Electrical Inspection in Olympia, Washington

Your home’s electrical system provides you with modern amenities and conveniences that you enjoy every single day. There are plenty of different things that can interfere with your home’s electrical system, and it’s important to watch out for them.

Electrical inspections from Shocking Difference LLC can help keep your home’s electrical system working reliably and safely here in Olympia, WA.

Do I Need an Electrical Inspection?

Electrical maintenance is one area that homeowners often don’t know what the best course of action may be. There are a few different scenarios where you should be reaching out to an electrician for an electrical inspection.

Even if everything seems to be working right, you should still have an electrical inspection once every three to five years, depending on the age of your home. There are plenty of issues that can develop behind the scenes without you noticing, and these could eventually pose a fire risk or otherwise damage your home.  Electricity is live and as it moves through the wires in your homes it heats and cools. This heating and cooling as you turn on the toaster, blow dryer act just like water in the freezer the wire expands and contracts with the heat. This expansion and contraction cause connections to become loose.

This is a photo of a stab locked outlet.

Can you see the screws on the sides? If you have outlets where the wires are just pushed into the holes on the back and not wrapped around the screws the dangers are increased as there is just a compression fitting that loosens with use. Check your outlets and see if they are stab locked and know that if they are your home is at an increased risk of fire.

Electrical Panel Issues

Some of the most serious issues your home’s electrical system can face are related to your electrical panel. If you find that circuit breakers in your home are frequently tripping, then an electrical inspection should be able to find the cause. 

This might not just be an inconvenience. It could also be a sign of circuits posing a serious fire risk.

You might also notice that your electrical panel is unusually warm, which is another sign that something may be wrong. An electrical inspection can also help you identify potential ways to improve your electrical panel’s safety, like whole-home surge protection.

Safety Concerns

There are some electrical safety issues that homeowners can easily identify if they know what they’re looking for. Many homes have outdated electrical components, such as ungrounded circuits and recalled electrical panels such as Zinsco and Federal Pacific and if you identify any of them, then you should reach out to Shocking Difference for a thorough electrical inspection.  You can usually identify a zinsco or federal pacific panel because the breaker handles have colors other than black or tan. 

If your home still has 2-prong outlets, you should seek out an inspection. These are dangerous enough on their own, but the fact that your home still has them could mean there are other outdated electrical components putting your home at risk.

There are also some highly noticeable signs that something is wrong with your circuits or electrical boxes. If you look at the busbar in your panel and you see a rainbow you have a problem with your panel and it needs to be updated.

If you notice sparking or black marks on outlets or switches, you should get an electrical inspection right away to identify the issue at hand.

The same goes for noticeably warm outlets or switches or any strange electrical noises.

What Will My Electrical Inspection Cover?

When you choose Shocking Difference for your next electrical inspection in Olympia and surrounding areas, you’ll be getting a thorough and careful inspection that will ensure your home is safe and up to code. 

We’ll identify current issues, signs of developing issues, and anywhere that your electrical components are outdated or unsafe.

The most important part of the electrical inspection is ensuring that your home is safe. We’ll check to see that all your electrical components are up to today’s modern safety standards.

This includes making sure you have the GFCI and AFCI circuit protection that prevents shocks and fire risks, along with verifying that those circuit interrupters are working correctly.

We also check outlets and switches to ensure they’ve been properly installed and maintained to avoid shock and fire risks. The electrical boxes around these fixtures can become electrocution hazards if they aren’t installed properly or if wire coatings are deteriorating.

Our team will check to see if any of your home’s electrical components are outdated. Homes built in the 70s or earlier are of particular concern and could have a variety of issues. 

Aluminum wiring was widely used in the era but is now known to be a fire hazard due to the amount of contraction and expansion metal makes with heat and the fact that aluminum gets oxidized and prevents good wire to wire connections. Knob-and-tube wiring used in even earlier homes is especially important to consider removing as it does not have a ground and the connections can cause sparking. 

Shocking Difference LLC will verify that your home’s electrical panel is both safe and able to provide for your electricity needs. In many cases, an electrical panel upgrade can solve a variety of electrical issues.

No matter what the results of your electrical inspection, our professional electricians will be open and transparent from start to finish. We can provide you with a detailed overview of any electrical repairs needed and give you an honest quote.

Find Out What You Need to Know About Your Home

Shocking Difference handles electrical work of all kinds here in Olympia, WA, and the surrounding areas. Our licensed electricians can identify any electrical issues and provide you with the repair and replacement options you need. 

Reach out to Shocking Difference today for your next electrical inspection.

Additional areas we serve:

DuPont / Lacey / Rainer / Rochester / Shelton / Steilacoom / Tenino / Tumwater / Yelm