If you have an older home or are considering purchasing an older home there are lots of different things you have to think about that people with newer homes do not have to worry about. Appliances, air conditioning units, electrical wires, roofing, and more can all start to need repairs or need to be replaced as time passes. There are some common electrical problems that seem to pop up in older homes that we want to discuss.

Dead Electrical Outlets Can Start a Fire

Sometimes you go to use an outlet and simply just does not work. This is called a dead outlet. Dead outlets sometimes are due to tripped circuit breakers. If you have a tripped circuit breaker you can reset the breaker and the outlet will work just fine again. If your outlets still do not work after you reset the breaker you probably have a loose or burned-out connections. Burned-out outlets will frequently have black scorch marks on them.

Damaged Electrical Wiring

Over time wiring eventually deteriorates. Aluminum wiring expands and shrinks in hot and cold temperatures. Wiring also oxidizes and corrodes. When wiring oxidizes and corrodes it can overheat and potentially start a fire. Electrical fires can cause lots of damage. You will need to replace any old wiring so that it does not cause sparks or fire.

Circuit Breaker Keeps Tripping

If you circuit breakers frequently are tripping it means that your home’s power boards are overloaded. You will want to seek professional help. Peterkin Electric can come out and help you see what the problem is. We can see what your home’s wiring can handle on a daily basis and help with the overloaded circuits.

Flickering or Dimming Lights

If your lights are flickering sometimes there is a real simple quick fix. Try tightening the light bulb that is flickering and it may solve the problem. If that does not work you may have a defective bulb and replacing it should solve the problem. If those two things do not work it could be that your old wires have weakened electrical connections. You will want to get this repaired quickly before it causes an electrical fire in your home. Another problem can be that your wiring is held together with the wrong connectors. Peterkin Electric can also help you with this problem.

Light Bulb Burns Out Immediately

Many of our customers that have older homes complain that their bulbs burnout frequently. If this happens to you it could be that you the wattage of the light bulb is too high. It can also indicated that there is faulty wiring in the home.

Light Switch Buzzing

Sometimes people will have buzzing or popping sounds that come from their light switches. This is an indicator that the switch is going to go bad fairly soon. It could mean that some of your wires are touching each other or something else that they should not be touching, like insulation. This should definitely be inspected by a professional electrician.

Electrical Inspections, Repairs & More in Laguna Woods, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Irvine, Lake Forest & Orange County, California

If any of these problems are happening in your older home you may be at risk of an electrical fire in your home. Call Peterkin Electric today and we can come out and help you get your electrical safely working in your home.