Shocking Truths: 5 Common Electrical Risks in Commercial Buildings

You flip a switch and don’t think twice about what it takes to turn on the building lights or start up a piece of machinery. However, an extensive network of electrical wiring runs through your commercial building. If this system is not in top condition, you put the entire building at risk.

Prioritize safety in your building by hiring a professional to inspect it and look for those five electrical risks.

1. Overloaded Circuit Breakers

Quality circuit breakers can fail if overloaded with too many power demands. These situations can become dangerous, as the circuit breaker is supposed to act like a safety switch.

When overloaded or faulty, the circuit breaker can no longer stop the flow of electricity. The opposite begins to happen, and a fire can start.

Have your circuit breaker panel regularly tested to identify damaged or aging breakers. Then, you can proactively replace the ones that need it.

2. Disorganized or Mislabeled Electrical Panels

A mislabeled or disorganized electrical panel is dangerous. Unfortunately, it happens all too often in commercial buildings.

Elements in a room can be on separate circuit breakers. Faulty construction could link elements to out-of-order circuit breakers. Without the proper labels, you won’t know if the power is off to everything you need to have turned off.

3. Outdated, Crowded, or Faulty Wiring

Older commercial buildings are more likely to have outdated and faulty wiring. The original wiring could also have been installed incorrectly. While we have strict commercial building codes today, it was not always that way.

Repairs over the years could have resulted in crowded or faulty wiring. Compromised wiring or a lack of electrical grounding creates a fire risk if there is a power surge.

4. Improperly Installed Machinery or Appliances

Some commercial machinery requires hard wiring directly into the building’s electrical system. Improperly installed machinery can cause poor performance of the machine or an electrical fire.

Having a commercial electrical company inspect the installation can identify faulty wiring. You can then have it corrected before anything happens.

Faulty machinery wiring can also create a safety risk for your employees. This creates an OSHA violation, as an employee could get electrocuted or worse.

5. Older Outlets

Electrical outlets in commercial buildings get serious abuse with increased demand. Many businesses add power strips because there are never enough outlets. However, power strips are not meant for long-term commercial use.

Doing so creates extra demand on the electrical outlets. Overloaded outlets will have increased electrical current flowing through them, making them hot and a fire risk.

The best solution is to have a commercial electrical company install more outlets in high-demand areas.

Avoid These Electrical Risks

The best method for avoiding these electrical risks is to have a professional inspect your commercial building. They can look for signs of potential electrical problems and provide the necessary repairs.

At Bates Electric, we work with commercial building owners to correct and improve their wiring. Our experienced electrician team maintains high standards for our work to ensure our clients have safe building operations.

Protect your business and commercial building by scheduling an inspection of your electrical wiring.