How Does My Home Electrical System Work? From The Utility Pole to The Panel Box: Part 1

Your home electrical system is one of the five major areas of the house that you should pay particular attention to when purchasing a home. (And, of course, afterward when you own it and are protecting your investment like a responsible homeowner.) Some signs of electrical problems in your home are slight and may go unnoticed by the average person, while others are (or should be) pretty obvious. Either way, electricity is one of those things you don’t want to mess around with because a problem can go from small to catastrophic if you’re not careful.

Electricity is complicated, and we have engineers and electricians for these things. However, home inspectors notice that average homeowners sometimes seem to think Google, (or just feeling like you’re good at “figuring stuff out”) will suffice, we’re devoting a two-part series to explaining how the electricity gets from the pole to your panel, who’s responsible for what, and some of the problems that happen along the way.

This week, we’ll start outside your house:

The Leaning Utility Pole of Plano

Our inspector’s comment was, “This is my first time calling out a utility pole!” In this photo, your eye goes to the top where the pole is obviously leaning, but follow it down. The pole is actually leaning on the garage. The utility company is responsible for the pole, the tank on it (which supplies the electricity), and the wires going away from your house. So this homeowner would need to call the utility company to fix this issue.

It’s big storm season in North Texas, so help out your neighbors. If you see something, say something. If you see wires hanging low or askew, or poles leaning or down; report it.

The Service Drop

The lines running from the utility pole to your house are called the service drop, or the electrical service entrance. This is where the utility company’s responsibility ends and the homeowner’s begins. In this image, we can see both signs of electrical problems and potential problems. The wires are hanging too low to the ground where a person could grab them or even walk into them. They are also hanging too close to that tree, which, during a storm could catch the wires and pull them free, causing a power interruption, fire, or even pulling down the utility pole, which could bring down the whole block.

It’s best to have an electrician secure these lines to ensure that it is done properly and that the lines are intact and set up to code. Otherwise …

The Drip Loop

Y’all. Please stop DIY-ing electricity. The drip loop is the downward-facing loop formed by the feed of wires coming from the service drop as it enters your home. The drip loop has a cap through which the wires are fed to prevent water from entering the service mast. Here’s another picture where it was done correctly, but this is after a storm where the wind blew a garbage bag into the wires, and pulled the cap out of place:

The Service Mast

The service mast is the structure the drip loop enters that connects the wires to the electric meter and the power to your house. This one here was not installed by a licensed electrician. Our home inspector called this out because the electrical service entrance wires you see that are pulled like a tightrope need to have at least three feet of clearance from the roof. A taller mast would solve that, and no, Mr. DIY Electrician, you may not use some extension cords to lengthen those wires.

Next week, we’ll head inside your home electrical system, and see some of the shenanigans people get up to when they either leave something alone or don’t… Until then, stay safe, and when in doubt, call an electrician!