Electrically Speaking
There are several systems that operate together to make your home work. The major household systems are heating (with or without central air conditioning), plumbing and the electrical service. Each system has its own possible problems and dangers when you use it or work on it. But, I believe that the electrical system has the potential of being the most dangerous, especially in older homes with services that have not been upgraded in recent years.
Finding the Limits of Your Electrical Services
The first thing you want to check is the limitations of your current services. The quickest and easiest checkpoint is your service panel, also called the fuse or breaker box. If your panel has breakers (they look like light switches laying on their side), chances are good that you have at least 100-amp service coming into your home. You can verify this by adding the amp values of each breaker in the panel. If you home was built in the 1950s or earlier, you may only have 60-amp service, or possibly even 30-amp service. If your service panel has round, screw-in fuses, they will likely be 15 amps each. Two fuses, 30-amp service. Four fuses, 60-amp service. These service panels are very easily overloaded and can cause a fire if you are not careful. Check with your power company to see if your house is being supplied with at least 100-amp service. If not, ask about getting it upgraded. You should also upgrade your service panel to at least 100 amps as soon as you can. This can be a DIY project, if you are comfortable working around electricity. Otherwise, an electrical contractor should be called in to switch out the service panels.
If your home was built before World War II, you may have knob-and-tube wiring. This type or wiring gets its name from the ceramic knobs that hold the wires and the ceramic tubes that let the wires pass through walls and ceilings. These wires are wrapped in rubberized cloth for this type of wiring. If you find it, it should be replaced as soon as possible, because of its potential as a fire hazard.
Once you have checked the service panel and know what your service is (30, 60, or 100 amps), you need to map out the circuits. Each breaker or fuse is one circuit and should supply no more than its amp rating. Some clues that indicate you are overloading a circuit include fuses that are always blowing out or breakers that always get tripped, and lights that dim or flicker with another light is turned on, or when an appliance turns on. If you are blowing fuses, don't be tempted to replace a fuse with a larger one. This can lead to the wires themselves becoming overloaded, heating up, and causing a fire. If you have replaced a fuse with a larger one, you should put in the correct size fuse as soon as possible and then look for reasons why the fuse is being overloaded. If your lights dim or flicker, you are coming close to the maximum load on that circuit and you need to reduce the load. But, how can you know what circuit handles which area and how can you tell if its overloaded?
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