Old Home Wiring With Two-Prong Electrical Outlets.
Modern electrical safety practices & wiring methods were established around the 1980’s to early 2000’s. Homes that were built before that time tend to have what is called “two-wire home circuits”. These electrical circuits do not have a dedicated grounding wire like we have nowadays. There are a few crucial safety steps in order to install modern three-prong electrical outlets to an old two-wire home.
What Options Is There To Fix Old Home Two-Wire Electrical Circuits?
There are two ways to fix “two-wire home circuitry” in order to install three prong outlets. The most common method is to install special safety devices called Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters (GFCI) on each electrical outlet circuit in the home. The other method is to re-wire each room in the home with modern wiring. In most circumstances re-wiring the house is not an option. GFCI Protection is well worth the Investment in this situtaion.
How Many Electrical Outlet Circuits Will Need GFCI Protection In The Home?
According to town electrical safety code, GFCI devices can be used to safely upgrade from two-prong electrical outlets to three-prong devices. Properly identifying the circuitry that powers each room in the home needs to be highly accurate. You will need to track down & label every electrical outlet circuit by using a plug-in tester, and shutting off the circuit breaker. The plug-in tester will verify whether the power is off or not. From a DIY standpoint replacing home electrical outlets is simple enough, but a licensed electrician should really take care of verifying the home is GFCI protected properly.
Should I Install GFCI Electrical Outlets or GFCI Circuit Breakers To Protect Two-Wire Cicuits?
GFCI devices come in two different products types. The most familiar type is the GFCI electrical outlet. They are installed on kitchen countertop, and bathrooms, and wherever else there could be water present. The other device type is a GFCI circuit breaker. At first, installing the GFCI electrical outlet seems like a good idea. After all, they are definitely cheaper then the breaker type. The problem with installing the GFCI outlets is that you will have to install them wherever the power first comes into the room. This causes a huge issue with having to remember where each GFCI outlet is located for when it trips and has to be reset. Think about having to move big furniture everytime you have to reach the reset button on the device. Rather then wasting time tracking down tripped GFCI buttons all around the house, it is more practical to keep one central location, and install GFCI circuit breakers to help protect the homes two-wire circuits until the day the home is re-wired.
Getting A Home Surge Protector Is A Very Good Idea!
Whole home surge protection is a new standard for all new home builds. Whole home surge protectors are installed inside a homes electrical panel whenever you have the following: A brand new home; Old Home Wiring; Home is at high capacity to main breaker; An Area that has a lot of power outages; Generator installed; Solar Panels installed; Car Charger installed; Expensive Home Equipment/Computer/Server; Old home equipment. Surge Protectors installed in your electrical panel come with $75,000 Home Surge Protection Warranty if it were to ever fail to stop a surge from wreaking havoc in a home. No Subscription or monthly fee involved, but surge protectors do not last forever. They have to be replaced if surge device is over five years old or whenever a home surge has occurred. When this happens, contact us. We will help.
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