The electricity powering your home supports your day-to-day life in a variety of ways. However, it also introduces a potential health and safety hazard. You can reduce this hazard and keep your home safe by doing multiple things. One important step you may have overlooked is providing proper electrical grounding for your household and its power outlets.
Looking to beef up your home’s electrical grounding in Birmingham, AL? The local specialists at Service Minds Mister Sparky are here to assist you. We offer complete solutions for the grounding of residential buildings. With our help, you can maximize the safe function of your household electrical supply.
Electrical Grounding Basics
What is grounding and why is it so important? When you ground an outlet or electrical system, you:
- Give excess electrical current a way to dissipate without causing damage
- Protect yourself from electrical shocks inside your home
- Add an important layer of protection against electrical fires
- Decrease the odds that electrical interference will affect your household electronics
How does proper grounding achieve these goals? By giving excess electricity a safe, low-resistance pathway out of your home. The process is called grounding because that safe pathway ultimately leads to the earth or ground.
Determining Your Need for Electrical Grounding in Birmingham, AL
Rules for proper electrical grounding have been part of the U.S. building code since the early 1970s. However, older homes may lack even the most basic grounding protection. Not sure if your Birmingham-area home is adequately protected? Don’t put up with any malarky! Call on Service Minds Mister Sparky. We provide thorough testing that can determine your current level of grounding protection. When our testing is complete, we’ll make recommendations on appropriate next steps for your household.
Grounding Your Electrical Outlets
Properly grounded outlets can and should be installed everywhere in your home. However, they’re especially important in areas such as your:
- Kitchen
- Bathrooms
- Laundry room
- Basement
Why? Water use is common in these household locations. If water comes in contact with an outlet, you need a way to shut that outlet down at once.
To achieve this goal, you need a specialized outlet called a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). By shutting down in abnormal conditions, GFCIs help protect the health of your plugged-in appliances. They also keep you safe from electrical shocks and help prevent electrical fires.
Service Minds Mister Sparky is happy to inspect your home and make recommendations on where to install GFCIs. As Birmingham’s on-time electricians, we can carry out that installation on a convenient schedule for you.
Grounding Your Electrical Panel
It’s also vitally important to ground your home’s electrical panel. In this setting, grounding is achieved by installing a specially designed piece of metal called a ground bar. This bar doesn’t prevent system overloads. However, it does provide whole-house protection against shocks and electrical fires.
Need a local electrician who can properly install an electrical panel ground bar? Service Minds Mister Sparky is your source for whole-house electrical grounding in Birmingham, AL. Contact us today to learn more about this essential electrical service.