Many homeowners ignore the precautionary measures that have been detailed in different governmental policies, for different electrical installations. There will be times when you will be boggled as to why the inspector has failed your electrical inspection. There are many reasons for a failed inspection, which are very common and generally ignored by the house owners.

To understand the various electrical loopholes that are left by contractors, it is extremely important and necessary to learn about electrical inspection in general.

What is an Electrical Inspection?

An electrical inspection refers to the thorough checkup of the electrical connections and wiring installed in your home.

Who is an Electrical Inspector?

An electrical inspector is an authorized person from the government and municipality who is responsible for checking the electrical connections to ensure they comply with the law codes and requirements in the area.

Why is Electrical Inspection Important?

There are many reasons behind the necessity of getting an electrical inspection done. Some of the most common ones are:

How to Prevent Different Problems during Electrical Inspection?

Your mind just might be full of questions as to why you failed an electrical inspection. While the reasons may vary, it is always better to know what to do before an inspection to avoid failure. Some of the main points are:

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With the beautiful spring weather upon us, it is only natural you would want to head outside and take advantage of the gorgeous weather before it becomes a little too warm to be truly comfortable. Evenings and early mornings are so peaceful. Unwinding after a long day or taking a few minutes in the morning before a busy day kicks off are made a little nicer and safer with the installation of outdoor lighting by an electrician in Los Angeles. You can count on the knowledgeable staff at The Electric Connection to install the lighting in your yard and landscaping.

While twilight or dusk can be rather calming, it isn’t always a good idea to be outdoors when it is so dark you cannot see your surroundings clearly. It isn’t always some predator you have to worry about, but your own clumsiness. Tripping over a stone or some other object in your yard could leave you with a twisted ankle or in some extreme cases, a broken bone. Proper lighting can prevent these kinds of accidents without interrupting the serenity of the scene.

There are two different kinds of outdoor lighting homeowners have to choose from. Solar lighting is fairly quick and simple to install, but does tend to be a little pricier. The other option is electric lighting installed by an electrician. Los Angeles homeowners who have a yard that gets plenty of shade or the area is regularly shadowed by their home during the daylight hours may want to consider the electric lights. Because they don’t need the sun’s powerful rays to recharge, they can be placed virtually anywhere. The wires will be buried to ensure they do not pose tripping hazards and will be protected from rain and snow. If you would like to make your early mornings and quiet evenings a little better, give The Electric Connection a call today and schedule your outdoor lighting installation.

Among the more obvious pieces of electrical safety advice you may have encountered is to never saw the third prong off of an electrical plug in order to fit it into a two-prong outlet. But just because we can recognize that as a self-evidently bad idea doesn’t mean everyone knows why it’s dangerous.

Two-prong outlets have only two wires: a hot wire and a neutral wire. But a three-prong outlet also has a ground wire, which is a safe place for unexpected bursts of current to go when they occur. Without that connection between the ground wire and the plug, wild current can go anywhere: into your electrical device, where sensitive components can be destroyed, or worse, into your body. Shock and electrocution are more likely to occur when no ground wire is present.

Moving On Up

Three-prong outlets didn’t become standard in North American homes until the late 1960s, so while modern homes should be in good shape, there are plenty of homes out there with old two-prong outlets.

As a quick fix, you might be tempted to use adapters that convert two-prong outlets to fit three-prong plugs. You should resist the urge to use these so-called “cheater plugs”, however -- the ground wire is there for safety, and simply bypassing it creates a potentially serious hazard.

Instead, you should seriously consider upgrading the outlet if you need to regularly use three-prong plugs in that area. If you live in an older home where most of the outlets are two-prong, this is an upgrade you’ll need to do sooner or later.

When it comes to upgrading two-prong outlets, there are two basic options. The best choice is to have ground wires installed so that the outlets are fully up to the current standard. Unfortunately, this can involve several hours of electrical service and may require some cutting into walls, depending on how many outlets are being upgraded and how the home is configured. It may be a big undertaking, but it’s a quality investment in your home and safety.

A cheaper alternative is to upgrade to a ground fault circuit interrupter outlet, or GFCI. These outlets are capable of shutting themselves off if an electrical shock risk is present, but they won’t protect sensitive electronics from surge damage. The trade-off is that there’s no need to run a ground wire.

Out With the Old, In With the Old?

If you don’t like either of these options but you’re having trouble with a two-prong outlet, it’s technically not a violation of code to replace the outlet with another two-prong version. Just keep in mind that this arrangement leaves both people and electronics vulnerable, so use these outlets with care and consider making a plan to upgrade later.

Ready to upgrade those old outlets? Start the process today by scheduling a no-obligation consultation with your licensed, local electricians.