ELECTRIC PANEL REPLACEMENT IN RIVERSIDE, CT

Your Electrical Panel

Inside your home is a metal box that houses several circuit breakers. These breakers provide power to all areas of your home, including a number of breakers dedicated to specific appliances, like dishwashers and washing machines.

This metal box is your electrical panel, and it’s the beating heart of your home’s electrical system. It controls how electricity is distributed throughout your home, making sure outlets and appliances have sufficient power while preventing too much electricity from being drawn to any one source. It’s an essential safety device, and it’s important to keep your panel well-maintained to prevent electrical fires.

Panels vary in a number of ways, but the most important one for most homeowners is the total amount of power your home can handle. In the past, when most homes only needed electricity for lighting and small appliances like refrigerators, 60 to 100 amp panels were more than enough. However, as more and more devices have been introduced into the home, that power need has continued to grow, to the point where most homes require between 200 amps or more to function properly.

In addition to underpowered circuit breakers, another problem found in some older homes are fuse boxes. These boxes make homes difficult to insure because of fire risk, and with modern power demands, these homeowners will need to replace fuses over and over again. If you have a fuse box or a circuit breaker with less than 100 amps, contact Safe and Sound Electric to discuss getting an electrical panel replacement.

Reasons to Upgrade Your Panel

The most common reason homeowners upgrade their electrical panels is because their breakers keep tripping. When a source tries to draw too much power through a circuit, a switch cuts off the electricity to prevent overheating and fire. With either an upgrade or an electrical panel replacement, you can improve the performance of your electrical system in a number of ways.

Additional Outlets: If you have been plugging extension blocks into other extension blocks, or you have a messy nest of extension cords all attached to a single outlet, there is a good chance you are asking that outlet to do too much. When you upgrade your electrical panel, you can add additional outlets throughout your home. Not only does this give you more convenient ways to access your electrical system, but you also eliminate potential fire risk.

Outlet Upgrades: Whether you have added new outlets or simply addressing existing ones, upgrading your electrical panel is an excellent opportunity to upgrade your outlets as well. There are a number of options, from smart outlets that can be controlled from your phone or computer to USB ports, which eliminate the need for costly adapters for charging your phone or other devices. 

Large Appliances: While smaller devices, like a gaming system or a blender, do not add much to your home’s electrical load, large appliances like hot tubs or electric vehicle chargers draw enough power that they usually require their own breakers, which are easily accommodated with an electrical panel replacement. You may also want an upgrade if you had another room added to your home, especially a bedroom or a bathroom.

Added Home Value: If you are thinking of selling your home, getting a panel upgrade can add tons of value, making your home more attractive to potential buyers. Even if you plan on staying in your home, your home’s value will still increase, and you will end up saving money on your insurance bill.

Deciding on an Electrical Panel Replacement

Whenever you are having problems with your electrical panel, you will be faced with three options: do I repair, replace, or upgrade my electrical panel? A number of factors go into the decision, including cost and the age of your current panel.

If your panel is relatively new and there’s room to expand, an upgrade is likely your best option. If your system is older, but the problems seem relatively minor and are mostly related to a single breaker, you will probably opt for a repair. If your system is older, though, and the problem seems to be that your system simply can’t handle the demands that are being placed on it, then you will want to think about an electrical panel replacement.

The experts at Safe and Sound Electric are happy to help you make that decision. We will work with you to decide your best option, making sure to take your budget into account as well. You can rest assured that we are committed to making sure your home’s electrical panel functions for years to come.

Federal Pacific Panels

The one situation where your only option is an electrical panel replacement is if your home has a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) “Stab-Lok” panel. These panels were extremely common from the 1950s to the 1980s, installed in millions of homes across the country. However, it was later discovered that these panels were improperly tested, and actually pose a significant fire risk.

While FPE circuit breaker panels may seem to function properly, nearly 60% of power surges failed to trip a circuit breaker, meaning power flowed uncontrolled through the home’s electrical system, burning out circuits and wires. Circuits were frequently overloaded, which resulted in the wiring getting incredibly hot.

If you are unsure whether you have an FPE panel in your home, your first step should be determining when your home was constructed. If your home was built before 1950 or after 1990, you should be clear. The second step is to check the front cover of your panel, where you should see either “FPE” or “Federal Pacific” written on the front. Finally, look inside the box for a label reading “Stab-Lok,” which is the brand name of the FPE breaker panel.

Because of the tremendous fire risk these panels present, there is no solution other than an electrical panel replacement. Not only will your home be better suited to handle the electrical demands of your home, but you will not have to worry about the hazards FPE panels present. 

Electrical Panel Replacement and Upgrades from Safe and Sound Electric LLC

At Safe and Sound Electric, our team of licensed and insured electricians is constantly training on new technologies and procedures, so we can provide our customers with the best solutions for their electrical systems. And because safety is our priority, we only install components with the highest safety ratings, while ensuring our work meets the latest standards of the National Electrical Code (NEC).

We pride ourselves on our customer service, treating each customer as an individual with their own unique needs. We will never push you to purchase services or products that you do not need, remaining focused only on making your electrical system work best for you.

Do not let the idea of an electrical panel replacement or upgrade scare you away. Contact the experts at Safe and Sound Electric to discuss your home’s electrical needs today.