Energy Efficient Electrical Designs for New Homes

When Your Home May Be in Need of an Emergency Electrician

26 May 2015

Kimberly Garrett

Your home's power doesn't need to outright fail for it to be in need of an emergency electrician, as sometimes there are needed repairs that should be handled quickly but which don't interfere with your home's power supply. You might also not recognize certain signs and symptoms of needed emergency repairs and in turn, may be putting your home at risk of an electrical fire.

If your home's electricity is showing any of the following signs, consider calling for an emergency electrician:

1. A burning or singed smell

Electricity itself has no odor so you should never smell it as it runs through the wiring of your home. A burning or signed smell can often mean that wires have become bare or frayed and the electricity is then coming into contact with building materials behind the walls, such as drywall or insulation or the building studs. The electricity can singe these materials and in turn, you can smell this singeing or the material itself being burned.

Electrical fires also have a distinct odor and if you've ever been near one, you may recognize this odor from behind your walls when the electricity is burning your home's building materials. Don't ignore this but call an emergency electrician, as these building materials coupled with that electricity can easily start a fire.

2. Popping sounds behind the walls

As with odor, electricity should make no sound as it runs along the wiring in your home. However, when a wire is bare or frayed, the electricity often cannot continue along the circuit and it will pop as it reaches this spot. This is similar to the sound you might hear if you pull a plug from a wall and see a spark and hear a pop; that's the electricity that's no longer able to continue on the circuit.

The danger of this sound behind your walls is that the pop may also mean an electrical spark is created, and this too can put your home at risk of an electrical fire. If you plug in any electronic device or if a device stops working and you hear this popping sound, it's good to call an emergency electrician to have those wires checked and ensure that there are no sparks being created in your home's wiring.

Remember that because an electrical fire usually starts behind the walls, you may not always notice it right away. This is why it's good to always call an emergency electrician when you think you have any problems with your home's electricity, to avoid this risk of fire in the first place. To learn more, contact a company like Power Assist Electrical Services with any questions you have.

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