When you are in the fortunate situation to purchase a house in South Australia and Adelaide specifically, it is surprising that people are spending nowadays over a million dollars and do not think about getting the wiring or switchboard checked before they decide to make the purchase. Sometimes a Building Inspector might mention an older switchboard in their report, but a building report will not go into details when it comes to the electrical infrastructure of the home. If the electrical infrastructure of the home is old and outdated then an upgrade is required soon after the purchase and this can add thousands of dollars to the purchase price.
A building inspection company as part of a pre-purchase inspection generally looks at the building’s structure, termite damage, other vermin related matters and water leaks. A building inspector may flick some obvious switches to see if they work and check that you have smoke alarms. However, they cannot test everything electrical in your house. For this you need to have an in-depth electrical, communications and antenna inspection completed by a licensed electrical contractor such as DQ Electrical and Solar.
An electrical inspection detects problems that may arise in the future. We also look at the power coming into the house during the inspection to see if the connection is sufficient for any upgrades you may want to do. We can also check out how suitable your home is to install a solar system with storage batteries in the future. If you are looking at a property that does not have air conditioning and want to install it later, the electrical infrastructure might need to be upgraded and new electrical circuits being installed. Depending on the age of the home and the existing connection points to the grid, the power lines coming into the house from the street may need to be increased as well, which can be expensive, especially on a busy road, where even a road closure might be part of the job.
We recommend to have an electrical inspection for your home every 4 to 5 years because electrical wiring, power points, light fittings and switches have a a certain lifespan. It could also be quite costly to undertake a rewiring of an entire house because the electrical wiring has reached the end of its life. You want to know these facts BEFORE you make an offer on the property. Wires can lose their grounding over time, and in older homes with older circuits, a grounding wire may be non-existent, so it’s critical to have an electrician test the wiring and circuit of any established home you’re thinking about buying.
The switchboard in a home is the focal point of the entire electrical system, so it must be thoroughly tested and should be up to date. It is for example critical that the switchboard has modern circuit breakers and is not full of the old-style porcelain fuses, as modern RDMs will increase the safety aspects of your home. A newly purchased home should have an electrical circuit that can supply the house for many years to come. It is advised to check that the control panel / switch board is up to date and can handle circuit expansions to meet the demands of new electrical appliances and modern technology.
Many properties sold around Adelaide are older and are not necessarily set up for the internet, communication, home networking, data transfer for their gaming children, home security, home automation via c-bus automation system, MATV (Multiple access television) system set up, entertainment rooms or specific renewable energy technologies such as storage batteries.
Old wiring, old switchboards and faulty wiring can also cause short circuits and overloading. You don’t want to move into your newly purchased home and soon after find there is a fire risk because you have plugged in too many electric appliances and overloaded an old circuit connected via a ceramic switch that has a nail as a fuse (yes, we have seen this). Many domestic electrical accidents occur in the kitchen and bathroom. Our inspection will make sure your appliances are grounded and you will not get a shock when you touch them. During the inspection, DQ Electrical qualified electricians will inspect your home or office’s electrical system to make sure all elements are compliant with the latest wiring rules of AS 3000 and other standards.
We will create a list of recommended improvements and any dangers that might be present or recommended upgrade options, so you are well informed about the required electrical works at your potential future home or investment property. When you are spending a big sum of money on a house, you will want to know how much more you have to spend to bring the house into the smart appliance age to cater for an up to
date, safe home.
This is particularly important today, when more people work from home. Your home office needs to be set up in a way that is ergonomic and has the power and data points that are capable of handling the demand on the electrical circuits. DQ Electrical and Solar will recommend which room in your house and office needs what type of improvements and how to protect your equipment from power surges. Only trained electrical companies such as DQ Electrical and Solar are qualified to make a proper assessment on the electrical state of the property. They can assess what needs replacing and what the cost for the replacement will be. This information will be useful when negotiating the final purchase price for the home and can avoid unforeseen additional cost for electrical works.
When you are fully informed about the additional cost to bring your future home into today’s electronic, communications and smart age, you will have a good argument with the seller to achieve a fair price.
Don’t risk the unknown on your new house, call DQ Electrical and Solar for a pre-purchase inspection on (08) 7160 0127.
