Here is an electrical safety checklist to help keep your business’s electrical system safe, efficient, and reliable.
When did you last check your business’s electrical system? When was the last time it was inspected? Do you not think you need an inspection because your system seems to be functioning as it should right now? Even if you think your system is fine, part of electrical safety is to get your system inspected. You don’t want to wait until it’s too late, and your business is engulfed in an electrical fire, which could cause catastrophic damage to your property. To prevent this from happening, there are precautions you can take. Here is an electrical safety checklist to help keep your business’s electrical system safe, efficient, and reliable.
Check Your Lights
The first step towards achieving electrical safety is to make sure you use the right wattage lights for the light fixtures you have. Flickering lights should be a warning to you. It indicates that multiple appliances are on a single circuit, there are loose connections, or there’s something wrong with your electrical panel.
You should also look at your lights’ brightness. Your lights should have the same brightness. Varying brightness means either a bad neutral connection or you have lights with different wattage in use.
Lights that burn out too often could be a result of many things. Your wattage could be too high. You could have a low-quality bulb. There could be bad wiring on either the main or the circuit.
Whatever the problem may be, it’s best to get a professional electrician to inspect these problems, and address problems that can jeopardize your business’s safety.
Inspect Your Breakers
Circuit breakers are switches that protect against electrical problems. Whenever there’s an electrical hazard risk, circuit breakers cut off the current flow. Any time there is an overload in one of your circuits, the breakers protect your wiring and appliances from damage.
Occasional tripping shouldn’t raise much suspicion. However, frequent tripping could mean one or multiple problems, including:
- Short Circuit (live wires make contact with neutral wires, making large amounts of current go through a circuit, generating too much heat)
- Overload Circuit (many appliances that draw a lot of power are connected to one circuit, causing overheating)
- Ground Fault Surges (hot wires make contact with ground wires)
Check Your Outlets
Outlets are highly convenient for plugging in appliances to give you power. However, there are parts of outlets that can wear down over time. With enough wear and tear, heat and resistance will keep building up. In the end, it creates either a trip or a circuit break. As part of your electrical safety procedures, you should monitor your outlets to see if they’re in good shape. Check to see if your outlet is either warm, broken, or discolored, or if there’s a burning scent. These could indicate problems in your wiring or circuit overloads. Your plugs may also be falling out, which could mean your outlet is overheating, or you have a loose terminal exposed.
Check Out Our Services From CMI Lighting
With over 35 years in the industry, CMI has an array of equipment to handle the logistics of any in-house job. We also frequently provide solutions to property managers and upcoming developments. CMI Companies provides services in Mid-Atlantic Region and proudly serves clients in Northern Virginia, Maryland, Richmond, Southern Virginia, Manassas, Prince William County, Fairfax County, Rockville, and Prince George’s County. Also, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.