Common Winter Electrical Issues

Winter weather can bring all types of stress, including extra strain on your electrical system. The cold temperatures and rainy weather can put a lot of wear and tear on your wiring. This can lead to power issues throughout your home and around your property. Even worse, it could lead to a fire. 

It’s important to notice electrical issues before they become serious dangers. With a little bit of caution, you can notice an issue and have it resolved by professional electricians before serious damage occurs. 

Here are four of the most common electrical issues you may experience during the winter months: 

1. Your power level surges and dips often

A lot of systems and appliances rely on electricity and these systems can go through a lot more stress during the winter. Electric heaters, cooking ranges, fireplaces, and more can be called upon to work overtime during the cold months. Family visits can further add to the stress as more people in the home means more devices in use. 

Throughout the year, power will surge through the electrical system, causing strain on your appliances. While this isn’t a huge problem, it can become one if your electronic devices and appliances are running more frequently.  

If you notice flickering lights or loud sounds coming from your electrical units, they could be becoming damaged by the surges. An electrician can look over your system and install a whole-home surge protector to help control the flow of energy. 

2 . Your appliances struggle to operate correctly 

Every home has an electric panel that can handle a certain amount of work. During winter months, it takes more energy for some systems to function well. It’s already stressful enough for the system to handle every electronic device running at once, but the cold temperatures make it even harder for the panel to keep up. 

When family comes to visit for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or other holidays, further stress is added to the system. All of this can lead to appliance failure. Heaters can slow down, cooking appliances can fail to reach temperature, and lights may fade.  

If you’ve noticed a general slowing of your appliances and lights, you may need a new electrical panel. An experienced electrician can install a panel that’s rated to handle a higher workload, helping to ensure your systems work correctly and help to avoid causing a fire. 

3. Your circuit breaker trips often 

Circuit breakers are designed to provide safety for a property. If too much stress is put on the system, the circuit with break and the system will shut off. This tends to only turn off certain plugs or lights in the home and can easily be fixed by opening the circuit breaker and flipping a switch back to the ‘on’ position. 

When a circuit breaker ‘trips’ a circuit over and over again, however, that is a sign of a problem. It’s okay for a circuit to occasionally trip but it shouldn’t be having trouble with its workload on a regular basis. The wear and tear associated with cold winter temperatures and extra electrical needs can cause damage that needs professional repair. 

An electrician can inspect a tripping circuit to determine the root cause of the issue. Replacing a circuit or rewiring part of the breaker may fix the problem, helping to protect the home from danger and resolve the tripping issue. 

4. Your outlets spark when you use them 

When plugging in or unplugging a device, you may see a small blue flash at the plug. This is very common and nothing serious to worry about. However, sparks are another issue. 

Over time, the protective coating that surrounds the wires inside of an outlet can wear down or melt. When this happens, there’s nothing to guide the electricity directly into the plug and sparks may appear. If this coating breaks down far enough, sparks can come out of the outlet and cause a fire. 

A professional electrician can repair an outlet, wrapping the wires in a new protective coating or replacing the wires altogether. This provides more security from fires as well as a better stream of electricity into the device. 

Schedule An Electrical Repair Today 

These are just a few of the most common electrical issues property owners may face during the cold winter months. When you need help resolving these or other electrical problems, don’t try to resolve them alone. Count on the experts at BD Electrical & Solar to diagnose and resolve any electrical problem you experience at your home. 

Contact us today to schedule electrical repairs or replacements.