Annual Electrical Checklist & Organization

Annual Electrical Checklist & Organization - January 2026 Edition

There’s something about the first week of January that makes you want to get your house in order. Maybe it’s the post-holiday cleanup or just the psychological fresh start of a new year. Either way, while you’re decluttering closets and organizing the pantry, it’s worth taking twenty minutes to check on the systems that actually keep the lights on.

In Calgary, our electrical grids work overtime. We swing from running AC units in July to cranking heating systems against -30°C freezes in January. That kind of load takes a toll. You don’t need to be a journeyman electrician to spot the early warning signs of trouble; you just need to know where to look.

The Heart of the Home: Your Panel

Think of your electrical panel like the engine of your car. You don’t need to take it apart, but you should definitely listen to it once in a while.

Go down to your utility room—move the boxes or hockey gear if they’ve piled up in front of it (you need a meter of clearance by law, anyway)—and just listen. A healthy panel is silent. If you hear buzzing, crackling, or a faint sizzling noise, that’s not normal. It usually means a connection is loose or a breaker is failing. If you hear it, call a pro.

While you’re there, pop open the door and look at the circuit directory. Is it a scribbled mess from 1995? Do you actually know which breaker controls the kitchen fridge? Taking a Saturday afternoon to verify and relabel these can save you a massive headache when you’re fumbling around in the dark during an outage.

Life Safety Check

It feels repetitive to say “check your smoke detectors,” but we see expired units in homes constantly.

Here is the thing most people miss: smoke alarms expire. They aren’t forever devices. Pop the unit off the ceiling and look at the back. There will be a manufacture date stamped on it. If it’s more than 10 years old, the sensor inside is likely degraded. Replace it. It’s cheap insurance.

While you’re up there, swap the batteries. Even hardwired units usually rely on a 9-volt backup for when the power grid goes down.

Protecting the Expensive Stuff

We all have more electronics than we did five years ago. Computers, smart TVs, gaming consoles—they don’t react well to “dirty” power or surges.

Go around the house and check your power strips. Most surge protectors have a tiny little light (usually green or red) that indicates if they are still protecting you. These devices use components that wear out over time. If that light is dead, the strip is just a fancy extension cord. It won’t stop a surge. If you want real protection, ask us about putting a Whole-Home Surge Protector right at your panel. It acts like a bouncer for your electricity, stopping big spikes before they even get to your outlets.

The Post-Holiday Cord Tangle

Now that the Christmas tree is down, take a look at the cords you usually have hidden behind the TV stand or the desk.

Are they a rat’s nest? “Spaghetti” cabling traps heat and collects dust bunnies, which is a surprisingly effective way to start a fire. Grab some velcro ties and tidy them up. And please, if you see a cord with the insulation pulling away from the plug, toss it. Tape isn’t a permanent fix.

When to Call Us

Most of this stuff you can do yourself with a coffee in hand. But if you spot something that looks wrong—a scorch mark on an outlet, a breaker that feels hot to the touch, or that buzzing sound we mentioned—don’t DIY it.

Our 24/7 Emergency Electrician team is always on standby. We’ve seen it all, from frozen service masts to panels that decided to quit on the coldest night of the year.

Here is to a safe, bright, and uneventful 2026. If you need us, we’re just a phone call away.