Electricity is a modern amenity that homeowners can't imagine living without. All of your home's electrical circuits are controlled using a primary electrical panel. This panel provides a detailed diagram letting you know which circuit powers which areas of your home.
An outdated electrical panel can pose a real problem when it comes to managing and troubleshooting your home's electrical system.
Here are three factors that you can use to determine if it's time to ask your electrician to install a new electrical panel.
1. You Need More Outlets
Today's homeowners have a lot more electrical devices than homeowners of the past.
You can find multiple televisions, laptops, gaming consoles, and other electronic devices in most modern homes. The increase in demand for electronics has led to an increase in the need for electrical outlets in the home.
If you find that you just don't have enough outlets to meet all of your family's needs, it's time to update your electrical panel.
A new panel will allow your electrician to create additional circuits within your home. These new circuits can be tied to new outlets that will help you meet your family's electrical needs.
2. Your Breakers Are Tripping More Frequently
A circuit breaker is designed to trip and put a stop to the flow of electricity moving through the circuit whenever the circuit draws more power than it should. The switches that are installed within your electrical panel are used to control the circuit breakers.
If you find that you are having to flip these circuit breaker switches more and more often, this is a good sign that you need to install a new electrical panel.
Frequent breaker tripping is usually caused by the addition of a new appliance or other electrical item that pushes the circuit beyond its capabilities. An electrician can install a new panel that will allow for all of your electrical usage and prevent excessive breaker tripping in the future.
3. Your Electrical Panel Is Old
Age is a factor when it comes to the performance of an electrical panel. The older a panel gets, the more likely it is to malfunction and create a safety hazard in your home.
Experts suggest updating your electrical panel at least once every 25-40 years.
Be sure that you verify the age of your electrical panel if you have just moved into your home so that you can identify when it's time to replace the old panel with a new one. Contact a company like Potts Electric to learn more.
Share7 January 2022
You might know that you need to hire an electrician, since you might be building or remodeling a home, or you might have an electrical issue. Of course, you're going to need to find the right electrician for the job. We know that finding and hiring a good electrician can be challenging, particularly if you aren't involved in the industry yourself. We're here to share what we know about hiring someone to perform electrical work in your home, commercial building, or industrial building. You can get tips for choosing an electrician, and you'll find advice for working with that electrician, too.