Electrical
To most people, electricity is dangerous and mysterious, especially if they don't understand it. Let's consider the average residential electrical system, electricity from your power company is supplied through heavy electrical wires to a meter, then to what is known as a main electrical panel (or breaker box so-called because it contains circuit breakers). Your main electrical panel then divides the electricity into branch circuits to supply different areas and needs of your home.
Main Electrical Panel
There are two things we would like to mention concerning your main electrical panel.
1) You should know where it is located in case you need to shut off all electricity in an emergency, or if a breaker trips and you need to reset it.
2) Do not obstruct access to our main electrical panel by building shelves or storing items in front of it.
Circuit Breakers
· Circuit breakers are safety devices that shut off the electricity if there is trouble in a branch circuit.
· They are designed to protect wires from being overloaded and starting fires.
· They operate on temperature, building up enough heat until a circuit breaker trips.
· If a circuit breaker does trip, you should always let it cool, then flip it all the way off and back on again. Never flip the large breakers (30 amps and above) off and on until you are sure your air conditioning is not on, you could damage the air conditioning compressor if it is running.
· Make sure each breaker is labeled for the area it covers and that the labels are correct.
GFCI’S (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter)
Another type of circuit breaker that serves as a safety device is a GFCI or Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, which is designed to protect people when using hand held electrical devices such as hair dryers in the bathroom or electrical tools in the garage and yard.
u GFCI’s generally cover the bathrooms, garage and outside area. Whereas circuit breakers and fuses are almost always located in the main electrical panel, GFCI’s may be in the main panel or in an electrical outlet.
u GFCI’s react much quicker than the older type breakers and are different in appearance than regular outlets, they have a test and reset button between plug receptacles. Your inspector will test any that may be in your home and tell you in the report what areas they cover.
u GFCI’s are required on most new construction by electrical code, however, we do not do code inspections because each municipality has slightly different codes.
If your home was built before GFCI’s were required by code and if your home does not have GFCI’s you may consider having them installed.
Two Wire Systems
Some older homes have what is known as a two-wire system. An indication of the two-wire system is electrical outlets with only two holes without a third wire for a ground. The main purpose of a ground wire is to provide the ground required by appliances such as washing machines and microwave ovens. Having a two-wire system does not mean that something is broken or malfunctioning, so inspectors do not suggest that ground wires be installed. However, we want you to know that your electrical system will be safer if you have grounded outlets or GFCI’s installed.
Aluminum Wiring
Some years ago builders used aluminum wiring to save costs since it was about half as expensive as copper wire. It would have been a great substitute if copper and aluminum had the same properties. Studies had been done on the different properties of aluminum and copper residential wiring and some problems did occur. In simple terms, aluminum wiring does not have the memory that copper has. When a piece of aluminum wiring is bent around a screw connection and electricity is sent through the wire, a small amount of heat is created in the wire which tends to cause the wire to straighten out.
The same thing happens to copper wire, except, when the electricity is turned off, the copper wire will relax back into the same position it was in before the electricity was turned on but the aluminum resists this. Eventually the wire may work its way out from under the connection and start arcing, causing a fire. How do you avoid problems with aluminum wiring? There are two things to keep in mind if you have aluminum wiring.
If you replace a switch, outlet or fixture, buy one designed for use with aluminum wiring. Fixtures labeled for aluminum wiring are designed to hold the wire better. Your inspection report will state whether your home has aluminum wiring or not.
Electrical Safety
u Never remove the ground probe from a three-pronged plug.
u Never stick anything into a receptacle other than a plug.
u Use child protector devices to cover unused receptacles.
u Never crawl under a house if there are wires on the ground without first shutting off the electricity.
u If you have any problems with your electrical wiring, be safe, call an electrician.
Fire Safety
If you have small children in your home, make sure one window in each child's bedroom is easily opened. Children have a tendency to try and open windows instead of breaking them to escape fire.
Have a plan in case of fire, which includes a meeting place in front of the house to be sure everyone is out of the house. We recommend that each home have at least one fire extinguisher.
Smoke Detectors
Smoke detectors should be in installed in each sleeping room, outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms and on each additional livable story of the dwelling. In dwellings or dwelling units with split levels, a smoke detector need be installed only on the upper level, provided the lower level is less than one full story below the upper level, except that if there is a door between levels, then a detector is required on each level. All smoke detectors should be interconnected so that when one smoke detector activates, all smoke detectors will be audible.
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