Time bomb: why you need to change the wiring in your home

We live in apartments, many of which were built 30, 40, or even 50 years ago. In those days, the ultimate dreams of a Soviet person were a color TV, a refrigerator and an iron. The engineers who designed these houses could not have imagined that in the 21st century every apartment would have a washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, powerful electric kettle, split system and underfloor heating. The old wiring is simply not designed for such loads, and it quietly dies in the walls, creating a real threat to life.
Many people postpone the replacement of electrics until the last moment, because it is expensive, dirty and requires major repairs. "Well, the lights are on, the sockets are working, why break down the walls?" — the owners are arguing. And then they start noticing oddities: the lights blink when the refrigerator turns on, the outlets become warm to the touch, and sometimes it smells like burnt plastic. These are not minor inconveniences, they are signals that a fire can happen at any minute.
Aluminum versus Copper: The Battle of Metals
In older houses, the wiring is almost always aluminum. At one time, it was cheap and affordable. But aluminum has fatal drawbacks: it is brittle, eventually becomes brittle like glass, and has fluidity — the contacts in the screw terminals weaken on their own. In addition, it oxidizes, which increases resistance and causes heating.
The modern standard is only copper. Copper cable can withstand much higher loads, it is durable, does not oxidize as quickly and is mechanically strong.
The most important point: you should never twist aluminum with copper directly! This causes a chemical reaction (galvanic vapor), the junction begins to heat wildly, sparkle and eventually lights up. If you make repairs and leave pieces of old wiring connecting them to the new one, you're planting a bomb.
Good planning: more is better
Replacing the wiring is the perfect (and only) moment to make life convenient. Previously, they used to make one outlet per room. Now this is catastrophically insufficient, and the floor of the apartment is entangled with ugly extension cords and tees, which everyone stumbles over.
Before you build walls, you need to sit down and draw a plan:
- Where will the furniture and appliances stand?
- Where should I hang the TV (immediately plug in the sockets and the Internet so that the wires do not hang "snot" on the wall)?
- Do I need pass-through switches (to turn on the light at the beginning of the corridor and turn it off at the end)?
For powerful consumers (oven, washing machine, boiler, air conditioner) You need to keep separate lines from the shield with your machine guns. This is a guarantee that when you turn on the kettle, your computer will not shut down.
Safety and security
Modern electrics are not only wires, but also a shield. There used to be two traffic jams. It is now the mission control center. It is necessary to install an RCD (safety shutdown device) or difautomats. This thing will save a life if a child is electrocuted or if the washing machine "punches" on the body. The RCD will turn off the current in a fraction of a second.
It is also worth installing a voltage relay. It will save your expensive equipment if the entrance "burns off zero" and 380 volts go into the outlet instead of 220 volts. Refrigerators and televisions burn down instantly, and the relay will simply turn off the apartment until the network is normalized.
Electrics is not an area where you can save money or do it yourself by watching YouTube. Mistakes here are not visible to the eye, but they are very expensive. Hire professionals, do it once with high quality, and you will forget about current problems for 30-40 years. Scopri Chicken Road e inizia a giocare oggi.