7 Electrical Home Safety Checks to Do Before Winter

How do we make our home winter ready? We seal the exterior woods. Ensure that the heating and air conditioner are working on the high notch. Check the drainage & gutters, clean the chimney & count the thicker blankets! But what about the electrical winter safety? 

Have you inspected your home's electrical system for winters to ensure that there is the least possibility of electric hazards? Use this article as a winter electrical safety checklist.

These are the 7 assessments that help you prepare the electrical system of your home for the winters:

The HVAC System

Checking doesn't mean seeing whether the thermostat is working at the highest temperature or not. You need to call an electrician to thoroughly check the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. Its mid-winter breakdown leaves you cold in your home for days. An out-of-order HVAC system also damages the plumbing of your home.

The Breaker Box

If there is an issue in one of your breakers, it can cause significant damage to your electrical products in winter. Therefore call an electrician and get all the breakers tested from your breaker box or electrical panel.

An electrician can repair or resolve a potential threat in any breaker before it can cause an equipment breakdown or an electric hazard.

The Wiring System

Do you see frayed wires, sockets with burn spots, and blackened shadows? Or do you smell a burning smell? Are you hearing the buzzing noise from the sockets lately? Well, all these are the signs of damaged electrical conduit fitting in your home.

This type of damaged wiring system is one of the biggest electrical hazards as it increases the chances of a short circuit in the electrical cable. Call an electrician immediately and get the electrical wiring of your home repaired.

Surge Protectors

The surge protectors are crucial as they prevent homes from a power outage. Check that your surge protectors are working correctly, and install a surge protector if you don't have one. They not only prevent your electrical products and devices from being broken but also prevent your family from electrical hazards like short circuits and electrical flashes.

Smoke Detectors

At this point we’ve all heard of some incident of an aggravated house fire in winter due to smoke detectors not working. If you want to prevent your home from such hazards, check the batteries of all your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Also, ensure that they are installed properly at each vital location in your home.

Call a licensed electrician if you want to install a new one or you want to check the current placement of smoke detectors in your home.

Cracked & Missing Electrical Outlet Covers

Outlet covers provide protection from open and exposed electrical wires. None of your outlet covers should be cracked or missing. To be thoroughly safe, they must be in good condition and also adequately cover the outlets. Call an electrician to replace all cracked or missing outlet covers before the winter begins to avoid any electrical hazards due to open wires.

Additional Sockets Required

Don't rely on adaptors to use high-rates appliances. Ensure that you have enough adaptors installed in your home or install new ones if required. This step is non-negotiable to avoid short circuits and other electrical hazards.

In a Nutshell

Take all these winter safety steps as precautions against electrical hazards so that when next time someone reminds you that "winter is coming," you can proudly say that you and your family are well prepared and safe!!

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Author Bio: Jeson Pitt works with D&F Liquidators and regularly writes to share his knowledge while enlightening people about electrical products and solving their electrical dilemmas. He’s got the industry insights that you can count on along with years of experience in the field.