Are you seeking to make renovations to your old home? There will be several areas of the home you’ll have to focus on. One of the areas of focus will be the electrical wiring.
Did you know most old homes have poor electrical insulation? The electrical insulation in your home can pose a danger. Bad electrical insulation can cause a fire.
Don’t let this happen to you. You can prevent this type of hazard by bringing your electrical wires up to code. This means properly insulating them.
Read on to learn more about electrical insulation and why you must have it.
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What Is Electrical Insulation and Why Is It Important?
Electrical insulation is a material that prevents the flow of electrical current. It doesn’t allow an electric current to flow freely. It protects a conductor by not letting unwanted electric current pass through it.
It’s an important part of an electrical system. You’ll find electric insulation on wires and cables. If this type of insulation weren’t in place, the electrical current could spread to the body.
Yes, that’s a possibility. It can happen as it does in cartoons, but if it happens to a person, the effects will be serious.
Electrical insulation helps to protect people. If a person touches a live wire, the person will suffer an electric shock. The shock can kill.
What happens if there’s no electrical insulation? It would be hard to know where the current is going when it travels through wires and cables. There will be no way of tracking the path of the current.
If you happen to touch something without electrical insulation, you can burn yourself. It’ll be hot enough to cause a serious burn.
Different Types of Electrical Insulation Material
You need to learn about the different types of electrical insulation. This will help you determine which type is best for your project.
Electrical insulation can come in different materials. There are solid forms. These include paper, nonwoven, and film material.
It can also come in a liquid form. The most common liquid form available is resin.
The materials that insulate electricity need to have certain properties. Resistivity is an important property. This property tells you how well the insulator opposes the flow of electric current.
Using material with strong dielectric strength is a must. Higher dielectric strength enables the material to withstand electric stresses. It limits the breaking down of the material.
Pay attention to the relative permittivity. It reflects the ratio of the electric flux density.
You’ll also need to focus on the electrical dissipation factor. It reflects the ratio of the power lost in the material. It compares it to the total power transmitted through it.
How Electrical Insulation Works
Electrical insulation serves as a barrier between the conductor and everything else. The type of material that one uses will depend on two factors. It’ll depend on the application and environment one plans to use it in.
In your home, you can use PVC to insulate a wire. This material is perfect for this because of the heat present in homes. The material will not get brittle in the heat.
If you have wires outside your house, you’ll need to use a specific material. The material you use should be able to withstand low temperatures. You don’t want the wire to get brittle or break.
Is My Insulation Bad?
If you’re making renovations in your home, you have to determine if the insulation is bad.
Insulation resistance testing can help you know if your insulation is bad. This involves assessing the insulation integrity.
Aging deteriorates the performance of electrical insulation. A harsh environment can also affect its performance.
This testing will measure the total resistance. If there’s an issue, you can then move forward by insulating the electrical system or wire.
There are testers you can use to perform this test. Want to learn more about diagnosing issues? Click here to learn more.
How To Insulate Electrical Systems
You’ll need to know how to insulate electronics the right way. When dealing with electrical systems, it’s best to leave it to the pros. Let electricians take care of the job unless you’re an electrician.
This doesn’t mean you can’t check the work done by the electrician. There are common mistakes that an electrician can make when insulating electrical systems.
You know some of the risks of poor insulation. Look out for the following common mistakes to prevent the risks.
The electrician must use the correct type of insulation for the application. Proper installation of the material is a must. Failure to install it the right way can lead to short circuits as well as other problems down the road.
The electrician will need to shield the wires. Forgetting to shield them will expose them to outside interference. The electrician shouldn’t forget to ground them.
Using cheap materials is a no-no. Cheap materials will not do well against environmental conditions. An electrical current will pass right through cheap materials.
Make sure that the electrician you hire isn’t cutting corners. Not doing this the right way can cause you more than money if you have to fix the problem again. It can cost you your house or even your life if there’s a fire.
The Importance of Installing Electrical Insulation
Electricity is nothing to mess with. If you find issues with the electrical insulation in your home, you need to take action. It’s important to properly insulate your electrical system.
Not taking care of this can lead to a fire or other problems. Now is the time to insulate the wires in your home that need it.
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