Are you living in a beautiful Ballarat home built in the 60s and unaware of the potential Electrical Hazards lurking in your outdated electrical systems that do not meet present-day requirements?
As Ballarat is born and bred licensed electricians, we know that old homes are loved with vintage fireplaces, verandas and double-brick construction, giving you a feel like you are walking on a film set from 5 decades back. However, when you start to live in an old home, reality strikes hard.
Today’s needs are different from what that house has to offer.
The days when the only appliances in your home used to be a toaster and a coffee machine are long gone. Now your home is loaded with high-wattage appliances from a dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator, microwave, iron, water heater, oven and other electrical gadgets.
Your old home’s electrical system, including electrical wiring, electric panels and power points, might not be able to meet the demands you are putting on it today.
And while the house’s plumbing may be giving you a hard time, the electrical work in your beautiful Ballarat home could be a ticking time bomb.
Here are 3 of the most alarming electrical dangers lurking in your old Ballarat home and what you need to do about them to make your home a safe place for your family.
Unsafe Wiring – Electrical Hazards
In the ’60s, electrical wiring was covered with lead, rubber or cotton. This kind of insulation deteriorates over time, exposing the live wires and risking them coming in contact with moisture or other elements. Old wiring is the main reason for electrical fires in older homes.
Inspecting your home’s wiring if you live in an old house or frequently face electrical problems such as a burning smell from outlets, blown fuses, breaker trips, flickering lights or buzzing power points is advisable.
No Safety Switches – Electrical Hazards
If you live in a very old home, chances are it has old ceramic fuses that are unsafe and cannot handle the load placed on them by modern appliances.
These fuses are made to serve 30 to 60 amps, whereas if you request a switchboard upgrade by your local Ballarat Electrician, these could be upgraded to 100 to 200 amps.
Additionally, old switchboards do not come with circuit breakers and safety switches for individual circuits, hence providing you absolutely no line of defence should there be a current leakage from your outlets or appliances.
Not Enough PowerPoints
Since a typical household from the 60’s never had too many appliances to run simultaneously, homes built in that era never had more than a handful of power points.
However, today a single person uses as many as 10 appliances in a day, many of them simultaneously.
Doing so in an old home means using an extension cord or overloading the existing power points. Installing new power points at strategic places around your home in Ballarat is advisable to avoid the danger of fire.
Wrapping up
As licensed Electrician in Ballarat, we believe that it’s not only the right thing to get your old Ballarat home’s wiring inspected but also to get a switchboard to upgrade so not only would your home meet the current Australian safety standards, but you would be effectively increasing the value of your property while keeping your family safe from potential electrical hazards.
