Most people believe that electrical damage to building wiring and appliances is obvious after an event such as lightning or power surges. But 95% of over a half mile of electrical wires is hidden from view behind outlets, switches and light fixtures in walls, ceilings and floors…

Lightning & Surges
Each year, transient surges send thousands of damaging voltages into electrical wiring systems in homes and buildings through phones, cable lines, underground piping tree roots and many other points of entry.

The most common lightning discharges involve ground paths near overhead and underground power lines or cables and utility company transformer equipment. Engineers design power systems that are intentionally grounded to the earth to protect their equipment. But like many good engineering ideas, there can be side effects. One such side effect involves secondary power surges, called transients.

A Ground Fault / Arc Fault condition causes high resistance heating.  When electrical faults are near a wood surface, a heating process transforms into a burning process by carbonizing the wood and lowering its ignition temperature.

Never Assume…
People assume that if their breakers don't trip or lights and applliances are working, everything is OK. But research and experiences proves that thermal electrical damage can result in a smoldering fire (inside walls) within days, months or years after an electrical surge incident. A 60-watt bulb has a surface temperature of over 300 degrees in free air space. During an electrical surge, the temperature of a ground fault or arc fault (carbonized arc) in an enclosed area like an insulated wall cavity can reach 2000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fire experts agree that years or even months of wood exposure to an electrical fault heating near 170 degrees Fahrenheit is the beginning temperature of carbon formation and the maximum temperature for a reasonable margin of safety.

Only America 2000's "Right Inspection" can find the hidden damage. We invite you to browse our website to learn more about how you can protect your home and family from the threat of electrical danger.

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When electrical voltage is increased (power surges / spikes), I2R heating proportionately increases the surface temperature of an electrical fault four times for every 120 volts being produced. In other words, a spike in voltage (utility company, wind, lightning) can cause fire ignition if carbonization has previously developed on a wooden surface from a previous event.

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