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Home Inspections
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Serving Manhattan, Queens,
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| Over 80,000
Inspections Performed Since 1968 |
Licensed Professional Engineers
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Electric Service and Electric Wiring
A
modern house or building requires electricity to run many of its vital systems such
as lighting, heating,
hot water, appliances, and
air-conditioning. Because so many of today's
appliances require electric power, some existing homes
and buildings do not have enough circuits to support the demands of modern electrical
usage. Buildings with insufficient electric service need not be very old.
Even a home built only 10 years ago may not have the electric wiring to support
the today's needs.
Electric service insufficiency is often aggravated by homeowners who add
appliances without upgrading the electric service.
Even changing an ordinary electric oven to a self-cleaning electric oven may increase
the electric loads to the point where the electric service needs to be upgraded.
If a homeowner adds appliances without upgrading the electric service, hazardous
conditions may exist.
The electrical system consists of the electric lead-in wire, the electric meter
and meter pan, the circuit breaker panel (or fuse box in an old house or building),
the wiring, and the outlets, switches, lights, and other electrical devices.
The whole electric system in the house or building needs to be assessed. In
addition evaluating the electric system and advising you of the hazards, Heimer
Engineering provides an
expense analysis in the
engineering report that help you plan for the
future.
There is a misconception that if a house has circuit breakers and has 100 amp,
220 volt service, the electric service is sufficient. There is also a misconception
that if a house has circuit breakers (and no fuses), that the electric service and
electric wiring are sufficient. If a house has large electrical loads such
as air-conditioning or an
appliance such as an electric range, then 200 amp
service may be required.
You can depend upon a licensed Professional Engineers
to assess the sufficiency of the electric service and electric wiring in your building.
Definition of Electrical Terms
Here are many terms used in describing home wiring and building wiring:
- Alternating Current (AC): An electric
current that reverses direction in a circuit at regular intervals. Alternating
current, also called AC, is used in almost all homes and buildings today.
- Aluminum Wiring: Houses and buildings
built between 1965 and 1973 may have been wired with
aluminum wiring, a potential fire hazard.
- Amps: The unit of measure of the
flow rate of current.
- Circuit Breaker: A device that
shuts of a circuit by mechanical action when too much current is flowing.
When a high current passes through a circuit breaker a trigger rapidly separates
a pair of internal contacts. Unlike a fuse which must be replaced after
it has blown once, a circuit breaker can be reset after it has been tripped.
Circuit breakers have replaced fuses in modern buildings.
- Circuit Breaker Panel: An electric
panel containing circuit breakers.
- Conductor: A substance, typically
metal, that conducts an electric current. Copper and aluminum are the
most common conductors in building wiring.
- Current: The rate of flow of electrons,
measured in amps. The more electrons flowing, the more energy that is
available. However, the flowing electrons heat up the wire. Too
much heating of the wire creates a fire hazard.
- Direct Current (DC): An electric
current that flows in one direction in a circuit. Direct current,
also called DC, is rarely used homes and buildings today.
- Fuse: A safety device used to
protect against excessive current. A fuse consists of a metal alloy strip
with a low melting point. Because of its electrical resistance, the alloy
strip is heated by electric current. If the current exceeds a safe value,
the strip melts and stops the current. Fuses are rarely seen in
modern wiring.
- Insulation: A material that does
not conduct electricity. A conductor wrapped in insulation forms the wiring
found in homes and buildings. Most modern insulators are plastic or vinyl.
- Power: As a first order approximation,
power is the product of the voltage times the current. Power is a measure
of how much work can be done in a certain period of time. It is power
(not voltage or current) that defines how much work is actually done.
- Sub-Panel: An additional electrical
panel installed after the main circuit breaker panel.
- Three-Phase Power: Electrical
power delivered in three separate phases. This is the way electrical power
is distributed throughout the community and supplied to buildings.
- Voltage: The electrical energy
available, measured in volts.
- Volts: The unit of measure of
electrical potential.
- Watt: A unit of measure of electric
power.
- Wire: A conductor surrounded by
an insulator. Wires carry the electric current throughout a building.
To setup an appointment for a home inspection or building inspection, or for more information,
call 800.640.8090 or use the online form 24/7.
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- ● Bronx, New York – 718.547.2000
- ● Brooklyn, New York – 718.237.7777
● New York, New York – 212.563.4777
● Queens, New York – 718.544.3000
● Staten Island, New York – 718.227.5000
● Toll Free – 800.640.8090
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- ● Nassau County, New York – 516.487.2100
● Suffolk County (East), New York – 631.288.3900
● Suffolk County (West), New York – 631.858.5500
● Putnam County, New York – 845.638.4900
- ● Rockland County, New York – 845.638.4900
- ● Westchester County, New York – 914.576.6100
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