Leak

[mr king]

Hi

i am not an electrician but am looking for help. i have bought an old house and asked the electrician to look at the wires he says that the wires are all very old (this is true) and he also says they are leaking???

Q if they are leaking and nothing is pluged in and no lights are on , do i pay for the electricity that is leaking to the ground?

Thank you

 

[Mr Mark Sparks]

no your not paying for anything i suspect he is trying to keep things simple for you
as cables get old the insulation brakes down and the seperation beetween the conductors weakens this could eventually get to a level where (if you have or will have) a trip(rcbo/rcd) your trip switch will go off

 

[Dave]

Hello and welcome....

 

[pushrod]

Your electrician has probably done insulation resistance tests and the readings are too low (as explained by markspark above) sounds like you may well need a rewire, unfortunately.

 

[baldsparkies]

As covered in previous reply's,it is highly unlikely that you are consuming electricity unless something is switched on. For peace of mind ensure all appliances including things like water heaters are off,and check your meter readings. If you have the old disc type meter it should be stationary.
I would be more concerned about the general condition of the wiring,following your electricians report.If its the old rubber type and not pvc it will definately be past its sell by date.
Hope that helps.

 

[Nenedata]

Hi There, is your name Lee by any chance

 

[pushrod]

Hi There, is your name Lee by any chance

but he spells it Lea, surely

 

[claire_r]

maybe they mean by "leaking" its the old pvc cable that creates green goo around the connections in the accesories??