Electrical safety is of the utmost importance. When it comes to the electrical in your Ottawa home, if you are experiencing higher than usual bills, flickering lights, damaged appliances, frequently blown fuses can be signals that there could be issues with your electrical circuit.
Circuits that were installed in earlier years were not designed with today’s technologies in mind, whether it be lighting, appliances, and other electronics.
Here are some common electrical issues that might be arising at your Ottawa home.
Electrical Surges
Electrical surges can happen for a number of reasons including poor electrical wiring in your home, damaged power lines, faulty appliances or even lightning strikes. Although electrical surges only last for a microsecond if these surges happen frequently they can drastically reduce the lifetime of your electrical equipment in your home.
The first thing to do is to check the device connected to your wiring or grid, and try disconnecting it. Surges can happen due to poor quality devices or power sources in the outlets. If this doesn’t solve the problem for you, it is recommended to seek an Ottawa licensed electrician to safely look into the issue.
Tripping circuit breaker
If you notice an unnerving burning smell coming from an outlet, unplug everything from it and stop using it until a Circuit breakers can trip due to high wattage electronics and appliances like coffee machines, hairdryers or microwaves especially if more than one of these items is plugged into the same outlet or power source.
Light switch issues
Nobody likes how it feels – or looks – when plugging a device into an electrical outlet and getting a spark. It’s quite Usually if dimmer switches aren’t in proper working order it is due to poor workmahship or substandard products. Or perhaps you have switches that don’t work at all in your home? This could be that they are superseded, or there could be issues with the wiring, circuit or outlet. Whatever the issue with your switches, consult an Ottawa licensed electrician to look into the issue and ensure your switches are in proper working order.
Flickering Lights
Flickering lights could simply be the need for a new light bulb. If changing the bulb doesn’t resolve the issue there could be frayed wiring or moved cables that are causing the flickering. If this is the case there is a risk of fire, immediately call an Ottawa licensed electrician.
Lightbulbs burning out
Here’s a fun one – what if some outlets are grounded according to your surge protector, but others aren’t? This can
It can be tough to isolate the issues that arise with lights burning out more often than they should. There are a number of reasons including: bad wiring on the circuit or mains, wattage level is too high, too much wattage on one switch (dimmers), insulation was installed too close to the light, and more. Reach out to an Ottawa licensed electrician to help understand why your lights are burning out and a resolution to your problem.
into the same power source. When a circuit breaker trips it is working as it should in order to protect your home. Consider what you were using when the circuit tripped and consider upgrading your electrical capacity if needed.
Electric shocks
If you’ve experienced an electric shock you know it is not one you want to feel again. It reminds us exactly how dangerous electricity can be if it is not installed safely. These shocks typically happen in older homes when a device is turned on and off. Most likely it is either the wiring or the appliance/device itself. To stay safe, call your Ottawa licensed electrician to look into the issue and resolve it.
High electricity bills
If you are experiencing abnormally high electricity bills, there are a number of things you can do including but not limited to: have an Ottawa licensed electrician repair any damaged circuits or wiring, unplugging devices when they are not in use (even phone chargers use energy when plugged in even if it is not charging anything), find power surging devices, install motion sensor lighting, install dimmers or timers, use LED lighting where possible, get a programmable thermostat.
Reach out to the Floodlight Electric team today if you are experiencing any issues with your electricity.
