You may have a home that is well 80 or 100 years old or even 30 years old. On average, homes are in their 30-50th-year-old range. Old houses’ electrical needs were far different from modern houses of today.
Back then, most families had one central light source in each room connected by two-pronged outlets. Some families would have one fridge, a centralized fan, and one washer. Today, microwaves are now common, and today’s high-end device and modern entertainment systems were sci-fi dreams for most people back then. Electrical services had made a lot of changes and so the home electrical system needs to upgrade.
Here are some signs that its time to upgrade your home electrical system:
- You have a frequent circuit breaker tripping and fuses blow
- Check the outlets or lights in your house if it does not have power even when you turn on the light switch or replace the bulbs
- Your electrical panel is warm. Check if you smell burning or hear a crisp sound when you stand near the electrical panel.
- For electric panels, check if yours is a Federal Pacific GTE/ Sylvania, Zinsco or I-T-E Pushmatic, if it is, then you need to have your electrical system upgrade immediately for safety reasons
- If you have built extension or additions to your homes like a garage, a workstation or an office.
- The need to use a lot of extension cords or power strips to connect and support all device
- When you operate a hairdryer and your circuit breaker trip
- If you have recently installed new large appliances such as air conditioners that consume a lot of electricity
What You Need to Know About Electrical Service Upgrades
An electric service upgrade involves complete replacement of the entire electrical service around the house. A complete replacement includes the line side service entrance cable, meter base, weather head, load side service and most importantly the electric panel. If the layout of the house has not been changed over the years, it is possible to upgrade the electrical meter and the new electric panel in their base locations.
Meanwhile, in some cases where the structure of the house has been changed over the years, it is required to relocate the electric panel and the meter. This type of electrical service is costly due to labor and the equipment needed, however, the main priority is to ensure that your home and your family is safe as well as making sure that the home can handle the electrical demands of the modern lifestyle.
What about Changing the Panel?
If the electrical service is still in good condition, a homeowner may still need a panel change. Additional circuits or special breakers will also be necessary such as the GFCI or the AFCI. A homeowner may need a panel change if some panels cannot accommodate the specialty breakers
FINAL WORDS
Generally, for residential electricians, we do an electrical service upgrade power from between 200 amps to 400 amps. It is necessary to add more depending on your home and electricity needs. Therefore, we upgrade every aspect of the home electricity as necessary so basic information on when to replace or upgrade your electrical system is a must. Get your electrical service answered by a pro, just like the team from Apex Electric, before dangerous problems arise.
