Inside Edge Home Inspections
  • Home
  • Services
  • Mike's Blog
  • Our Story
  • Credentials
    • Guarantees
  • Contact Information
  • What to Expect
    • Sample Report
  • Privacy Policy
Home Inspector Blog

Michael Burfitt

​Internachi certified professional inspector
Halifax, nova scotia

Electrical Arcs

11/21/2021

Comments

 
WARNING: Do NOT, under any circumstances attempt to remove or disassemble an electric service panel (even if switched off) as just one small mistake can be fatal! I am a trained and experienced professional and know my safe limits.
​
Shortly after we moved into our house, we hired an electrician to do some upgrades and improvements. Like any curious home inspector, I couldn’t resist peeking at my panel before calling to see what exactly I was dealing with. As expected, I found no major issues that I typically look for such as double taps, aluminum branch wires or mixed neutral/ground bus bars. I couldn’t help but notice, however, the burn mark located on the bottom right of the panel. 
Picture
Simply put, this was almost certainly caused by an electrical arc. You might think that an arc is just a few sparks and a quick sizzle and is no big deal. This is incorrect: while a bigger risk lies in large industrial systems, residential electrical arcs can be very dangerous in many ways:

Heat
An arc fault creates high temperatures and have been known to reach 19,000°C (or 35,000°F). That’s four times the temperature of the sun’s surface! This can not only melt steel (and damage the panel) but can easily cause a fire.

Pressure
Arc faults can create a pressure blast of about 2000 pascals per square inch (PSI). Translation: the corresponding arc blast can not only knock an adult to the ground but can shoot debris and cause trauma to anyone nearby.

Sound and Light
I know from firsthand experience an electrical arc is LOUD! How loud? The sound can go as high as 140 decibels, which is as loud as a gunshot. It also can create a flash of up to 13,000,000 lux (130 times brighter than direct sunlight) that can cause temporary or permanent vision loss.

Luckily these extremes are generally only seen in larger, more industrial electrical setups but that doesn’t change the fact that residential electrical systems are dangerous and not to be messed with. The biggest concern with an arc fault as a homeowner is that it can cause a fire, not only in the main panel but behind the walls. This is one reason why in 1999 the United States followed by Canada in 2002 started requiring Arc Fault Circuit Interrupters (AFCIs). 
If I haven’t made clear enough, electrical systems look very simple but can hold numerous dangers you may not be aware of, so always refer any electric work to a licensed electrical contractor.   



Comments

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021

    Categories

    All
    AED
    AFCI
    Air Conditioning
    Aluminum
    Anode Rod
    Ants
    Arcs
    Asbestos
    Attic
    Balcony
    Brick
    Building Inspector
    Carbon Monoxide
    Children
    Chimney
    Circuit Breakers
    CO Detectors
    Communication
    Contractors
    Cost
    Criticisms
    Current
    Deck
    Drains
    Drywall
    Eavestroughs
    EIFS
    Electrical
    ERV
    Exterior
    Failed Seals
    Female Inspectors
    Fiber Cement
    Fire Safety
    First Aid
    Flips
    Flooring
    Foundation
    Framing
    Fuses
    Garage
    GFCI
    Grow-Ops
    Heating
    Heat Pumps
    HGTV
    Hoarding
    HRV
    Humidity
    HVAC
    Ice Dams
    ICF
    Infrared
    Insulation
    Ionization
    Joe Mazza
    Kitchen
    Kitec
    Knob & Tube
    Lead
    Manufactured Houses
    Marijuana
    Masonry
    Meth
    Mike Holmes
    Mini Homes
    Misconceptions
    Mobile Homes
    Moisture
    Mold
    Newcomers
    Oil Tanks
    Open Concept
    Orangeburg
    Personal Decor
    Pests
    Photoelectric
    Plumbing
    Polybutylene
    Pressure
    Price
    Psychrometrics
    Radon
    Rain Gutters
    Real Estate Agents
    Regulations
    Resistance
    Roofing
    Safety
    Septic
    Sewer
    Sewer Scopes
    Sheds
    Shipping Containers
    Siding
    Smoke Detectors
    Staircases
    Stove
    Structure
    Stucco
    Temperature
    Termites
    Trailer Parks
    Trees
    Value
    Ventilation
    Vinyl
    Voltage
    Walls
    Wasps
    Water Heater
    WDOs
    Windows
    Wiring
    Wood

    RSS Feed

Picture
Inside Edge Home Inspections Ltd. 
Halifax, NS
(902) 209-9921
info@ieinspections.ca
Proudly Serving the HRM & Surrounding Areas
Picture
  • Home
  • Services
  • Mike's Blog
  • Our Story
  • Credentials
    • Guarantees
  • Contact Information
  • What to Expect
    • Sample Report
  • Privacy Policy