Electrical problems in the house

1) What are the signs of electrical problems in the house?

1.0.1) When our electrical systems age, components can begin to fail.

This can be the cabling buried in the floors and walls, electrical accessories like sockets and switches or other components like the fuse box / consumer unit. 

There are a number of signs that we should look out for that may indicate electrical problems in the house and things that you should have investigated by an electrician.

• Flickering lights
• Power cuts that are not to do with the outside supply
• An old looking consumer unit or fuse box
• Sockets that are mounted in to the skirting boards
• Light fittings in bedrooms close to the windows
• Smell of burning
• Single sockets in every room and not enough sockets
• Sockets that sometimes work then stop working
• ‘Loose’ electrical accessories
• Switches that feel ‘spongy’

This list is not exhaustive by any means but is a useful list that indicates that there are or may be problems in the electrical installation. We will go through each on below so there is some more information to read on each.

2) Flickering lights

If you have lights that are flickering there could be a number of causes and a lot can depend on the circumstances surrounding the flicker. Commonly lights will momentarily flicker or dim when a power-hungry appliance is first turned on. A vacuum cleaner is a good example of this. In a vacuum cleaner there is an electric motor, which, when turned on will momentarily draw a very large current causing the voltage to drop resulting a flickering or dimming of the lights. Think about when you turn the key in the ignition of your car and the lights dim? 

If this is happening then it is likely that everything is actually okay and the resultant dimming is just due to high start-up electrical currents because of that appliance. 

Other causes of lights dimming can be loose connections along the electrical circuit or at the fuse box / consumer unit in your home. These types of issues are more of a problem as loose connections can generate a great deal of heat and cause a fire. 

A dimmer switch of that is failing or is unsuitable for the type of lamps / bulbs that are installed can also cause lights to flicker. Have you recently swapped your light bulbs out for different ones? This is a problem that also needs to be sorted out and often a standard on off switch can solve the issue until a suitable dimmer can be sourced. 

3) Power cuts that are not to do with the outside supply

When all the power to your home goes off it can be a worry and often it is nothing to do with the electrical installation in your home but rather the supply TO your home from the street. You can quickly and easily find out if there is an electrical supply problem by calling 105 and following the simple menu to speak to someone at the electricity distribution network. They will tell you if there are any known issues or works being carried out locally to you that may be affecting your electrical supply. 

If you establish that there are no problems out in the street then you need an emergency electrician to come and investigate for you. Power cuts that are not originating from the street can mean serious issues inside your homes electrical system and these need to be investigated by a professional without delay. 

4) An old looking consumer unit or fuse box

If you are concerned by the age of your consumer unit / fuse box then we are happy to have a free no obligation look for you. We don’t even have to call round to your home to do this if you are prepared to send a few good quality photographs via WhatsApp or Email to us. 

The fuse box / consumer unit in our home can go unchecked for a very long time despite recommendations that our electrical system is fully inspected every 10 years, few people know about this or have this done. When electrical systems are not maintained issues can occur and get out of hand, loose connections can happen, trip switches can jam or fail and hazards can develop that may only be seen or picked up by an electrician. 

5) Sockets that are mounted into the skirting boards

If your home has sockets that are mounted into the skirting boards then this could indicate that the wiring is very old. Skirting board mounted sockets was something that was done many decades ago. Now, it is possible that the property may have been rewired and the electricians used the same holes for their new sockets and cables but it may be worth asking your electrician to carry out an electrical inspection to see just how old the wiring is and if there are any problems that need tending to. 

Skirting board mounted sockets are not considered safe due to the excessive mechanical strain they exert onto plug cables and the risk of damage from a foot or hoover. 

6) Light fittings in bedrooms close to windows   

Back in the 60's and 70's light fittings were mounted on the ceiling closer to the window to prevent shadows being cast when curtains were closed and to prevent people outside being able to see inside the room when the light was on. This is not really done any more and most light fittings are now wired and installed centrally in the bedrooms. 

This practice MAY indicate that the wiring system is old, however, if the property has been rewired the electricians may have re-used the existing ceiling hole and taken the new cables to the old light fitting position. It is still worth having the electrical system checked by means of an electrical inspection to ascertain how old the wiring is and whether anything needs replacing, repairing or rewiring. This is the best way to check for “ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS IN HOUSE”

7) Smell of burning

It should not take a genius to work out that a smell of burning in the home is NOT a good thing. Most smells of burning originate from sources of heat or electricity and hence if you can smell burning then have an electrician come around to check what is happening. A smell of burning should absolutely not be ignored and should be investigated without delay. Electrical burning can occur when cables are overloaded, connections are loose, wiring is damaged and so on. Only an electrician should investigate the cause and subsequent solutions for this kind of issue. 

8) Single sockets in every room and not enough sockets

Whilst this is not necessarily a problem, single sockets everywhere was fine many decades ago but these days we require double sockets in several locations around each room as we have many more electrical appliances and accessories that require power these days. Single sockets in every room are a giveaway that your wiring system is likely to be old and whilst old does not mean bad it does mean that it likely needs an inspection to ascertain the condition and suitability for continued use. 

Single sockets everywhere undoubtedly will lead to extension leads trailing all over the place and the chance of overloading and therefore overheating of the electrical system. Have it checked by a professional.
Sockets that sometimes work then stop working

If it works then it must be fine right? Wrong! Wiring systems can harbour hidden dangers that will go completely unnoticed day to day by the users of the electrical installation as “everything is working”. 

A dead giveaway that there are electrical problems in the installation is sockets that intermittently function and then give up again. This is indicative of much more serious problems that should be checked by a fault-finding electrician as soon as possible. Loose wiring, aging sockets and damaged electrical accessories are a danger and all these things can cause sockets to work intermittently. Fuse box problems can also mean that sockets work intermittently. The electrical system in your home needs to be safe and if you are experiencing issues then it may not be safe, have it checked. 

9) Loose Electrical Accessories

Electrical accessories should be fixed to the wall or other surfaces securely and should not have any holes, cracks or movement in them. When electrical accessories become loose, they allow the wiring behind to move around, fingers to be inserted and other possible dangers to occur. It is not always as simple as tightening screws up to re secure them, wiring behind the accessory needs to be checked to ensure that it is out of the way and in good condition before electrical accessories are re -secured. Other issues like damaged lugs on the electrical boxes can mean that these need replacing or repairing before accessories can be resecured. An electrician can repair and replace these for you if you have these kinds of problems. 

10) Switches that feel ‘Spongy’

This is a common problem for older light switches and sockets. Electrical accessories have a life span despite many giving decades of service, wear and tear can take its tool and cause accessories to become worn. When switches start to feel ‘spongy’ it is an indication that they are likely to fail soon. Switches can disintegrate following a spongy feel and this will leave access to live parts behind the switch. If one or more of your electrical switches or sockets feel spongy, overly stiff or are showing their age then consider having all the electrical accessories in your home replaced and if you have not had an electrical inspection carried out in the last 10 years then this is also a really good idea.  

If you suspect you have “ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS IN HOUSE” then get in touch so we can help.