A Homeowner’s Guide to Knowing When You Need an Electrical Panel Replacement
As the year comes to an end, one thing you may not consider is an electrical panel upgrade. However, it’s always a good idea for every homeowner to check over their panel box at the end of the year. Issues like winter weather, holiday lighting, and household gatherings will increase your electrical demand during the winter. Having a well-functioning electrical system is an absolute must for everyone’s overall well-being and comfort.
Many outdated electrical panel boxes can become easily overloaded with these increased demands. This can raise your risk of experiencing hazards, like an electrical fire or electrocution. By understanding the signs that your electrical panel needs to be upgraded, you can act quickly to schedule service with one of our electricians.
What Your Electrical Panel Does and Why It Matters
An electrical panel box is the brain of your home’s entire electrical system. It’s responsible for distributing the power that comes from the outside line to the various circuits throughout your home. Each circuit has its own circuit breaker, which is a safety mechanism. In situations when the circuit becomes overloaded, the circuit breaker will trip to shut off power to that circuit. This helps prevent issues like fires and electrocution.
Unfortunately, if you have an outdated panel box, it could be affecting your appliances, HVAC system, and your overall home safety. Outdated electrical components can cause voltage fluctuations that can damage the sensitive internal components of your electronics. Additionally, when your circuit breakers constantly trip because they’re outdated or overloaded, it creates more wear and tear on the internal motors of your appliances. This can shorten their overall lifespan and lead to costlier repairs.
An undersized or outdated panel box typically will overheat under heavy loads. With the many modern-day appliances you use, there is a strong load on your electrical system. Anytime that the circuit overloads, there’s a chance of an electrical fire. Additionally, outdated panel boxes may have faulty breakers that won’t trip when unsafe conditions happen. This makes it more likely for you to experience issues like electrical shocks.
Frequent Tripped Breakers or Flickering Lights
When your circuit breaker repeatedly trips, it’s signaling that your electrical circuit is drawing more power than it’s safely rated to handle. This typically happens due to an overloaded circuit when you’re trying to run too many appliances or devices on it. Whenever you exceed the amperage rating of the circuit, you’ll experience that overload. Sometimes, repeated tripping may be due to faulty or outdated circuit breakers that aren’t working correctly.
Anytime that you notice the lights flickering or dimming in your home, it usually indicates a problem with your electrical system. Your electrical system is under some sort of stress, like overloaded circuits or loose connections. If the circuit is overloaded and trying to draw more power than it can handle, it will dim your lights temporarily as a device on it draws extra current. If you have a loose connection, you may experience intermittent power to the related system.
Homes experience an increase in electrical demand during the winter months. From powering your heating system and space heaters to your holiday lighting and additional appliances, there’s a lot of draw. This seasonal surge can exacerbate any underlying problems that your electrical system may have.
For example, circuits that were near their max load may have additional items added to them that push them over and cause them to trip. The colder temperatures can cause your wiring to contract, which can pull wires apart and lead to more intermittent issues.
Burning Smells, Warm Panels, or Buzzing Sounds
Anytime that you experience a burning smell, buzzing noises, or your electrical panel feels hot to the touch, it indicates an underlying problem. This can signal issues like overheating, failing breakers, and electrical arcing. Overheating can be the result of excessive current flow, loose connections, or overloaded circuits. Electrical arcing can produce sparking and buzzing noises that can lead to an electrical fire if not addressed immediately.
If you experience any of these issues, it’s important to get urgent assistance from our electricians. You never want to let these issues go, as they greatly increase your risk of experiencing an electrical hazard. Issues like electrocution and electrical fires typically start due to these problems. We suggest shutting off any electrical circuits that have an issue to prevent power from flowing through them.
You’re Out of Space for New Circuits or Upgrades
If you have an outdated electrical system, it’s likely that you only have between 60 and 100 amps of power going to your home. Modern-day homes have around 200 amps of power. If you’re trying to run many modern-day appliances that are drawing power, it’s likely that you’re overloading your electrical circuits. Those older electrical panels simply aren’t made to have the necessary amperage for all the electronics and appliances we use today.
If you don’t have enough breakers to add new appliances, it can restrict your ability to upgrade your home. If you try to add high-demand appliances onto existing circuits, you greatly increase your risk of overloading the circuit. There are many different home improvement projects and modern appliances that will likely require you to upgrade your panel box. These include an EV charger, hot tub, larger HVAC systems, and whole kitchen remodels.
Your Home Has an Older or Outdated Electrical Panel Type
Knowing when your home has an outdated panel box can help you determine when an upgrade is necessary. If your home has less than 200 amps of power going into its panel box, you should think about planning an upgrade to 200 amps. If you don’t have any more circuit breaker spaces, you should consider upgrading to make room for more additions.
Additionally, if your panel box has outdated circuit breakers, they may be discontinued or costly to find. Usually, upgrading to a new panel box ensures that it’s fitted with modern-day circuit breakers that are readily available. If you experience frequent breaker trips, flickering or dimming lights, buzzing sounds, or see corrosion on your panel box, you need to upgrade.
When you upgrade your panel box, it comes along with many great features. First and foremost, you get better safety and more peace of mind. Modern boxes are installed to be code-compliant and highly reliable. You can have more space available to add additional appliances and devices in the future. Upgrading will increase the resale value of your home.
Start the New Year With a Safer, More Reliable Electrical System
If you have a panel box that’s malfunctioning, rusting, or doesn’t have 200 amps of power, it’s time to upgrade. Frequent circuit breaker trips, burning smells, and flickering lights all mean your panel box needs to be replaced. We can conveniently offer electrical panel replacement for all Houston, TX area residents to ensure that you get the exact box you need to meet your home’s electrical demands. In fact, we can assist with all your home electrical needs.
Schedule an electrical panel inspection before winter’s high demand by calling Village Plumbing today.
