Reported Post by mlarson

mlarson · October 2, 2013, 5:33pm

mlarson has reported a post.

Reason:

Post: How do I know if I need a panel upgrade?
Forum: Electrical Inspections
Assigned Moderators: gbeaumont, fmagdefrau, fcarrio, lkage, mkyriacou, jmckenna1, rromoser, sgilligan1, iniquette, bjones5, jramos, wwilson3

Posted by: Joe Estrada
Original Content:

[FONT=Calibri]There are many things that are charming about older homes, but their electrical wiring and infrastructure are rarely one of them. If you live in a less-than-new property, you have probably already run into some strange wiring glitches, outlets that don’t work, or light switches that don’t seem to do anything. [/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]Have you ever had the experience of not being able to run two appliances in the same room at the same time? Say you’re in the kitchen and you have the coffee maker going and you put something in the microwave to heat up. After a few seconds, both machines go dead and you have to trek down to the basement to reset the breaker that tripped.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]In a different scenario, let’s say you’re in the bathroom using a hairdryer. You turn it on and then the lights go dim or start to flicker as the hairdryer draws power. Nothing stops working altogether, but it’s clear that the demand for power is exceeding the supply.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]When you stop to think about it, the problem is not that there’s not enough power available from your local utility. It’s that the conduits for the power–i.e. your home’s electrical wiring and panel–aren’t in sync with the demands of the modern age. This is not only an annoying state of affairs: It’s also a dangerous one.[/FONT]
[FONT=Calibri]If you find that there’s not enough power in your home to run the appliances or lights that you need, don’t ignore the problem. Constantly resetting tripped breakers or dealing with flickering lights are minor issues when compared to the danger of faulty wiring. If left untreated, old, worn out, or frayed wires could easily start fires, causing home damage, personal injury, and even death. If you live in an older structure and you are experiencing electrical problems, call your local electrical service specialist to come check out your electrical panel and/or wiring.[/FONT]
http://www.delairelectrical.com

sstanczyk · October 2, 2013, 5:58pm

I think this forum will be subject to many more of these types of posts. The message board to open to contractors now. I can see them start to answer questions with a signature line really no different than those we have in our own signatures.

It was a bad idea to bring a whole different community onto a home inspection message board. They should have had their own message board. In many instances we are in direct conflict with contractors that may have caused the issue we are calling out in the first place. Poor judgement in my opinion.

pdixon1 · October 8, 2013, 7:40am

Don’t see anything wrong with the post in and of itself. However I strongly agree with Stephen.