Residential Electrical Inspection in Northern Virginia
While code violations, ungrounded outlets, and improper wiring are dangerous to your home and its occupants, it is common to neglect residential electrical systems until something goes wrong. Safeguarding your family from behind-the-scenes hazards, Infinite Electric provides electrical safety and performance inspections for new construction and existing Northern VA homes.
When to Schedule an Electrical Inspection
The Electrical Safety Foundation (ESF) recommends comprehensive electrical inspections for home purchases, aging homes (40+ years old), major renovations, and major appliance installations.
When building, renovating, or adding to your Northern Virginia home, ensure that it meets the current electrical code. Call (540) 881-0473 or book online to schedule an electrical inspection with our team today!
We Inspect Your Entire Electrical System
A comprehensive electrical home inspection is an extremely valuable service and is an essential element to ensuring the safety and security of your family and property. It helps keep you and your Northern VA home safe from electrical malfunction and saves you money by making your electrical system more energy efficient.
Main Electrical Panel
The main electrical panel is the heart of your entire electrical system. Electrical panels serve as the distribution center for electricity as they push the electricity through wires or circuits to different electrical systems in your home to keep it powered on. An electrician should thoroughly inspect the main panel every year to ensure the wire connections are properly tightened and the breakers are properly connected to the bus bars. Bus bars are metallic strips or bars that conduct electricity within the main panel. We also use an infrared heat scan of your electrical panel to ensure there aren’t any problematic hot spots developing. Without a highly reliable and functioning electrical panel, nothing will work the way it’s supposed to. That is why it’s important to have Infinite Electric perform annual inspections and maintenance on your main electrical panel.
GFCI Protection
A GFCI device protects us from receiving electric shocks from faults in the electrical devices we use in our home. It works by comparing the input current on the hot side to the output current on the neutral side. A GFCI acts as a circuit breaker of sorts, shutting off power to the outlet and devices in use when a ground fault is detected. GFCI outlets should be tested once a month for safety reasons and every year by a professional electrician. They should be installed in the kitchen, bathrooms, and all outdoor outlets.
Smoke Detectors
Your smoke detector’s primary function is to notify you of any suspicious smoke inside your house. This includes everything from burnt cooking, improperly extinguished cigarettes and electrical fires. Your smoke alarm will sound at the first sign of trouble, warning you of a fire before the flames get out of control.
Install smoke detectors in every bedroom, in the hallways, and on each level of your home. Infinite Electric can assist you in planning where the smoke detectors will benefit you and your family the most. Be sure to test your smoke detectors every month and regularly replace the batteries every year.
Fluorescent and Incandescent Lighting
Both types of lighting can be retrofitted with LED fixtures. Many LEDs have a rated life of up to 50,000 hours, approximately 50 times longer than a typical incandescent bulb and 8-10 times longer than a CFL bulb. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, electricity used for artificial lighting in the U.S. could be cut by nearly half by 2030 by adopting high-efficiency LEDs.
Whole House Surge Protection
If you want to protect devices plugged into outlets anywhere in your home, have a Whole House Surge Protection System professionally installed directly to your electrical panel by Infinite Electric. All electricity coming into the house can be diffused and keep a steady, balanced power supply. A Whole House Surge Protector will give you a sense of relief knowing that your appliances and electronic devices are safe and protected from an unexpected power surge. They can also save you thousands of dollars in damage!
Tamper Resistant Outlets
The National Electrical Code (NEC) requires that new and renovated homes must have tamper-resistant receptacles. According to a 10-year report released by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 2,400 children receive emergency room treatment every year for injuries caused by inserting objects into electrical outlets. Having tamper-resistant outlets will give homeowners a sense of relief that small children will be safe from injury.
Checking For Backstabbed Connections
Improperly installed receptacles are found in a lot of homes. The method being used to install these plugs is called “backstabbing.” This refers to inserting the wire into a stab lock connection at the back of the electrical receptacle instead of wrapping the wire around the set screws provided for proper installation. Backstabbing can lead to overheating and a possible electrical fire. Therefore, it’s a vital part of any electrical inspection.
Arc Fault Protection
An arc fault is a high power discharge of electricity between two or more conductors. This discharge translates into heat, breaking down the wire’s insulation and possibly triggering an electrical fire. A wide range of conditions may cause arcing, including wire degradation, humidity or heat, extended mechanical stress, physical damage, poor wiring or connections, or even animals chewing through insulation. Arc faults in the home are one of the leading causes of electrical wiring fires. Each year in the U.S., over 40,000 fires are attributed to home electrical wiring. These fires result in over 350 deaths and over 1,400 injuries each year.
An Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter (AFCI) outlet is designed to recognize many types of potentially hazardous arc faults and respond by interrupting power, reducing the likelihood of the home’s electrical system being an ignition source of the fire.
Checking for Proper Grounding of Your Electrical System
Having your electrical system grounded means you’ll be making it easy for power to be directed straight to wherever you need it, allowing electrical currents to safely and efficiently travel throughout your electrical system. A grounded electrical system also makes it easier for the right amount of power to be distributed to all the right places, which can play a huge role in ensuring circuits aren’t overloaded and blown. That is why it is important to have Infinite Electric check and confirm that your electrical system is grounded. Proper grounding is an important and valuable safety feature that should not be overlooked.
Schedule a Residential Electrical Inspection
To learn more about the Infinite Electric team or schedule an electrical inspection for your primary home, rental property, or room addition in Northern VA, call (540) 881-0473. You can also fill out our brief online booking form, and we will be in touch to discuss your needs.
