How Electricians Diagnose Lightning Damage
Severe thunderstorms in Birmingham, AL, can be awe-inspiring. While we may need the rain, the truth is that storm damage can sometimes last long after the last thunder rolls. Lightning damage is common in our area, and ignoring a strike could lead to serious house fires and damaged appliances.
That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you understand how our electricians can diagnose the damage and help you recover power safely after a major electrical surge hits your home.
Quick Takeaways
- Lightning strikes are hot enough to melt through wiring insulation.
- Bare wiring poses a fire risk to the surrounding building materials.
- Electrical damage may impact the whole house or just one part.
- Electricians use special testing equipment to identify and locate electrical issues.
Understand How Lightning Damages Homes
A storm strike could hit your actual house, or the thunderbolt could hit the ground where the electrical charge travels to the nearby wiring. Either way, it’s important to recognize the sheer power that exists within the strike.
The heat generated by this type of strike can burn through building materials and damage the wiring. Storm strikes can also generate enough voltage levels to create a power surge that damages electrical panels and other components. If the surge is strong enough, then you could discover damage to wall outlets and appliances.
In some cases, the damage might not be evident right away. Instead, a storm strike could damage the structural integrity of your home’s electrical system to the point that serious problems show up later.
Watch for These Signs of Electrical Damage After a Storm
The damage from a thunderbolt can impact various parts of a home, and you’ll want to keep a close eye out for these warning signs of potentially hazardous situations.
- Black or brown scorch marks on the roof or nearby building materials
- Cracks or splits in brick masonry
- Burn marks, odd sounds or smells coming from the electrical panel
- Sparks or arcing from electrical outlets
- Feeling hot spots on walls or surrounding outlets
- Dealing with appliance issues or a total loss of power in parts of your home
Know How Professional Electricians Diagnose Lightning Damage
Our friendly electricians use special tools to accurately diagnose lightning damage and determine the best repairs to permanently fix any damage. To do so, we typically perform a MegOhm test. You may also hear people refer to this as megger testing.
When our knowledgeable electricians perform this test, we can typically diagnose a problem within minutes. Keep in mind, however, that it is critical to follow all of the necessary safety procedures. While we’re sharing our process here, it’s usually best to leave this part to our pros who have undergone specialized education and training.
- Shut off all electrical current to the building.
- Disconnect all appliances from the circuits that are undergoing testing.
- Isolate the individual wires and connections.
- Perform the actual test.
- Make plans to repair or replace any component that fails the testing.
Consider Filing a Claim With Your Insurance Company
If the thought of having to repair your home’s electrical system causes you concern, then try not to stress too much. Insurance companies have a vested interest in protecting your property from storm damage that can lead to house fires.
Public adjusters can help you understand what your homeowner’s insurance policy should cover, and they’ll even work on your behalf to help make sure your claim is handled properly. Having testing results that demonstrate damage from the recent storm helps prove that repairs are necessary.
Explore Your Repair Options for Restoring the Wiring
After we conduct testing, we’ll use the results to provide you with our honest recommendations for repairs. If you are fortunate, then we may only need to replace a GFCI receptacle or a few wires in specific parts of your house.
But, we are also your go-to source for more significant repair work. We have the equipment and know-how to perform whole-house rewiring, if necessary. Our technicians can also replace the electrical panel and perform upgrades on houses with older systems.
If you need to replace your appliances, then knowing that you’ll be plugging them into a safe electrical system that can handle their voltage gives you peace of mind.
FAQs
Giving these FAQs a quick read through can help you move forward with identifying and diagnosing electrical storm damage at your house.
Can you spot electrical storm damage with just your eyes?
Yes, you can sometimes spot scorch marks on the roof or other parts of your property. Seeing burn marks around outlets or damaged appliances are other quick sign that the strike caused damage.
Can you do wiring testing on your own?
Multimeters are tools that some people can use to test electrical wiring when they have some experience with doing so. But, we recommend that inexperienced homeowners give us a call for faster and safer testing.
Will insurance cover electrical testing and repairs?
Most homeowner’s insurance policies will cover professional testing and repairs, but you’ll need to check your individual policy.
How long does it take to restore electrical wiring after a major storm?
Once the storm clears, we may be able to repair the electrical damage on the same day. More extensive whole-house wiring replacement could potentially take a little longer.
Schedule a Post-Storm Electrical Inspection and Testing
When lightning strikes your home, it can create the perfect storm for electrical wiring problems that can put your safety and property at risk. Preventing house fires and restoring your ability to use your favorite appliances is as simple as reaching out to our Birmingham, AL, electricians.
If you suspect electrical damage, then don’t put up with any malarky, call Mister Sparky. We’ll come to your house with the necessary equipment to perform thorough testing and make our best recommendations for prompt repairs today.
