We often times don’t realize the extent to which we rely on electricity. We’re certainly aware of the ever-growing collection of expensive gadgets and devices we own. But exactly how much we depend on all of these things just to function on a daily basis is rarely as clear as when a power outage forces us to go without them.
Outages caused by storms are out of our control. In these cases, there’s precious little we can do except wait for the power to come back on. Outages caused by an electrical short on our own property are another story. These kinds of outages are easily preventable by following simple common sense guidelines and by hiring our trained professionals to perform regular maintenance on our building’s electrical wiring.
The first and simplest thing you can do to avoid a short is to just keep things unplugged when you aren’t using them. Even if you’re good about keeping things turned off when they aren’t in use, most of the electronics in your home are still using power even when they aren’t turned on. The only way to turn them completely off is to unplug them. Not only is this easy to do, but it won’t cost you anything and will actually save you money.
20 years ago many people were told that the commit charge of turning on power hungry devices like computers and home theatre systems was cheaper to leave them running, unless you weren’t going to be using them for at least 24 hours. This simply isn’t the case with modern devices of the same kind. While you’re going around your house unplugging things, it’s probably also a good idea to examine the wires on everything. Old or damaged wiring won’t just cause a short but also carry a serious risk of fire and electrical shock. If something looks like it needs be replaced you should probably just replace it. Leaving things unplugged is also an excellent way to avoid using multi-outlet plugs as much as possible.
Speaking of things that have changed over the years, the people who built our homes could in no way have anticipated the spectacular energy needs of people living in the 21st century. Even as most of our stuff has become more energy efficient, there’s just no way this can this account for sheer volume of electrical devices we own. Leaving things unplugged is the most reliable and inexpensive way we can prevent overloading from causing a short.
Another thing you may want to consider is having us visit your home or business to assess the integrity and efficiency of the internal wiring. A Home Energy Audit will make sure that the wiring on you property is up to date and running as cost effectively as possible. This will significantly reduce the likelihood of a short. It’ll also protect you from the very real possibility of the tragedy of a house fire caused by ancient electrical work. At the very least, being able to show that you’ve had recent maintenance done, will make if far more likely that you’ll receive the maximum compensation available to you in an insurance claim.
Do you live in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, or Maryland and have damaged or old wiring that needs to be replaced? Give us a call at 856.769.3932, our staff would be happy to help.