Severe thunderstorms, high winds, lightning, and power outages can create electrical problems for commercial buildings—even when everything appears normal once the power comes back on.
For businesses searching for Eric Gandler Clifton Park commercial electrical services, Development Electric provides experienced troubleshooting, inspections, repairs, and preventative electrical maintenance throughout Clifton Park and the Capital Region.
With more than 25 years of commercial and industrial electrical experience, Eric Gandler helps local businesses identify electrical problems following storms, outages, and other unexpected power events.
What Can a Storm Do to a Commercial Electrical System?
Most people associate storm damage with downed power lines and complete outages. However, severe weather can also affect electrical equipment inside a commercial property.
Lightning, utility interruptions, voltage fluctuations, and water intrusion can potentially cause problems involving:
- Electrical panels and breakers
- Commercial equipment
- HVAC systems
- Computers and electronics
- Machinery
- Refrigeration
- Lighting
- Building controls
- Surge protection equipment
Some electrical problems appear immediately. Others may become noticeable hours or even days later.
Eric Gandler Clifton Park: What to Check After the Power Returns
After an outage, pay attention to how your building and equipment behave when power is restored.
Warning signs can include:
- Breakers that repeatedly trip
- Flickering or dimming lights
- Equipment that won’t restart
- Unusual buzzing or electrical sounds
- Burning odors
- Unexpectedly warm electrical equipment
- Computers or controls behaving differently
- Machinery shutting down unexpectedly
If these problems begin immediately following a storm or outage, having the electrical system professionally evaluated can help determine what happened.
Lightning Doesn’t Have to Hit Your Building
A direct lightning strike can obviously cause significant damage, but it isn’t the only way a thunderstorm can affect electrical equipment.
Electrical disturbances can also originate elsewhere in the utility system.
That’s particularly important for modern commercial properties because businesses now rely on large amounts of sensitive electronic equipment.
Computers, networking hardware, HVAC controls, point-of-sale equipment, machinery controls, and other electronics can all depend on consistent electrical power.
Does Your Business Have Adequate Surge Protection?
Surge protection can be an important part of protecting commercial electrical equipment.
If your business has added computers, electronic controls, machinery, or other sensitive equipment over the years, it may be worth evaluating whether your existing electrical protection is still appropriate for the facility.
Surge protection isn’t a guarantee against every possible electrical event, but it can be one component of a broader electrical protection strategy.
Watch for Water Near Electrical Equipment
Storms can create another serious concern: water.
Roof leaks, flooding, damaged exterior equipment, and water entering utility areas can expose electrical components to moisture.
If a panel, disconnect, wiring, or other electrical equipment appears to have been exposed to water, don’t open it or attempt to investigate it yourself.
Have the equipment evaluated by a qualified commercial electrician.
A Storm May Reveal a Problem That Already Existed
Sometimes the storm isn’t actually the original cause of the problem.
Commercial electrical components experience years of use. Connections can loosen, breakers can age, electrical loads can change, and equipment can deteriorate.
A power interruption or voltage disturbance may simply make an existing weakness more noticeable.
For example, if a breaker suddenly begins tripping after an outage, repeatedly resetting it doesn’t explain why it’s tripping.
That’s where professional electrical troubleshooting becomes important.
Keep Track of What Happened
If your commercial property experiences electrical problems after a storm, document what you notice.
Write down when the outage occurred, which equipment was affected, which breakers tripped, and whether anything behaved differently once power returned.
That information can provide useful clues when an electrician begins troubleshooting the system.
Prepare Before the Next Major Storm
You don’t necessarily have to wait for another storm to discover a weakness in your electrical system.
Preventative electrical maintenance can help identify problems such as aging components, loose connections, overloaded circuits, and electrical infrastructure that may no longer be appropriate for the demands of the business.
Businesses with operations that cannot easily tolerate an outage may also want to evaluate backup power and other options for critical equipment.
Planning ahead gives you an opportunity to address potential problems on your schedule instead of during an emergency.
Eric Gandler Clifton Park Commercial Electrical Services
If your business experiences electrical problems following severe weather or a power outage, Eric Gandler Development Electric can help determine what’s happening.
Businesses looking for Eric Gandler Clifton Park electrical services can turn to more than 25 years of commercial and industrial electrical experience for:
- Commercial electrical troubleshooting
- Electrical inspections
- Preventative maintenance
- Electrical repairs
- Panel and service upgrades
- Power distribution
- Surge protection
- Backup power planning
- Commercial and industrial electrical improvements
Eric Gandler Development Electric serves businesses throughout Clifton Park and New York’s Capital Region.
If your commercial electrical system isn’t behaving normally after a storm or outage, contact Eric Gandler Clifton Park Development Electric.