“In this video, we’re going to talk about wiring and the importance of it in your home.

Now wiring comes in a lot of different forms and a lot of different formats. Most commonly in homes, you have this type of wiring which is called romex. It has this outer shield, which is, in this case, is white covered. It also comes in different colors, not a big deal. Inside it, you’ll have a black wire, white wire, and green wire or a copper wire. The black wire is the hot wire, which is what carries electricity to your devices. The white wire is the neutral wire, which carries electricity away from the devices. The green wire or the copper is called the ground, and that’s your safety wire.

Now the importance of the ground wire is probably the most important one out of the three. If the black or white wire had a nick in it and touched the metal box, it would then energize the cover plate, the screws and would make it dangerous for a kid or pet walking by, who could then get electrocuted.

How the ground wire works is if this box does become energized, because one of the wires are nicked or something goes wrong or a wire comes loose, a lot of different things could cause that. But, what it does, it causes electricity to travel very fast through the ground wire back to the panel, which then causes a breaker to trip, which then turns off power to the circuit, so it’s no longer a hazard.

Now the other types of wiring, any wiring before 1960 did not have this ground wire and it’s most commonly covered in cloth which is soaked in asbestos, which we have two different hazards there. One the cloth can burn and two we have the dangers of asbestos. So if you have old asbestos wiring, it’s recommended you get it removed.

Now any house built before 1960 probably has this. So, if you’re not sure what type of wiring you have or if you any outlets that don’t have the third hole in it, you should have it inspected by a professional electrician. Give us a call today and we’ll be more than happy to come and take a look at it.”