Your Home’s Electrical System After a Storm, Flood or Fire

What to do and not do with your home’s electrical system after water or fire damage, what must be replaced, and how to get power back safely.

The electrical findings that show up most on Virginia home inspections, what each one means, and how buyers and sellers should handle them before closing.

Which electrical work needs a permit under Virginia’s statewide building code, what’s usually exempt, who can pull the permit and what inspection involves.

How structured wiring, wired access points and smart home wiring make a home network reliable, and the best time to run low-voltage cable.

What the electrical code requires for hot tubs, pools and outdoor kitchens: dedicated circuits, GFCI, disconnects, bonding and permits in Virginia.

How a home standby generator and automatic transfer switch work, how they’re sized, permits and placement in Virginia, and the upkeep that keeps one ready.

Why backfeeding is deadly, how a generator inlet with an interlock or manual transfer switch works, and how to choose and size one for your home.

A plain comparison of home battery storage and standby generators: runtime, heavy loads, noise, maintenance and which fits your Virginia home.

How a whole-home surge protector works, why the 2020 NEC requires one on new and replaced home services, and what it can and can’t protect.

The four reasons breakers trip (overloads, shorts, ground faults and arc faults), how to tell them apart, and when to stop resetting and call.