When it comes to maintaining your home these days there is a strong emphasis on “doing it yourself.” Just turn on the television and start flipping through channels and it won’t be long before you arrive at one of many DIY programs to be found. Many homeowners have proven and effective DIY skills in many areas of home improvement and repair. But one area that demands a cautious and honest assessment of your DIY limits on skills is electrical wiring. To fail to do so is not only dangerous, it can lead to unexpected expenses. Know your DIY limits!

There are two considerations concerning DIY wiring in your home, and the most important of the two is concerns for your safety and the safety of those who reside in your home. Any time you are exposed to live electrical wires there is a danger of being shocked or even electrocuted.

Here are some common electrical problems in the home when you are assessing whether to DIY or call in a professional electrician.

• A sign that circuits are drawing too much electricity is breakers that trip constantly. This is not a DIY fix. It’s a potential fire risk requiring an electrician‘s training and skillset, so pick up the phone and make an appointment with someone you trust.
• If any of your outlets are not working, it’s a sign of poor connections and something you want to avoid fixing unless you know exactly what you’re doing.
• An immediate concern that warrants calling an electrician is when fixtures and switches are warm to the touch. This is a common electrical problem, and should never be ignored.
• Another indicator of poor connections would be flickering lights, or lights that go dim for no reason. Unless you know how to safely DIY, call an electrician. We don’t want you electrocuting yourself in the process. Chip Gaines may make it look easy, but it can be far more complicated than what you might assume.
• Light bulbs eventually burn out, but if one is doing so frequently: you’ve got a problem with a loose connection in either the circuit or the socket itself. Call an electrician to help you solve this problem.

Aside from concern for safety, there is the need for conforming to code. All electrical work must conform to the National Electric Code and, here in the Seattle area, the Seattle Electrical Code.

Failure to do so may impact your pocketbook in a big, bad way.

What if you try to sell your home and it is found to have electrical systems? It simply do not conform to these codes during an inspection, corrective repairs must be performed. It will now be re-appraised and could even halt the selling process.

Knowing some DIY limits will save you much time in the future.

Are you in Seattle? Are you seeking the services of a professional and licensed electrician? Be sure and check out Wire Craft Electric.

We serve Seattle and surrounding cities in King and Snohomish county, and we’re available right now.

Stats and What You Need to Know

Electricity is one of the most important things in our lives. Most of the time hardly a thought is given to it. You open your refrigerator and get a glass of milk. After that, you turn on the bathroom light in the middle of the night. Next, you charge your phone overnight to make sure you have a full battery for the next day. Think about what happens with all of those tasks without energy. Your milk gets warm and sour. You may stub your toe getting to the bathroom. Your phone won’t charge. Your electricity is often not thought about until it’s gone. Then, you really wish it was back. Let’s talk about the statics of Seattle’s electrical grid and how this impacts you.

Statistics about Seattle’s Electrical Grid and Companies

For your information, Seattle City Light has about 422,810 metered customers that will use an annual 9,157,494 megawatt-hours. This breaks down to 41,391 business customers using 6,242,931 megawatt-hours and a pool of 381,419 residences using 2,914,563 megawatt-hours.

That’s a lot of electricity per person, and many of the sources of energy come from non-renewable resources. Seattle City Light has an interactive map. It shows people how many electrical outages are occurring, and how many customers the outages are affecting. This gives you an idea of the size of the grid and their methods of clearing up outages.

More Statistics

In addition to that, Seattle has a long history as being an energy conservation program, and in fact, has one of the longest running programs in the country. Seattle was the first utility company offering electricity to become a greenhouse gas neutral entity. Moreover, Seattle is at the cutting edge of finding renewable resources for energy production and employs the use of hydroelectric power at 86% percent in 2021. The other sources of energy for the city includes nuclear, wind, coal, biomass, natural gas, petroleum, and landfill gasses.

This can make it sound like Seattle has it all figured out when it comes to the reliance on renewable resources. The truth is that the increasing use of electricity is presenting more and more of a burden on the electrical grid. It’s great that Seattle is using hydroelectric power, but there is still a duty on every person to find ways to decrease their demands on the grid. This not only helps the environment in not having to have as much electricity produced, but it also can help to reduce your electricity bills. This is a complete win-win incentive to do your part in the green movement.

What You Can Do

It’s easy to think that there is nothing you can do to make a difference when it comes to the usage of electricity in Seattle. You’re just one person, right? Your family, however, can make a big difference when added to all of the other people that do something small to change how they are using electricity. There are a number of things that you can do to reduce the amount of electricity your family uses.

Beware of Energy Vampires

Any appliances that have a little light on them to show they are plugged in, but not on are sucking up energy that’s not necessary. It can be a good idea to locate the different appliances that are energy vampires and unplug them. If unplugging them isn’t an option, you can invest in power towers that allow you turn off a row of plugs at a time. This means that some plugs will still have power while others are not on.

Monitor Electrical Usage

Another way to examine your electrical usage is in your larger appliances. It may be time for an upgrade to an energy star appliance that uses electricity more efficiently. Older refrigerators, washers, dryers, air conditioners, and more all use more electricity than their newer counterparts. Upgrading may cost you money in the short-term, but you may find that your lower electric bill can make that investment well worth it.

Upgrade Your Electrical System

Another place you can upgrade is with your electrical system. You may have an older system that is failing to provide the best use of electricity in your home. Getting an electrical audit in your home can help you to find ways to improve your home’s electricity use.

Power is an important resource and it’s up to everyone to do their part. Seattle has a large electrical grid with consumption to match for a big population. It can be easy to think that any efforts on your part wouldn’t do much to change the numbers, but with everyone working together, reductions are possible. You can work to save natural resources by reducing your electricity demands by making an effort to reduce energy waste and to improve the electrical system in your home.

Need assistance with improving your electrical usage?

Contact us at Wire Craft Electric to see where your electrical system could use an upgrade.

We will help you to eliminate energy waste in your home.