When the electrical wiring in an older house is, well, extremely inefficient, can it cause a fire?

Question

In this older house, the wiring is "strange". We can only use certain electrical devices at one time. And it's not many. Much to often all the electrical circuits will go out at one time even when we are using just the "allotted devices". We have replaced the circuit box but there's still the unusual wiring. It is a terrible inconvenience but I'm wondering if it could cause a fire at some time. I need some help for my "case" to convince my husband to have an electrician come out.

Answer 1

The wiring in your house is, without doubt, a disaster waiting to happen.

Judging by what you say it needs stripping out and the house rewiring.

Answer 2

Well, how old is the house exactly? Usually building wires have an average lifetime between 15 to 25 years with nominal loads (that means average use). Even less than that if heavily loaded. After that, the insulation "dries up", becoming brittle and cracked. Which does become dangerous if humans contact them directly, which will cause electric shock.

The fire hazard comes from the wires "overheating" and that occurs when they are loaded with currents greater than their original design can withstand. This often happens because of two things, first the copper becomes oxidized as a result of the cracked insulation (allowing contact with air at high temperatures). The oxide is especially dangerous at the connections we electrical engineers call "joints", which basically adds more resistance and thus more heat. The second reason, is that the original electricians did not anticipate such large electric power loads that we use today back when the house was being constructed. Nowadays, we need dishwashers, air conditioners, fridges...etc., when back then all they needed were a few lights and a few extra circuits.

Now you say that the devices all go off at once, that's because of the circuit breaker kicking in when too much current Amps are being drawn (what we call overload). This will protect you from fire hazards, but I think it would be better to rewire your house, especially if it is made out of flammable material (such as wood). If you want to avoid a big mess and lots of noise, you might even choose to do the wiring externally, by using what is called cable trays to hide the cables and do sockets at certain points of interest. If you are concerned with cost, you may choose to make a few externally thick wires, to run major power consuming items ony (such as an electric heater, dryer....etc.). And leave the old wiring for lights and maybe a TV.

Answer 3

it's possible. If the water creates a path for current in range of a splice or other exposed copper then it could potentially conduct somewhere you don't want it to. Electricity generates heat as it flows through a material, and this can of course lead to fire. However, it's not likely in this situation. Unless you had some lights on the ceiling area right below your bathroom, there probably wasn't enough water to soak all the way down your walls into an electrical box/switch/plug. You may want to call your local fire department and see what they have to say about this though. And you should always keep an ABC rated fire extinguisher somewhere accessible in your home. I keep mine in the kitchen because statistically that's where the most fires start.

Answer 4

YES, in time it will cause a fire if you overload the electrical circuits. Some electricans won't charge to give an estimate. Your Dept. of Water & Power can check it for free.