When the cold winds of winter arrive, your electrical bill will rise accordingly. This is the time of year when electrical contractors get more calls for repairs, electrical fires are more likely to occur, and issues with your electricity become more commonplace. You will want to have the best electrician to inspect and correct issues that are happening with your electrical system. Here are a few of the most common:
Old Devices
Winter is the time when the Christmas lights, space heaters, and electrical blankets come out for use. Older ones tend to have their wires fray over time or become clogged with dust like space heaters which may cause an issue. Be sure to check your older devices and clean out space heaters before using them. A little foresight can save you from having electrical issues that may endanger the home.
Overload
Adding new electrical devices means pulling more electricity in the home. This may create an overload situation where too much power is being pulled. You’ll want to take steps to correct this from happening by using devices that pull less electricity such as LED Christmas lights or shutting off lights and devices that are no longer being used. The goal is to not pull more electricity than the electrical system can handle, otherwise you may be looking at circuit board breakers being thrown.
Placement
It’s not so much the electricity itself, but when you place space heaters and holiday lights near flammable objects such as the drapes or on a tree that is drying out, it may cause a fire to break out. You’ll need to keep all flammable objects away from electrical devices that give off heat. This means using a fresh or plastic tree and putting space heaters in the middle of the room away from the drapes.
Tripping Circuit Breakers
A circuit breaker that trips occasionally is an annoyance, but usually a sign that you need to move a device off one outlet and place it onto another. However, winter is a time where it may be difficult to move devices away from a singular outlet. So, you may need an electrician to come in and redesign your circuit board so that more electricity can be pulled from different places.
Old Wiring Issues
Your home may have flaws in the electrical system that have not become apparent before because you only pulled so much electricity or you have only selected certain outlets. Once winter shows up, you start plugging in devices to outlets that have not been used in years or pulling electricity in amounts not seen before. This may cause established issues with your electrical system to show up unexpectedly.
