When do you need a professional electrician?

When you’re changing a plug or replacing a fuse, you may be confident that you know what you’re doing. However, even relatively minor electrical jobs require expert input.

Working with electrics can be extremely dangerous, which is why it’s such a heavily regulated industry. Knowing when you can do things yourself and when to call a professional electrician is important if you want to ensure your safety and the safety of those around you.

Electrical sockets not working

If one or two electrical sockets aren’t working, you might be tempted to leave them alone and use other ones. However, a faulty electrical socket can indicate a more serious problem. Outdated or poor installations could be the reason behind your broken sockets, and a replacement may be needed. Alternatively, a leaking pipe or dripping connector may have allowed water to get into the socket, thus causing a failure.

Of course, older sockets or light fittings may simply have reached the end of their lifespan and may require updating and/or replacing, or faulty wiring may be to blame. You may even find that a mouse or squirrel has gnawed through your wiring, causing a break in the circuit.

With so many possible causes, it’s important to establish exactly why your electrical sockets aren’t working. Whilst it might be easy to ignore a faulty socket, if a more serious problem is the root cause, the building could be at risk of developing an electrical fire.

By calling a professional electrician, you can establish why your electrical sockets are faulty and find out what’s needed to make them safe.

Frequent trips in the fuse box

It’s not uncommon for fuses to trip occasionally, particularly if there have been a few power surges in your area. However, regular or frequent trips should always be investigated by a certified engineer.

When excess power is present, your fuse box should trip as a safety mechanism. Although this is an important method of protecting the building and its occupants, it shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s essential to find out why there is an excessive amount of power coming through the circuit on a regular basis in order to ensure it doesn’t pose a safety risk.

Instead of simply replacing the fuse or turning the fuse box back on after its been tripped, contact a reputable electrical company like SCV Electrical for assistance. Usually, the cause of excess power can be identified relatively easily, and a certified electrician will be able to tell you what action you need to take to resolve the issue safely.

Installing new sockets and lighting

If you’re a keen home decorator or you enjoy some DIY, this might be something you think you can do yourself. Indeed, many homeowners did successfully install light fittings and electrical sockets for many years. However, not all of these installations were satisfactory and unnecessary injuries and accidents occurred as a result.

In a bid to prevent this from happening, new regulations were introduced to prevent homeowners and non-qualified personnel from undertaking this type of work. Whilst you don’t need to be certified in order to change the accessories or fittings, you will need to call a qualified electrician if you want to install or replace sockets and lighting.

Renovating a bathroom

If you’re redecorating your bathroom, chances are you’re going to need a plumber on site to carry out a significant amount of work. However, you’ll also need an electrician to install the relevant equipment too.

If you’re having a power shower installed, for example, a certified electrician will need to visit the site in order to complete this work. Again, new regulations have restricted non-qualified individuals from carrying out this type of work, so you’ll need to rely on a professional to do it for you.

In addition to this, an electrician is usually needed to install lighting in bathrooms and wet rooms. Due to the increased moisture content in these rooms, specialist safety measures are taken to prevent the risk of electrical fires and shocks. A damp proofing specialist in Chichester or any local provider is helpful in this situations to ensure no further damp and moulding problems come up in the future.

When you’re installing halogen lights in a bathroom, for example, you’ll need to select lights which are fully encased and are, therefore, protected from water. In contrast, halogen lights in other areas of the home may only have a thin layer of plastic as they aren’t exposed to water, condensation and moisture.

With expert knowledge and extensive experience, a certified electrician will be able to tell you exactly which fixtures can be used in your new bathroom or wet room and ensure they’re installed safely.

Creating a smart home or office

Advanced technology has enabled us to increase automation around the home and office. With minimal input, it’s possible to control every aspect of your home or office from the touch of a button. Indeed, the latest technology ensures you can control your environment by simply issuing a voice command! In addition to this, the evolution of AI means you won’t even have to issue a command before your appliances start performing in the way you want them too.

Before you can begin enjoying your new smart environment, however, you’ll need to ensure that you have sufficient power and connectivity. If you want to install automated blinds in your office, for example, you may need a professional electrician to install additional wiring so that they can be programmed and powered effectively.

Similarly, if you want to install virtual personal assistants in every room, you may want to increase the number of sockets you currently have. Alternatively, smart lighting options may need to be installed by a qualified electrician if you want to add them to your existing smart setup.

Knowing when to call a professional electrician

When an electrical problem arises, it may be tempting to try and fix it yourself. However, doing so could be dangerous and may even constitute a breach of the law. By contacting a professional electrician, you can ensure that the job is completed in accordance with the relevant regulations and that it’s fully safe and certified.