Electrical Panel Upgrades: What You Need To Know

Your electrical panel, or circuit breaker box as it also is known, is the hub of your home’s electrical system. If you are having electrical issues or perhaps live in an older home, electrical panel upgrades can be an excellent option and greatly decrease the risk of an electrical fire.

At Tesla Electric, we provide Toronto-area residents with electrical panel upgrades and find that many homeowners don’t know much about these panels and when or why upgrades might be needed. There are several reasons why you might need an upgrade, including the following.

You Live In An Older Home
If your home was built prior to the invention of circuit breaker panels and you are still using a fuse panel, you definitely need an electrical panel upgrade. These systems are definitely not up to code and pose a serious danger to homeowners. These fuse boxes were perfectly fine when a family might have had just one television, a few lamps and perhaps one or two electrical appliances.

Additionally, if you live in an older home, you may also have knob and tube wiring. This also is quite dangerous and unable to handle the electrical requirements of the modern homeowner. This type of wiring is not up to code and many insurance companies will not underwrite policies for home that have this type of wiring or even old fuse boxes in their home.

Even if you live in a home with a more modern electrical panel, if the panel is more than 20 years old, it still might not be able to handle the electrical needs of the average family. After all, back in the 1990s, families didn’t have to charge tablets and cell phones, and we didn’t own as many televisions or home computers. Generally, you can expect an electrical panel to last about 30 years, so if you home is 25 years or older, it probably is time to start thinking about an upgrade in general.

You Are Adding Something New
If you are adding a second air conditioning unit, or perhaps a hot tub and this will be drawing power from your electrical panel, these types of items use a good amount of electricity and might be a bit more than your panel can handle. Additionally, if you are adding on to your house, you might need a different panel to handle this new electrical load.

You Are Having Electrical Issues
Do you lose power in certain parts of your home? Sometimes, when you are using too many appliances or items on a single circuit, a circuit will “trip” or shut off. This stops the flow of electrical current to that circuit. This in turns prevents the circuit and wiring from overheating and possibly causing an electrical fire. It’s quite possible that you need us to come out and provide you with some re-circuiting as well as provide electrical panel upgrades.

Likewise, if you notice that you lights are flickering constantly or perhaps the lights dim when certain appliances are being used, this also could indicate that you need electrical panel upgrades. In some cases, these are wiring issues and in others, it is an electrical panel issue. A professional electrician can examine your electrical system and provide you with solutions for these problems.

You Use Many Extension Cords & Power Strips
If you notice that many rooms in your house include power strips filled with plugs, it might be time to upgrade your home’s electrical system and do an electrical panel upgrade. A qualified electrician and help you install additional outlets as well as upgraded outlets that better meet the needs of the modern homeowner. Your electrician also can install an electrical panel that can handle 100 or more amps, which is more in line with what we use today in our homes.

If you are interested in learning more about our electrical panel upgrades, give the team at Tesla Electric a call today. We provide electrical repairs and upgrades for homeowners and businesses throughout the Greater Toronto Area, and our electricians have more than 40 years of experience.