Electricity is now, more than ever, a key feature of every modern home, and we cannot imagine life without electricity. We have replaced the good ol’ hand washing utensils with a dishwasher, sweeping floors has been replaced with a vacuum cleaner. So what happens when your electrical system starts malfunctioning?
If you live in an old house, it’s probably the electrical wiring. If your house was built before 1973, it’s possible you have an old electrical system. If that has never been updated and upgraded, you should do it now. The old electrical wiring wasn’t designed to take the load of today’s appliances. So, everyday appliances such as iron, refrigerator, vacuum, washing machine etc are putting too much load on the system causing it to malfunction.
Get a professional electrician to help you with this job.
Other than house houses, there are several reasons to replace your old electrical wiring system.
1. The lights inside your home are flickering or are dim.
Second, this usually means that the electrical system is not functioning well, you may have drop-outs or your old electrical wiring isn’t up for the job these days. All these are indications for an upgrade.
2. The electrical system is tripping the breaker.
This means that you are overloading your house with electricity and your system can’t keep up. If the breaker is regularly tripping or if the fuses are blowing regularly, this is a dangerous situation that can cause a potential fire. This means that your system is old and needs a serious upgrade. Get at least 3 electrician quotes to help you update your wiring system.
3. Your household needs a lot of extension cords.
Our day-to-day activities require more power than 30 years ago or more when your house was probably built. If this is the case, there is a need for an upgrade, in order not to put too much pressure on your 1 or 2 outlets per room. Complete electrical wiring should be redone, so you don’t plug in more than one major consumer per outlet.
Please remember – If the outlets are already stained or changed color in some areas, this is an indication of existing power surges. This is a high fire risk and you need to address this immediately.
How many outlets are necessary for a regular room, exactly?
That depends on the destination of the room in question, the function of the devices or equipment you want to use there. Add some extra outlets for light sources and for powering up your devices, in addition to those for the TV, the washer and dryer, the vacuum or self-operating vacuuming robots like Roomba, for laptops and others. For minimum use of cords in the room, you will probably need starting from 5 outlets and up to 10 per room, which is a minimum for a safe and functional home. Your electrician will be able to advise you on these depending on your house and requirement.
How much does an electrician cost?
This clearly depends on the area and surface of your home, but we can help you by explaining the activities involved for upgrading your electrical wiring system, to help budget according to electrician quotes in your area. So, how much does an electrician cost? According to Service.com.au Electricians charge between $80 to130 per hour. But, it varies from place to place.
How does electrical rewiring work?
First, the electrician will need to extract the old system from your walls. In some cases, in more modern homes, this can be done without breaking and entering, but it usually goes down to drilling walls and ceilings, which is heavy work, especially to stone walls of older houses. After drilling, the electrician will sweep all the older electrical components, in order to remove any potential danger. They will also try to preserve the structure as much as possible.
Then, they will identify and mark new cable locations. Next up, the drilling will continue according to your joint plans of refurbishing, to make your house more cozy and practical. Your electrician will know how to avoid hazards such as asbestos materials in the process, so you can see why this is not a job for non-electricians.
Later, they would rewire your outlets and replace the outlets too. As this is a very technical part, an electrician needs to rewire all your systems. Even if the power is off, you will want this taken care of by a professional, so there would be no loose ends.
Determining the right amount of circuits. In order not to over-run a circuit or a segment, an electrician will know exactly how many circuits will be needed per room, so your large consumers would not put too much pressure on one outlet in particular.
This can be a time-consuming process and needs to be done perfectly so remember to hire the best electrician. But don’t just choose the first one. Get quotes from at least 3 local electricians. Just take into account that this is an important investment for your house, and is important in keeping your home safe and running.
Therefore, hiring a professional and not doing things by yourself is the way to go when you will consider changing your electrical wiring.
Having a brand new and well-planned electrical system inside your home can improve your living standards and avoid unnecessary and unwanted risks. Consider things differently. An accident inside the house will cost you more than the mere replacement of the electrical works within your house.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks