Your safety is the reason there are so many different codes and so much ‘nit-picking’ municipal regulation of electrical systems. We appreciate both their concern for public safety and the frustration it can cause for homeowners, both of which we share! For homeowners, codes take to a whole new level the importance of a supervisory body that holds electricians to standards.

It is definitely not easy for even licensed electricians to stay on top of all the different changes in all the different codes. It is, however, their profession, and unless they do it, they fail to qualify for re-certification. Since it took so long to be licensed in the first place, they definitely do not put all that in jeopardy, either. Instead, they absorb the continuing education.

Code Compliance Matters

Generally, despite how it sometimes feels, municipal codes do not change just because someone enjoys rewriting them or is “staying busy” to justify their employment. They change, we admit, because more is understood every day, as lessons are drawn from past mistakes. They change – it is true – with materials and technologies and close examinations of data related to house fires and insurance claims for property liability.

Codes frustrate absolutely all of us – homeowners trying to sell and electricians trying to service – but they are, truthfully, for your safety and ours. We have to replace GFCIs with AFCIs not because someone decided they should start with “A” but because electrical arcs are better understood. That understanding is what we bring as electricians to ‘code compliance matters’, but it is no surprise that most homeowners do not share it.

Unfortunately, not all licensed electricians share it either. Homeowners need to select an electrician from a pool of certified licensed candidates. That way, you can be sure it is really safe for everyone  – along with the garage, the laundry room, bath, and kitchen. Codes have a purpose and while some homeowners may think they are inconvenient, they are there for all of our safety.