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Becoming a new homeowner is an exciting milestone, but it also brings added responsibilities. As a homeowner, you’ll need to maintain your property and ensure your various systems continue to operate efficiently. While an electrician will help you should any issues arise, be sure to avoid these common mistakes new homeowners make.

Common Electrical Mistakes for First-Time Homebuyers 

1. Attempting DIY Projects

With the advent of the internet and tutorial videos, many people feel confident enough to undertake home improvement tasks themselves. While there are many relatively safe tasks for laymen who do their research, such as cabinet painting or shelf building, home electrical systems should be left to the professionals. Not only is faulty electrical work dangerous for you and your home, amateur handiwork could also cause you to be denied on certain homeowner insurance claims.  

2. Using the Wrong Wattage for Lights

ElectricianYou certainly don’t need to be an electrician to change out dead lightbulbs, but you should still be cautious of what wattage you’re using. Each of your electrical fixtures is designed to handle a certain level of power, but when you exceed the recommended threshold, you can damage the light socket and even your wires’ insulation.

3. Overloading Your Outlets

Each year, there are roughly 51,000 home electrical fires, with overloaded outlets being one of the more common causes. When you try to draw too much energy from one outlet, problems occur. Typically your circuit breaker will kick in at this point, shutting down the flow of electricity to that outlet, but if your breaker fails, an overloaded outlet could cause an electric fire. Map out your home’s circuits. Go to your main panel and turn off a breaker. Then walk around your home, flipping on switches to see which ones are impacted. Check the amp rating for that breaker and ensure the total wattage of all your appliances on that circuit doesn’t exceed it. Talk to an electrician about installing additional circuits or outlets to meet your needs if this is a constant inconvenience. 

 

The simplest way to avoid these common electrical issues as a new homeowner is to hire a professional. The expert electricians at Zelek Electric Co. in Old Lyme, CT, will ensure your home is properly wired so you’ll avoid any electrical issues. They’ll also help you migrate over to green energy with solar installations. Schedule an appointment today by calling (860) 434-9726 or by visiting them online.
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