Fixing Serious Electrical Problems

Electricity is critical to modern living, powering everything from lights to home appliances. Despite its convenience, electricity can also be dangerous when not used correctly. This is why it's crucial to ensure your home's circuitry is up to par.

This article closely examines how an electrician plans out your home's circuitry for safety and practicality.

Step 1: Load Calculation

The load calculation is the first and most crucial step in planning your home's circuitry. Proper load calculation helps prevent overloaded circuits and helps in determining the appropriate size for each circuit.

An electrician will evaluate how much power each circuit needs based on the connected loads. So if you're planning to install new appliances, you need to understand how many amps or volts each appliance requires. In doing so, you can ensure the circuit capacity is enough to support your daily electrical usage.

Step 2: Circuit Mapping

After a proper load calculation, an electrician will begin mapping out your home's circuitry. Circuit mapping means identifying each circuit's location, voltage capacity, and purpose. For example, a circuit in the kitchen may be dedicated to powering lights, while another one may be used for outlets.

Knowing the location of each circuit is essential since it enables the electrician to better identify any possible issues, should they arise. For instance, if there's an issue with an outlet, the electrician will be able to quickly identify which circuit it belongs to.

Mapping out the circuits' purpose is equally important because it helps electricians choose the right cables and wires to use for the circuits based on their intended use. 

Step 3: Breaker Selection 

An electrician's primary task is ensuring that your home's electrical circuitry isn't overloaded. To accomplish this, they will carefully select the appropriate circuit breakers for your home's electrical system.

A circuit breaker is an automatic safety device that trips when a circuit is overloaded, preventing electrical fires, equipment damage, or electrical hazards. The electrician will typically select breakers based on the electrical usage and safety requirements needed. They will select the breaker based on its amperage limit, which is determined by the load calculation done in Step 1.

Step 4: Safety Checks 

Home safety is of the utmost importance, and electricians know this better than anyone else. That's why safety checks are usually done before an electrician concludes the job.

Safety checks are done by turning on each circuit and seeing how it works under load. This process helps to check safety features like breaker tripping, ground-fault circuits, polarity, and surge protection.

Ensuring that these safety standards are met and that you and your family are protected in emergencies is an integral part of the electrician's job.

To find out more, contact a local residential electric company.