Fire Hazards

By: Nicole Shalit

The box that connects electricity from the grid to your house is called the electric box. From there the breaker box divides the electricity up between the rooms in your home. Most people know how to turn a breaker back on once it flips off, however most homeowners do not realize the importance of the electrical box. The age, condition of wires, etc. all has to be taken into account. Wires can ware out with the age and condition of the house which in turn could cause an electrical fire.

It is recommended that if your home is fifteen years old, you should have an electrician take a look at your wiring. It is harder to get an older home insured if there is have solid evidence as having the old porcelain knob circuitry and old faulty wiring in general.

The biggest problem for insurance companies is that inspectors are not allowed to go into the walls, which makes it harder to determine if there is a risk of an electrical fire. Because of this, some insurance companies won’t even risk insuring an old home, and most companies will charge way more than they would for a new home. Fifteen years ago, there was a new regulation passed, stating that all electrical boxes from that point on had to be on the outside of all buildings. This was passed mainly because it is easier for firefighters to shut off the electricity from the outside of the building. The average age for homes today is 44 years old, which means that most homes are in need of an electrical upgrade. It is recommended that you have an electrical upgrade every fifteen years.

What you need to realize about the electricity, is that the older the home is the lower electrical capacity it has. Today most homes have numerous TV’s, a refrigerator or two, a microwave, washer/dryer, dishwasher, computers, etc. Twenty years ago, most homes only had one TV, very few homes had computers, and having two refrigerators was almost unheard of. Thirty five years ago, there were no microwaves. This being said, every time there is a new addition to the list of common household appliances and electronics, the electric capacity increases in the new homes being built. How does a house that was built forty years ago handle having all these new appliances in it? Sometimes it cannot function and catches on fire.

It especially important to upgrade your box it there is a fuse box in place of the breaker box. Upgrading your electrical box will not only allow you to save energy and money on your insurance, it will put the odds of electrical fires in your favor.