Dangers of an improper electrical system.
Electricity is practically a necessity of modern day life as I believe many would agree. Although there are various places on earth which currently do not rely on electricity. We here in America would most likely struggle without access to this convenience.
Electricity keeps our lights on, keeps our foods cold in the refrigerator, powers our heating and cooling systems to help us stay comfortable. In the 18th century laundry was scrubbed on a washboard in a wash tub with water someone either drew from a well or ran to the creek to get. Now in our time we have the water piped to our home and pumped throughout cities and towns by electric pumps, and a handy machine that will wash our clothing. No more scrubbing on the old washboard till fingers were raw. No longer are we dependent upon candles and lanterns to light rooms at night, flip a switch and on goes the light.
I often think living the way people lived in the 18th century would be fun and exciting; especially the cooking on a fire or a hearth, and the blacksmithing. However, after a long day of work I really enjoy a nice hot shower and air conditioning if it is hot outside.
As wonderful as having electricity is and all the modern conveniences it affords us, there are unfortunately some negative sides we need to consider. When electricity was first brought to homes, the electrical demands of the home were not as large as they are today. Many houses had a 60 amp meter and a small fuse panel. The wiring was knob and tube type, which is uninsulated and would run though an insulated tube when it came to an obstruction in the home it needed to pass through. This style of wiring is more or less like you see on the top of the wooden poles with the glass insulators. With knob and tube wiring if you were to touch the two uninsulated wires you are going to be in for a shock. Next came insulated wiring, the insulated wiring from the era of 50’s - 60’s is regarded as “rag wrap” and as the name implies the wires appear to be wrapped with rags. These wires have in most cases underwent serious degradation since they were installed. In modern day electrical systems we have romex, underground feeder, metal and plastic conduit; there are so many types and wire sizes to choose from. It takes a highly qualified individual to layout an electrical system to modern day standards, in most circumstances a licensed electrician is required.
Now for a deeper look at what can go wrong in a home with an electrical system. First off, if the home is an older home, we can expect the wiring and service panel could possibly need an upgrade. These items do not last forever, although there isn’t really an expiration date on them either. Evaluation is the key! Is the insulation starting to flake off the wiring? Is the main panel rusting? Signs of electrical arcing inside the panel? Another thing to look at with older homes is add-ons. Back when the system was new it may have only been designed to run one lamp in each room and maybe a radio or tv in the living room. Some fuse panels only had one 220 fuse slot for adding an appliance. As our electrical demands increased was the fuse panel upgraded? Was the meter and meter socket upgraded? What about the service entry cables and point of attachment on the outside of the house?
As our electrical demands on an existing system increase this can potentially lead to improper wiring. Improper wiring often comes from an unqualified individual adding or modifying the electrical system, usually to add an outlet or a light. Many older homes were wired only with a two wire system, which meant no equipment grounding at the outlets. Current building practice is to have grounding at all locations. A potential problem occurs when an appliance or accessory which requires grounding is added to a two wire system. Wiring size is also a concern when an unqualified individual attempts to modify an electrical system. Did they just use what they had on hand? What was cheapest on the store shelf? Or was the circuit properly sized to meet the electrical demand and installed to the proper size fuse or breaker? Many times in a fuse or breaker panel a 14 gauge wire will be attached to a 20 amp fuse or 20 amp breaker. This can cause the smaller size wire to over heat and potentially start a fire. Commonly the larger fuse or breaker was installed to eliminate the fuse from constantly blowing or the breaker needing reset; and sadly instead of addressing the main root cause…. that the circuit was most likely over loaded….. a sacrifice in safety occurred.
I didn’t have enough time to go as deeply as I’d like into the many aspects of electrical problems, but have merely scratched the surface. You may be wondering, “what can I do about all this?” How will I know if any of these exist in my home or potential home? Well friend you are in luck… There are home inspectors and electrical inspectors near you. Your first line of defense is information. Have your home inspected. if further evaluation by a qualified electrical inspector is recommended, please don’t hesitate to have one conducted.
As great a convenience as electricity is, it is still one of the most deadly forces known. Either by direct contact or by secondary outcomes, such as fires.
