 | James Seward is the owner & operator of Seward Electric in Pittsburg. For more information or to reach James please call 620-232-1696. |
Construction
2011-10-20 12:10:54
A whole house rewire
Q: When should we consider a whole house re-wire and what are the considerations? Is it a huge project that will have us without power for days? We are kind of debating the need for our older home.
A: You have asked some great questions. Let’s take them one at a time.
While you did not mention the age of your home, as a general rule, if your home was built before 1950 a whole house rewire should be a strong consideration. With today’s electrical demands, most electricians even recommend it as a serious consideration for homes built as late as 1960.
Rewiring your home is not just a matter of meeting your electrical demands. Although that is a consideration, it is primarily a matter of safety.
Here are some reasons to consider having your home rewired:
•If your house was wired before 1950, the wiring insulation is likely made of cloth. This is of course a fire hazard.
•If your home was built before 1935, it has knob and tube wiring. This method used ceramic based conduits and is dangerous as the wires are ungrounded.
•Homes built in the 1960s used a lot of aluminum wiring. These wires tend to heat up faster and can cause fires. As the load of electricity that is demanded increases, the risk of fire increases as well.
•Any ungrounded wiring needs to be grounded.
•An insufficient number of power outlets may indicate outdated wiring.
•If more power outlets have been added, then you need to ensure that your current panel can handle increased outlets. Most often the wiring in the whole house needs to be remapped in order to accommodate more power outlets.
•The excessive use of power extension chords is another indication that your home maybe in need of additional electrical circuits.
Next month, we will address what you can expect in the process of re-wiring.
