I'M TALKING ABOUT ELECTRICAL SHORTS!
Short circuits, overloaded circuits, faulty breakers, over-fused panels and damaged wiring are one of the main causes of house fires.
According to the US Fire Administration, during a typical year, home electrical problems account for 67,800 fires, 485 deaths, and $868 million in property losses. Home electrical wiring causes twice as many fires as electrical appliances.
Most electrical fires result from problems with "fixed wiring" such as faulty electrical outlets and old wiring. Problems with cords and plugs, such as extension and appliance cords, also cause many home electrical fires. In urban areas, faulty wiring accounts for 33% of residential electrical fires. Many avoidable electrical fires can be traced to misuse of electric cords, such as overloading circuits, poor maintenance and running the cords under rugs or in high traffic areas.
The problem is, that you may never notice the problem lurking there, ready to flash into flame until it actually does. This is where Thermal Infrared scanning comes in. A thermal camera actually "sees" heat, not visible light like your eyes. Here is an example:
This is what an overheated wire looks like to the IR Camera
Have I convinced you that an IR scan for electrical problems of your house might be a good idea?
Dana Bostick Magic Leak Finders
According to the US Fire Administration, during a typical year, home electrical problems account for 67,800 fires, 485 deaths, and $868 million in property losses. Home electrical wiring causes twice as many fires as electrical appliances.
The problem is, that you may never notice the problem lurking there, ready to flash into flame until it actually does. This is where Thermal Infrared scanning comes in. A thermal camera actually "sees" heat, not visible light like your eyes. Here is an example:
This is what an overheated wire looks like to the IR CameraBy scanning the home, including the main electrical panel, sub panels, outlets & switches and other electrical components, you can spot problems that can then be diagnosed by an electrician and corrected before it burns your house down.
During my regular "visual only, general home inspection" I often find older, outdated panels, a very old style of wiring called "Knob & Tube" and a lot of "homeowner" style additions to the electrical systems. These are all huge red flags! Older, outdated panels and knob & tube can prevent you from getting fire insurance in many cases. It is statistically proven that an under powered house of less than 100 amps of service is much more likely to have overloaded circuits. There may only be 4-6 circuits for the whole house with only one outlet in a room. (current requirements, in comparison, are for at least 7 circuits just in a kitchen alone)
Where are you going to plug in your big screen TV, the game system plus lamps, electrical heaters, computers, toaster oven etc. etc. You can see how it is so easy to overload that one plug by adding an extension cord or a multi-plug adapter to get more places to plug all this in.
Does this look familiar? This would add up to about a 30 amp draw on this 15 amp circuit! (not counting the "kitty" night light LOL)
During my regular "visual only, general home inspection" I often find older, outdated panels, a very old style of wiring called "Knob & Tube" and a lot of "homeowner" style additions to the electrical systems. These are all huge red flags! Older, outdated panels and knob & tube can prevent you from getting fire insurance in many cases. It is statistically proven that an under powered house of less than 100 amps of service is much more likely to have overloaded circuits. There may only be 4-6 circuits for the whole house with only one outlet in a room. (current requirements, in comparison, are for at least 7 circuits just in a kitchen alone)
Where are you going to plug in your big screen TV, the game system plus lamps, electrical heaters, computers, toaster oven etc. etc. You can see how it is so easy to overload that one plug by adding an extension cord or a multi-plug adapter to get more places to plug all this in.
Does this look familiar? This would add up to about a 30 amp draw on this 15 amp circuit! (not counting the "kitty" night light LOL)
Is your house still on glass fuses? That's like from ancient times! Back in those days they printed "In God We Trust" on the penny because people would place them under burnt out fuses to make the circuit work until they remembered to replace the fuse, if they ever did. This, in effect makes the circuit wire the fuse. Not a great idea. Red hot wires inside wood walls or in the attic with cardboard boxes stacked over them or, better yet, covered with insulation, is a great way to "remodel" the house a bit sooner than you had planned. This of course would be a "full, foundation up" job since that is all that would be left.
Have I convinced you that an IR scan for electrical problems of your house might be a good idea?
Dana Bostick Magic Leak Finders
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