Because much of the electrical system of a house or building is hidden behind the walls, homeowners often overlook it when planning to remodel it. However, you need to consider updating your home's electrical wiring along with the various items on your renovation list. You may want to add a new room to your home. It can be an outdoor kitchen or a home office. These are important changes that require careful planning. You must therefore ensure that you take the electrical factors into account. Make sure your plan meets both current and future requirements.
You should work with the best electrician in your area who is licensed and has the necessary experience to work on a project like the one you received. Always keep in mind that planning properly can save you a lot of time and money because your project is seamless. Here are some tips for planning renovations when installing new electrical cables:
Add additional sockets
Renovating your home can be the perfect time to install additional outlets on every wall of your home. These are important if your family has already grown, which means that your electricity needs have also increased. Additional sockets are ideal, especially when adding a kitchen with new appliances and equipment, an outdoor area, a children's room with video game consoles and televisions or a home office with computers and printers when renovating the house. If you and your family are using multiple extension cords and power strips for everyday tasks, it may be the right time to consider an electrical upgrade. The professional electrician you hire can add additional outlets to the renovation plan so that some devices no longer need to be pulled out to include other devices.
Update the control panels
As you probably already know, an outdated panel at home has fuses or restrictions on the availability of space to add circuitry. Many old panels are also of poor quality, others stop working independently and need to be replaced. To increase the capacity of your existing home electrical service, an upgrade is usually recommended. New devices and devices are now on the market and it will be difficult for older households to keep up with the performance required to meet the requirements of these modern technological inventions. For this reason, it is a good idea to include a service change in your renovation plan. The last thing you want is that your panel will still use outdated technology even after your home has been completely remodeled.
Address various wiring problems
Because all renovation projects involve making changes or additions to existing cabling at home, your renovation plan should consider cabling issues, including the following:
- Unprotected wires – It is strongly recommended that a safety inspection be carried out to ensure that there are no unprotected cables. All electrical cables must be covered so that they are not exposed to any elements, people or pets.
- Improper cable lengths and connections – There are electrical codes that regulate the length of the cables that you can strip. Follow these codes to avoid getting wires that are too short or too tight. Such an error naturally increases the risk of voltage drops and fires.
- Unsecured wiring – Your house renovation plan should also properly secure all cables. For example, the wires can be easily damaged if the staples used are not attached correctly. It is highly recommended to route the wiring through cable trays.
- Insufficient cable size – It is also important to ensure that the cable size you have at home meets the new electrical requirements. If this problem is not resolved, the risk of fire increases. For example, an overcurrent for the circuit results from the increase in the number of sockets. Always remember that you should add new circuitry to the panel when adding more amplifiers.
Install the residual current circuit breakers
Earth fault interrupters or residual current circuit breakers are designed so that they switch off the power immediately if the inserted parts come into contact with moisture. Modern standard bathrooms and kitchens usually have these safety devices. However, if the one you own is an older house, these security devices may be missing from your home. For a professional electrician, it's easy to switch one outlet to another during the renovation process. However, this is important if you want to ensure the safety of your family. Depending on the building codes in your area, you may even need to include RCDs in your renovation plan.
Update your outlets
In addition to adding new outlets, you should also make sure that your old outlets are updated. This is especially important if there are often plugs on the floor a few minutes after connecting a device. Sockets should ideally grip the end of the plugs when they are inserted into the holes. The plug slipping out and falling to the floor is usually due to the fact that the clip that is supposed to hold it is already worn out. If you do not correct this situation, unfortunately only arcs and sparks will occur, as this represents a fire risk.
Conclusion
During a home renovation project, family safety should be your priority. However, you should not forget to include all electrical factors in your considerations. The renovation should take into account not only the aesthetics, but also the functional aspect of your home. The functional aspect naturally affects the electrical components of your home. The tips above are intended to help you create a renovation plan.
