About Electrical wiring contractors

Hiring an electrical wiring contractor is often an expensive proposition. Yet, without proper expertise, trying to install or repair your own electrical wiring project can be a dangerous undertaking. Severe electrical shock, burns, and lethal electrocution can be the dire consequences of ill-advised bravado. Improper wiring installations can also lead to the bigger problems of appliance failures and circuit shorts. In some cases, electrical fires can spark and destroy your beautiful home. While shady electrical wiring contractors exist, there's also a reason these contractors are expensive.

 

Safety First

 

Before you begin to tamper with any wiring or electrical switches, you need to make sure your home and appliances have grounding. Simply put, grounding is a way of ensuring any unintentional current that escapes from its normal path gets channeled into the Earth and not a human body. Many electrical codes now require grounding electrodes or grounding plates to create this safety feature, but older homes may not have this feature. You should make sure your home is fitted with this grounding whether you're considering taking on a wiring project or not.

The other crucial electrical safety feature for your home is a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). In the effect that an unintentional ground is created this safety device detects the current drain and shuts off your electrical power. These devices are different than circuit breakers which protect wires from overheating and sparking. A circuit breaker doesn't protect you from electrocution and a GFCI doesn't protect your wiring. Again, most electrical codes now require a GFCI device for newer homes, but an older home may not have one. If you don't know if your home has a GFCI or grounding for your appliances, you should find out before dealing with any electrical wiring project.


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All contents of this page are taken from http://www.servicemagic.com/