Preparing Your Switchboard and Wiring for Summer in Melbourne's Inner West

Summer puts extra load on old wiring

Warm to hot summers around Yarraville mean fans, air conditioners and sometimes extra fridges or freezers all running on circuits that, in a lot of period homes, were never designed for that kind of load. If your place still has an older switchboard, this is the time of year problems tend to show up.

Before the heat arrives

Check what's on each circuit. If your air conditioner, fans and kitchen appliances all run through the same old circuit, you're more likely to see trips or, worse, an overloaded point getting warm.

Get ceiling fans sorted early. One Yarraville customer had ceiling fans fitted in three bedrooms before summer rather than waiting for the first heatwave. Fans are a straightforward way to take pressure off air conditioning on the hottest days, and bathroom exhaust fans also help manage the humidity that comes with summer storms.

Think about your switchboard before adding big appliances. If you're planning to add air conditioning, a pool pump or anything else significant, it's worth checking whether your board can handle it before summer, not during a heatwave when everyone else is calling electricians too.

Storms and outdoor points

Melbourne summers bring sudden storms as well as heat. Outdoor power points are a common weak spot: water getting into an outdoor socket can cause a safety switch to trip repeatedly, sometimes for months, until someone tracks down the cause. If you've got an outdoor point near garden beds or an exposed wall, it's worth having it checked before storm season rather than after it starts causing trouble.

Smoke alarms matter in summer too

Hot, dry stretches raise bushfire and house fire risk generally, and it's a sensible time to check that smoke alarms are working and, if they're not already interconnected, consider having them linked so one alarm triggers all of them.

A simple pre-summer checklist

• Fans fitted or serviced in bedrooms and bathrooms

• Switchboard checked if you're adding air conditioning or other big appliances

• Outdoor power points inspected, especially if a safety switch has tripped in wet weather before

• Smoke alarms tested and batteries checked

If any of this turns up a bigger question, like whether your board can take an air conditioner or EV charger, call or send a photo of the switchboard and Two Pin Electrical will tell you what they find and what it needs.