If you have an old house in Kansas City, it’s important to be aware of the older home electrical issues you’re likely to encounter. Whether you want to install new indoor lighting, buy a security system, or simply choose the right washer/dryer cords, there are some things you should know.
These are the most pressing concerns regarding electrical wiring in older homes, those that are more than 40 years old.
Older Home Electrical Issues
The most common electrical problem for older homes is ungrounded wiring. It’s a big safety hazard and puts your electrical appliances at risk for damage. Ungrounded wiring leads to two very serious problems: a greater chance of getting shocked and surge vulnerability.
Modern electrical equipment depends on good surge protection. Ungrounded wiring provides none of it. If that’s the case, then your appliances will experience progressively greater damage every time a surge occurs. This will ultimately cause their life expectancy to plummet.
How Teague Electric Addresses Outdated Wiring
In a perfect situation, we would address ungrounded wiring by completely rewiring the home. Alas, most of the time, this is impractical and homeowners won’t do it. Teague Electric responds to this concern by surveying the problem spots in your home and applying fixes to potential safety hazards.
How do we do this? We usually inspect your home, identify the worst shock hazards, and apply GFCIs (ground fault circuit interrupters) wherever needed. In addition, we’ll insert dedicated circuitry and new outlets in certain areas.
These solutions won’t address everything, but they’ll mitigate the potential for shock and serious injury. Oftentimes, homeowners will take this measure when they’re preparing to sell their homes. It doesn’t totally fix the problem, but it’s enough to appease insurance companies. This is also a good way to gain peace of mind after experiencing an accident or other electrical trouble.
Teague Electric recently covered the issue of upgrading your home’s electrical outlets in another article. We strongly encourage you to replace outlets whenever you experience the following problems:
- Your circuit breakers trip more frequently.
- You see sparks when you plug in or unplug equipment.
- You hear cracking or unusual noises when you plug in or unplug equipment.
GFCI outlets can address many problems by breaking the connection with a “hot” wire during a surge or other unusual occurrence. You’re probably used to seeing these if you’ve ever noticed the test/retest buttons in the center of them. Those are good for offsetting problems with ungrounded wiring.
Remodeling Older Homes
We also like to address the electrical service and update the circuit panel in older homes. It’s not feasible to rewire an entire house unless you’re remodeling part of it.
Overhauling your kitchen or other room in your home is a great excuse to fix outdated/ungrounded wiring. Moreover, this is actually mandatory because remodeling projects necessitate bringing things up to code.
Kansas City and other jurisdictions require this. When we do remodeling projects, it’s our obligation as a licensed contractors, to ensure that new additions are up to code, which will include any electrical adjustments.
Teague Electric Can Troubleshoot Any Older Home Electrical Issues
If you’re looking for ways to protect your electrical appliances and prevent shock hazards, don’t hesitate to give us a call. This is an incredibly important concern if your home is more than 40 years old, you just bought your house, or you’re having unusual problems like flickering lights.
Teague Electric also specializes in numerous home upgrade services, including new light fixtures, security system installation, and more. It’s important to know that your electrical framework won’t become a safety hazard. This is why it pays to utilize a fully bonded, licensed, and insured electrical contractor for installation and maintenance.
You can contact us any time to learn more about older home electrical issues by calling 913-529-4600.