If you were to go back in time and tell someone living in the 1960s that aluminum wiring replacement in Fairfax, VA is the best choice they can make, they may be a little confused. Fifty years ago, aluminum wiring was in. Copper spiked in price and many new homes built during that time were equipped with aluminum wiring under the belief that it was the more cost-efficient option. However, cost-efficiency did not equal safety, as homes with aluminum wiring proved more at risk for electrical fires. Speed up fifty years and in a 2016 world, aluminum wiring is now incredibly unsafe.

Electric vehicles are one of the hottest new trends in the automotive industry. The idea is very appealing—According to ChargePoint, EV drivers save over 2.4 million gallons of gas annually and this will most likely only grow as popularity continues to increase. Going green is a very admirable goal. If you have considered the idea of an electric vehicle, one of the most common Los Angeles electrical questions you may have is how you go about keeping your car charged when you are on the go in day –to-day life. Utilizing your home’s electricity properly as well as visiting charging stations, such as those by ChargePoint will keep your EV going strong.

When it comes to charging at home, it is important to save money when at all possible while charging. You may want to contact an electrician in Los Angeles, from The Electric Connection, to see if your plug-ins, wiring and other equipment is up to par and will properly charge your electric vehicle. Then, it is important that you check with your electric company and see if there are any ways to save money by charging at certain off-peak hours. You may find that by changing your electric plan, you can save a significant sum on your electricity bill.

Charging on the go is becoming easier as more electric vehicle chargers are now available. For instance, in New York, there are currently 800 charging stations, and plans are to grow this to 3,000 over the next five years.

There are so many benefits to choosing an EV. In California, you may be able to drive in the HOV lane, even when driving alone. Spend some time researching and talk to an expert on electricity matters, such as The Electric Connection, and decide if it is time for you to jump board with the electronic vehicle trend.

You only need to type a few words into a search engine to pull up numerous DIY guides for repairing and replacing electrical lighting outlets in your home. Just grab a screwdriver, pliers, and wire cutters and you’re set.

But hold on—do you really know what you’re doing? These DIY guides can be notoriously sketchy, and some depend on you knowing far more about electrical repair than you probably do. Because of the risk of electrical shock and bad wiring that can lead to fires, you should leave the outlet repairs to trained electricians. Outlet shorts and faults are a common cause for household fires (the Electrical Safety Foundation estimates electrical troubles account for 55,000 fires a year), so you should never take such chances.

In some of our previous posts, you’ve likely seen our experts mention the presence of “ungrounded” outlets in homes and buildings. But what exactly makes an ungrounded outlet such a negative? Are they dangerous? Our certified electricians come to you today with answers to the real important questions regarding ungrounded outlets!

If you have ungrounded outlets and need an outlet upgrade, contact us today!

Ungrounded outlets are easily identified by simply taking a look at the face of the outlet (where you plug things in). On nearly all modern homes, there should be three holes. Two are the vertical slits, and one roundish one located underneath the pair of vertical ones. That’s a grounded outlet, which have been required by electrical safety standards for all structures since the mid-1960s.

Ungrounded outlets lack the third hole, the roundish one on the lower portion where the, somewhat obviously, ground plug goes.

To understand the why, you kind of have to understand what a grounded outlet does. The two vertical slots represent both a “hot” wire, and a “neutral” wire. The ground wire in a grounded outlet ties into the neutral vertical slot. Why the redundancy? Well, it acts like a failsafe. Should anything go awry with your outlet, such as a short, the renegade electricity simply travels safely along the ground wire back to the panel. Without the ground wire, that electricity can channel into materials, such as fabrics located close to the outlet, or a very unlucky person.

Is it dangerous in that it might jump out and bite you? No. Is it dangerous in that it dramatically increases personal and property risk? Yes, absolutely. Ungrounded outlets increase the chance of:

We’ve encountered a few arguments over the years about the safety of ungrounded outlets. Like how they were used just fine in the past, or how the home that has them hasn’t “burned down yet”, etc. Well, that’s just the thing. Yet.

We haven’t been hit by a car, but that doesn’t mean we should go walking down the center of a busy highway at midnight. Grounded outlets became a standard in electrical code for a reason. They prevent possible problems that homes consistently encountered in the past. It’s all about preparedness and prevention!

So to conclude, are ungrounded outlets dangerous? Yes, they represent a very real potential risk. Worried that you may have ungrounded outlets in your home or business? Contact the certified master electricians at Kolb Electric today! We’ve been bringing our consumers the very best in electrical advice and service for years, and your complete satisfaction and safety are always our top priority!