Electrical maintenance installations are a fundamental element in the proper functioning of a home, office, business premises, etc. Its maintenance and repair are essential mainly to prevent possible failures, fatal to personal and third-party safety. With proper electrical maintenance you will enjoy a safe and durable installation.
And since we do not want something bad to happen, we have designed this article so that you learn everything you need to do preventive maintenance and small repairs in basic electrical installations such as those in the home.
At Lighting Australia we offer you all the information you need for successful LED installation and use.
General concepts about electrical installations
Before establishing maintenance techniques and some important keys to carry out small repairs, we will clarify some general concepts about electrical installations to facilitate understanding of this type of systems, their operation and correct maintenance.
Understanding these general concepts, you will be able to carry out the usual maintenance and small repairs of electrical installations in homes yourself.
Types of electrical installations
An electrical system can be single-phase or three-phase. Let’s see in more detail what they consist of.
- Electrical installation with single-phase system. It has a form of distribution through two conductors, one of phase which comes from the local distributor, and the other neutral. This type of electrical system only feeds appliances of this type, providing the consumer with a single voltage.
- Electrical installation with three-phase system. This system has a different form of distribution than the single-phase system. The distribution is made through four conductors, three phase and one neutral. This type of system allows powering different types of devices that work with both single-phase and three-phase systems.
- Electrical system capacity. Knowing the maximum capacity accepted by the electrical installations that you are going to fix or maintain is essential to carry out any type of work successfully. Remember that to calculate the amperage of an electrical system you must use the formula (watts / voltage) = ampere. You should never exceed the intensity of the current (ampere) supported by an electrical appliance.
Components of indoor electrical installations.
The indoor electrical installations are made up of the splice, the boards and the circuits. Usually, in addition to being the ideal shape, the splice and meter are located in an accessible place so that the meter reading and maintenance work can be carried out.
The boards, for their part, can be of different types. There are the general, auxiliary, distribution, command and control boards. Each one of them fulfills a specific function within the management of electrical installations.
Finally, the existing circuits will depend on the type of system you have and its requirements.
These circuits are made up of terminals (switches, plugs, etc.), conductors (cables that allow electrical transit) and conduits (pipe type, underground, on a ladder by conductors, etc.).
The entire electrical installation is connected to the distribution networks through an underground or aerial connection.
Electrical installations in homes: importance of preventive maintenance
Electrical installations are a fundamental element in the daily operation of buildings of all kinds: homes, commercial premises, health centers, schools, industrial buildings, offices, and a long etcetera.
Performing regular maintenance of the facilities at these sites has hundreds of benefits. Not only does it improve equipment performance, save money and lower energy consumption, it also saves lives.
And it is that the lack of maintenance or inadequate repairs generate hundreds of deaths a year due to accidents related to these facilities, mainly due to electrocution or fire.
In the case of large public and private buildings, there is a regulation of electrical installations that regulates the maintenance and repair of these installations. It is mandatory and ensures the safety of people. However, at the domestic level there is no such thing.
That is why it is extremely important that the owners and inhabitants of each home are the ones who are aware of any problems with their electrical installation and that they become aware of the importance of keeping these systems in perfect condition.
Main maintenance functions
- Failures: with preventive maintenance you will be able to minimize the possibility of failures.
- Caution: with actions of this type you take care of and keep the electrical installations in perfect condition.
- Early detection: you will be able to detect premature aging of the facilities to prevent accidents.
Keys for the maintenance of electrical installations
Routine maintenance of electrical installations consists of performing a series of basic tasks such as visual inspections, cleaning, among others.
Within the corrective maintenance you can make small arrangements aimed at avoiding accidents, failures and defects of elements of the installation.
At the industrial and business level, there are other stages within the strategic plan for the maintenance of electrical installations such as scheduled maintenance and predictive maintenance, very useful so that it is not necessary to cut the service completely, avoid prejudices in the health of people , improve the productivity of the equipment and extend its useful life, something essential that saves a lot of money and time for entrepreneurs.
Next, we will give you some keys to keep the electrical system of your home in perfect condition and carry out small repairs in complete safety.
If you don’t know, don’t touch
If you don’t know, don’t touch the system as there is a high probability that something bad will happen. Electricity is something to be very careful with.
Disconnect electricity
The golden rule to make small repairs in elements of the electrical installation of your home, is that you disconnect the electricity before starting. For this you will have to lower the main switch of the electrical panel of the house.
Review and cleaning of electrical installations: basic maintenance
One of the main maintenance tasks consists of checking and cleaning certain electrical components and accessories for electrical installations.
In general, whenever you are going to clean parts of the installation make sure through a brief visual check if everything works and looks good.
If you are going to clean the distribution boards, switches and outlets you will have to take certain precautions.
The first thing you should do is cut the power to the general board. Clean the boards with a dry cloth.
For the covers of switches and outlets you can use a damp cloth, remembering that you must first disconnect the power circuits in those areas. Before reconnecting the circuits, let the entire area dry.
At Lighting Australia we offer you all the information you need for successful LED installation and use.