damage to other electrical equipment in your home.

12. There is No Electricity in Your Home

Now there may be a connection that has gone loose where the electricity provider feeds to the service wires in your home. Refrain from using any appliance having more than 220V power until the solution is found.

Have a certified electrician find and fix the loose connection in your home.

13. Electrical Disturbances and Power Distortion Occur When Using Cordless Phones

The power distortion in your homes is often caused by electrical appliances like cordless phones, vacuum cleaner, and hair dryer. These electrical problems can harm the security system, refrigerators, digital systems and other electricity-powered systems in your home.

Hire an expert electrician to propose the appropriate harmonic distortion and static interference solutions for your home.

14. Sags and Power Outages in Your Home

Dips and sags are short occurrences of low voltage in your home while power outages cause no electrical power. Where a power-hungry electrical appliance is the primary cause of sags and dips, the power outages are the result of damaged equipment, unfavorable weather conditions or frequent short circuits at your place.

Hire an electrical contractor to install UPS unit in your home. Uninterruptible Power Supply units filter out any power disturbances and carry battery backup in case of heavy electrical problems like power outage or blackout in your home.

If you discover any of these electrical problems, don’t go for DIY projects. It may work sometimes, yes. But either way, you’re putting yourself at risk of electrical hazards which is just not worth the hassle.

AR Electrical suggests to keep your safety first and always call a certified and experienced electrician who is fully-equipped to diagnose the exact cause of the problem and provide exact quality solutions for your home.