Outdated panels are not just out of fashion and something that you can take lightly like, say, a pair of bell-bottoms. These old electrical panels are extremely unsafely. Most of the well-functioning electrical panels will ensure that the safety devices such as fuses or circuit breakers trip and shut down the power when the electricity flows beyond a certain point. It also helps to prevent fires because it doesn’t overheat the wires.
But when you have old panels, they can’t detect such things. So you really, truly need to replace them. Or, if you don’t want to make that decision right away, you can get an electrician to look at it for you. He/she will check if everything’s alright. A faulty electrical panel is life-threatening and can be fatal. Here are a few reasons why you need to upgrade or replace the electrical panels in your home, as soon as possible, for the safety of your family members’ and your life.
Old Electrical Panels
A panelboard, also known as an electrical panel, is a very crucial part of your home because it provides power supply to the sub-panels. It also provides current to all the residents via circuits. So it can be a significant safety issue for you if you have got an old electrical panel — the one with fuses. Some new range of brands also come with safety hazards, even though they are equipped with circuit breakers. So, you need to upgrade the same.
Power Supply
You know, everything in life should be proportional. If you need one liter of water, you need a bottle that has that much capacity to carry the water. Likewise, if you need a certain amount of power, your electrical panel should be able to take it, too. So if your panel is too small, meaning that it doesn’t supply enough power, you need to replace or upgrade it. You can identify this when you see that fuses are blowing, and breakers are always behaving strangely.
New Electrical Equipment
One more reason to upgrade your electrical panel would be when you get an electrical health check report by a team of professional electricians like Response Electricians. And as a result of this, an electrical contractor identifies that your house needs more power for new electrical equipment such as air conditioners, smart TVs, and so on. During these circumstances, you need to upgrade your electrical panel.
Wiring In The Old Buildings
Just like at the heart of any human system lies a neural network of nerves, at the heart of any efficient wiring systems lies the electrical panel. It is a source via which the power is circulated as well as distributed throughout the whole buildings. In turn, every circuit is protected by a breaker. And if the switch draws a lot of power, it will trip.
So the breaker must be the right fit for the circuit. And if it breaks regularly or trips, then it denotes that there is some problem in the electrical panel. You have got to check this automatically, so you can detect an anomaly quickly and also prevent severe damage. A qualified electrician from our team will look for signs of damage and take appropriate actions. He/she will also check that there is not too much load on the panel because modern homes and offices are too high-tech, and the smart home appliances and electronics consume a lot of power for which the old constructions might not have the provision.
Thus, the wiring in the older buildings is constantly working beyond its capacity and is always at a risk of fire. You need to nip this problem in the bud before it becomes expensive and life-threatening.
