About 80% of dwellings were built before the year 1990. While they may have complied with the safety standards at the time of construction, those standards might not be relevant in today’s day and age. Significant changes were made in electrical standards since 1990 and the protection technologies of today were not available or required back then. You must ensure that the standards maintained in such existing accommodations are raised to the electrical safety levels of the current standards.

Understanding the Risks at Existing Accommodation

Extensive safety studies must be carried out in the existing residential buildings to determine the disparity between the required safety standards and the existing safety standards. If the existing standards fall a little short, you must show an urgency to raise the level of safety of these buildings and bring them up to the current standards.

Thankfully, it isn’t too complicated or difficult to do so. You can take small steps to gradually improve the electrical safety through a program of manual safety audits.

3 Ways Current Safety Standards Help in Reducing Electrical Risks

Importance of Verification

The current electrical standards ensure that the new residential electrical installations are safe and that they remain so over their entire lifetime. IEC 60364-6 defines both initial verification of an installation as well as verification of residential dwellings every 10 years. The periodic verification ensures that the fundamental protective measures remain active and reliable.

Recommended Periodic Auditing

There must be periodic auditing to ensure that the safety conditions are up to the mark. The audits need to be simple and based on visual checks. They need to be performed by a qualified auditor, who can then inform the owner of any possible safety issues. The owner will then take responsibility for arranging any necessary repair work. The frequency of inspection can be defined by each country, either by a specific period (e.g., 10 years), or triggered by an event such as the sale or rental of a dwelling.

This year at the mall in Glendale, I swear I saw holiday lights go up right after Labor Day. And, how much do you want to bet that Black Friday starts by the first of November next year? Stores all over are initiating it way before I have digested my Thanksgiving dinner which is usually served by 2PM. I thought the point of that famous shopping day was that it kicked off the holiday shopping season, now I am expected to get up from Thanksgiving dinner and head straight to the mall. Actually, if someone else would clean up the mess, that might not be a bad idea.

Okay, accuse me of sounding like Ebenezer Scrooge. It won’t be the first time, since I have told many that I think this well-loved holiday season should only be celebrated every other year. We would still honor any religious purposes annually, but we could skip the hustle and bustle of all the decorating and gift buying. Time goes by so fast anyway, most of us would not even notice. We would all save money, which would help alleviate stress, and Santa would have a well-deserved hiatus. And think of all the electricity costs we would lower if we only put up the lights every two years.

Speaking of electricity, I did soften a little bit about this whole holiday thing. For the first time in 5 years, I decided to put one row of outdoor lighting across my front window. When I added the tree inside with its colorful light bulbs, all went dark quickly. No matter what I did, it soon became clear that I needed to find a Glendale electrician. Bah Humbug evolved into more like Electrician, Glendale, and I was feeling grumpy.

Not knowing any electrician in Glendale, or any where else for that matter, I called a company I found online called The Electric Connection. Bright and early the following morning, a pleasant and knowledgeable young man arrived at my door. I kept reminding myself, all this was because of the holiday season that happens way too often.

Did you know that those colorful strings of holiday lights put a burden on really old electrical circuits? I would definitely be more of a complainer if all this holiday stuff had not been the real indicator of major electrical issues happening at my house. Events happen like they are supposed to, and sometimes we might miss why if we don’t pay attention. My new Glendale electrician enjoyed his time working at my place as I listened to his stories about working as a volunteer with needy kids during the holiday season. He enlightened me to the fact that this season brought out the spirit of giving that was so important, he wished it would happen two times a year. I didn’t dare tell him about my wishes to have it occur every two years. However, I could tell he saw me melt as I asked how I could get involved with his volunteer efforts.

As a result of my holiday season fiasco, I now have a new friend, a great Glendale electrician to use and refer, new electrical circuits, and my “electrician, Glendale, California” has turned into “Happy Holidays” to everyone this year and next.

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