Most damage is visible. Such as water leakage, cracked walls and ceilings, broken tiles, burnt or charred electrical appliances and fixtures. Whether caused by a recent storm or unexpected power surge(s), it is vital to document with photographs all observed damage to present to your insurer to process your claim. Most losses involve obvious damage however the majority of losses are decided by unseen hidden details pointed out by a public adjuster that others may have otherwise failed to identify.

It turned out that a thorough investigation of property loss by the public adjuster needed to involve an experienced and licensed electrical contractor in Delray Beach for an emergency assessment and necessary repairs to a property to tie together all of the electrical failures, emergency repairs and eventual complete replacement of an aging AC unit with new high-efficiency unit and Climate Control service contract.

Step 1: The Public Adjuster’s Discovery

An insurance public adjuster review of the Photo on his smartphone led to a review of a Utility Closet where Power Cords, Tools and Utility Knives were stored against the Utility Closet Wall. In the Background of the Photo to the Right of the Center of the Image the Public Adjuster noticed that there was subtle Discoloration in the Seam where the Main Electrical Panel Cover Meet the Main Panel Frame. Furthermore, along the Insulation of the Large Main Feed Wire Running down the Back of the Panel there was Melting. The Public Adjuster scheduled a time to revisit the Property with the Homeowner.

Upon returning to the home with the homeowner, the deteriorating condition of the panel continued to reveal itself, including high-resistance connections at the interior of the bus bars of the Panel due to thermal expansion and contraction over time. Further, the deterioration was also affecting the main feed wire(s) insulation. Fearing immediate fire as well as additional damage to equipment downstream of the failed Panel, the public adjuster continued to document the loss for future reference. Importantly, the public adjuster also immediately referred the homeowner to contact a licensed contractor to perform a full and detailed evaluation of all electrical components and related equipment throughout the home for identification of all necessary repairs.

Step 2: The Electrician Intervention and Panel Upgrades

Your repair will be assigned to the best Licensed Electrical Contractor Delray Beach Fl has to offer. The electrical inspector for your assigned repair contractor will complete a comprehensive electrical distribution system investigation to confirm complete repair requirements for your electrical panel and wiring.

The home’s major power and cooling systems failed through a split and correlated set of failures initiated by a singular large power surge or thermal overload at the home’s main service. This singular home disaster’s failure progression created severe damage to the Electrical Panel and further, and most critically, caused severe and irreparable damage to the cooling system and its operation.

In the Electrical Panel: The overload caused arcing bus bars, burned circuit breakers, and revealed the electrical panel to only supply an inadequate amount of total amperage to the home.

In the Old AC Unit: The unstable electrical supply caused the overworked compressor of the old air conditioning system to overheat with resultant damage to the contactors of the air conditioning system. The damage to the electrical components of the old system was exacerbated by existing R-22 refrigerant leaks in the cooling system.

Replacing the old Service Panel with a full complement of new High Efficiency Breakers was needed in order to provide proper and safe service to the new Air Conditioning System, while at the same time providing adequate power to serve all of the homeowner’s other electrical needs.

During their initial audit, the electrical contractor identified several critical failures across the property:

• Bus Bar Arcing and Scorched Breakers: Arcing and scoring in the bus bars of the primary electrical panel, as well as burn marks on the electrical panel’s breakers. These internal heating issues resulted in welds or looseness of the double-poled breakers.
• Improper Grounding: The grounding electrode system was old and had failed to meet safety code requirements for the type of system that the home has. Sensitive equipment such as personal computers, televisions and stereo equipment could have been damaged by random voltage fluctuations.
• Sub-Panel Overloads: As shown to the right, several of the sub-panels servicing the home’s kitchen and utility rooms contained circuits without neutral wires. These type of unbalanced single-phase power distribution systems cause large voltage drops resulting in inefficient operation of kitchen and utility-apparatuses and possible damage to other apparati.

The electrician did the repairs and upgrades necessary to have a safe and up-to-date electrical system for the homeowner.

1. Replacement of the old Main Service Panel with a new 200-amp service panel complete with a main surge arrestor to protect the homeowner from future electrical surges.
2. Whole House New Wiring with Dedicated 240V Circuits: Public adjuster’s technical assessment included new wiring throughout the house including kitchen, utility room and wet areas installed with AFCI/GFCI protection as well as dedicated 240V heavy gauge new wiring for largest home appliances.
3. Grounding System Upgrades: New copper grounding rods were driven for the grounding system. In addition, the existing metal piping was bonded to bring the home’s electrical system up to current Florida Building Codes.

Step 3: Connecting Electrical Failures to the A/C Breakdown

The public adjuster established a causal link between the destruction of the electrical panel and the destruction of the HVAC comfort systems. The aged central air conditioning system at the home was destroyed as a direct result of the electrical panel failure.

Electric motor and equipment control panels like the main panel failed many times due to loose bus bar connections and resulting severe voltage drop. The compressor in air conditioners and heat pumps rely on clean and constant voltage to start. Every time the main panel failed and caused a brownout, the air conditioning system draws excess amperage to try to keep running. This results in extremely high currents that can rapidly destroy internal motor windings and the expensive control board.

Step 4: Why Repair Was Out of the Question

When the homeowner found himself without cooling he Googled “ac repair near me” thinking he needed a simple service call to change out a part or two. After the HVAC technician performed an inspection, he informed the homeowner that attempting to repair the cooling system would be wasteful due to four main factors.

• Electrical Burnout: Short circuits within the compressor, brought about by sudden voltage droops or extreme spikes in the home’s power distribution to the HVAC equipment. These in turn caused further internal damage as electrical parts were subjected to excessive heat brought about by the high short circuit currents, to the extent that the internal insulation of components was actually to have melted.
• Obsolete Refrigerant: The Freon R-22 used by the components of the cooling system of the house in question has been banned by environmental laws for years and recharging it with this refrigerant is very expensive.
• Corroded Heat Exchanger: The system’s heat exchanger surfaces had suffered severe coil pitting that would have been unfixable even had the other failures been rectified and the leaks stopped. As it was, the heat exchanger surfaces were suffering from severe deterioration as a result of years of salt-air moisture getting into the system and corroding the surfaces.
• Incompatible Electrical Specifications: The existing unit was fed off a 30-amp dedicated circuit and the new units will require a 50-amp dedicated circuit from the panel.

Step 5 – Connecting New Cooling to Upgraded Electrical Panel.

Of course, replacing the old air conditioner (cooling system) with new high efficiency systems was not going to be a simple swap of coolers. It needed to be coordinated with the electrical work that the previous electrician was doing.

When the time came for installation of new equipment, the air conditioning unit required a dedicated 50-amp circuit to include an outdoor weatherproof disconnect box. New wiring was run from the electrical panel to provide power to the Inverter-Driven compressor of the High Efficiency Air Conditioning system. Electrical Contractor Delray Beach FL upgraded main service to 200 amps, included built-in Surge Suppression and was ready for connection of high start-up load (LRA) of the new unit.

Conclusion: A Complete Restoration

The PA’s investigation into the degradation of the home’s property caused by the smartphone photo initially investigated for damages to the property’s HVAC system to arrive at the ultimate outcome of a complete restoration of the property.

As an integral part of a complete home property restoration efforts, a professional electrical contractor delray beach fl was called in to correct electrical issues first isolated by a public adjuster and the homeowner’s phone photo of a failing electrical panel. Now with a safe new electrical system in place as well as efficient comfort systems installed for long term climate comfort, the homeowner is also relieved of the perils of potential electrical fires as well as harrowing searches for emergency ac repair near me for broken air conditioning systems.