How Does My Home Electrical System Work? From The Utility Pole to The Panel Box: Part 2
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Last week, we started looking at your home electrical system, how electricity gets from the utility pole to your panel box, who’s responsible for what, and some of the problems that can happen along the way. We talked about the parts of your home electrical system that are outside your house: the utility pole, the service entrance, the drip loop, and the service mast.
This week we’re moving inside to look at the panel box and beyond.
Electrical Panel Inspection
The next device in line is the electrical panel box. In this video, inspector Adrian gives a great example of some of the things a home inspector will look at while inspecting a panel box. He quickly runs through several deficiencies, and his overall assessment is that he would recommend having an electrician take a look to ensure that the box is safe and up to code.
He makes note of the white wire that is present, instead of colored wire. White is meant to be used in a panel box only to indicate neutral wires, but here it’s been used for hot wires, so he says it can be colored by hand the correct color. The other issues — the breaker that isn’t tripping, and the double-tapped breaker — are items that do need to be corrected by an electrician. Both of these conditions can cause overheating and electrical fire.
This is a great example of how the home inspection report is a helpful tool when you’re purchasing a home. You can now try to negotiate the electrician’s repair into the contract — and even if you can’t (seller’s market, multiple offers), at least you are aware of a dangerous condition that needs to be addressed before you move in.
New Construction Oopsy
Do you see the nail poking through the panel box housing? That’s a framing nail. That worker got really lucky. A little bit one way or the other, and they’d have gotten a short, sharp, shock. Note: If you are hammering a nail through a wall, it’s a good idea to check what’s on the other side of that wall.
Just … No
Tell me you don’t know what that grey metal thingy is without telling me you don’t know what the electrical panel box is. Total tenant vibes here. Just in case you’re unclear what’s going on, this is a closet, where someone has added a clothes rack, and presumably not knowing what the panel box was, they bolted the clothes rack into the panel door, effectively blocking anyone from accessing it. It’s also worth noting that according to current building codes, you can’t have an electrical panel box in the closet. It’s considered a fire hazard.
Can I Have a Light Switch in The Shower?
No.
Convenient? Maybe. But you knew the answer. Actually, there are some prefab showers that have switches built-in. Then, yes. But this situation here? No. They even know. They put a cute little drawing on the switch. The rule is “no closer than three feet horizontally from, and eight feet vertically from the top of the bathtub rim or shower stall threshold.”
Really Old Electricity
This is the switch Dr. Frankenstein used to bring his monster to life. He needs to borrow the previous homeowner’s cute little drawing with the line through the circle to make sure no one touches it, though, because, whoa, this puppy is old and hot, and frayed. If you have any sweet antiques like this around the house, you should probably call an electrician to be sure you don’t get electrocuted just trying to disconnect them.
The moral of the story is that electricity is complicated, and if you have any kind of electrical problem, you really should call an electrician. A little troubleshooting is ok, but please make sure you go to the panel box and turn everything off before you touch it. If you have a closet rack bolted into your panel box, start there.
