Older buildings, especially those built before the 1960s, can have all kinds of issues including outdated wiring. These systems will pose a serious threat to your health and well-being because they can be more prone to accidental damage like shorting out or fire.
You want a professional team to assess whether your home is safe, or you need outlet grounding services to minimize the hazard of electrical currents causing an emergency.
Identifying Grounding in Your Home
Always start this process of whether or not you need outlet grounding services by looking at your current system. Even something as simple as looking at the outlets will tell you a lot. If you see three-slot receptacles, your home is likely grounded.
However, when all you can find are two-slot outlets, you may have an issue. While you should contact a professional team like ours at Flores Electric, you can also purchase a voltage detector tool from a local hardware store to check the grounding status of each outlet.
Types of Grounding Methods
Our licensed and insured electricians will determine what is suitable for your unique outlet grounding services and needs, but a general idea of what is available includes:
- Ground Rods: Driving a copper rod into the ground to about eight feet. This is then tied to your electric panel so any discharge goes safely into the ground instead of your circuitry.
- Grounding Plates: In rockier terrains, where a rod isn’t applicable, you can use a grounding plate. These are thick metal plates buried into the foundation that connects to the ground wire.
- Cold-Water Pipe Grounding: Many modern homes will use a cold-water pipe by connecting a wire to the pipe that extends deep into the ground to distribute charge.
The final outlet grounding services you receive will largely depend on the condition of your home, the local environment, and your total electricity usage.
Professional Grounding Services: Ensuring Safety and Compliance
While driving a copper pipe into the ground sounds like an easy task, connecting it to the right system and ensuring it meets local compliance requirements is much more challenging. That is why you want to hire a professional team to complete this process for you. In many cases, working on outlet grounding services without a licensed electrician can lead to insurance and HOA issues.
A qualified electrician can better assess how to upgrade your current old home system. This is crucial for improving the value, safety, and future salability of your property in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose, Cupertino, Palo Alto, and the surrounding areas.
Our team at Flores Electric has over 14 years of experience. We are a fully licensed and insured team with the know-how you need to transform that old bungalow into a hidden oasis. Give us a call at (408) 899-8450 today and let’s schedule a time to assess your current electrical needs, including whether or not you need proper grounding.