Electrical Safety Upgrades near you

ESA says all outlets within 1.5 metres of a sink must be GFCI-protected, and all 120-volt, 15- and 20-amp receptacles in your backyard need Class A GFCI protection. In an older home, the electrician can add that protection with a GFCI receptacle at the first outlet on a circuit, which then protects the outlets wired after it, or with a GFCI breaker that covers the whole circuit from the panel. A receptacle keeps the reset button within reach; a breaker suits circuits whose first outlet is hard to find or get to.

Arc-fault protection usually comes as a breaker. Technical Safety BC's upgrade bulletin specifies that circuits with receptacles added in a dwelling unit must be AFCI protected, and ESA explains that AFCI protection reduces fire risk by cutting power when it detects an arc behind the walls. On old circuits, a new AFCI breaker sometimes trips repeatedly at first, which often reveals a real problem, such as a damaged cable or circuits improperly sharing a conductor, that the electrician traces rather than removing the protection.

Many homes wired before grounded cable became standard still have two-prong receptacles, and some have three-prong outlets fitted on circuits with no ground at all, which looks reassuring but isn't. Technical Safety BC's bulletin states that service grounding and bonding must be in good repair, so a grounding upgrade starts at the panel, with the grounding conductor, its connections and the bonding of metal piping.

At the receptacles, the choice depends on the circuit. Running new grounded cable gives the best result and often goes with a partial rewire; where that isn't practical, the electrical code permits specific alternatives for existing ungrounded circuits, and ground-fault protection is commonly part of them. Afterwards, each outlet is tested for polarity and grounding, so you know which receptacles are genuinely grounded.

ESA considers knob-and-tube safe provided it is properly maintained by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, and notes that the 2021 Ontario Electrical Safety Code deleted the rules for installing it but is not retroactive. The catch is insurance: ESA says many insurers will not provide or renew coverage on homes with it, and some make you replace it first. ESA recommends an assessment by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, who checks the conductors for deterioration or damage and may recommend replacement.

Aluminum branch wiring, which ESA says may be present in homes built between the mid-1960s and late 1970s, is usually made safe at the connections rather than replaced: devices approved for aluminum, or copper leads joined with approved connectors, at every outlet, switch and splice. ESA notes that some insurers won't provide or renew coverage without an ESA inspection, and that you may need to repair or replace the wiring and give your insurer a copy of the ESA Certificate of Acceptance.

In Ontario, ESA decommissioned its ElecCheck program effective April 4, 2022, and says a Licensed Electrical Contractor can perform an Electrical System Safety Assessment, a review of a home's wiring and devices to identify hazards that could lead to a fire or a shock. For a buyer, the useful moment is within the offer's inspection period, once the general home inspector has flagged anything electrical, so the electrician can examine the panel, the wiring type and the protective devices before you commit.

Ask for a written list that separates hazards from upgrades, with an outline of what each would involve, and share it with your insurance broker before closing, since the broker can tell you which items stand between you and coverage. ESA adds that when deficiencies are corrected, a separate notification of work must be taken out by whoever does the repairs.

Every item on the list is regulated work. In Ontario, ESA says almost all electrical work must be reported through a notification before it starts, and anyone you hire must be a Licensed Electrical Contractor; once the work passes, ESA issues a Certificate of Acceptance, which it calls an important document for insurance purposes and resale. In Quebec, the work goes to a contractor licensed through the CMEQ. In British Columbia, the permit comes from Technical Safety BC or the local government, and Technical Safety BC's bulletin recommends checking smoke and CO alarm requirements with the local building authority.