The electrical panel in your home, also known as an electrical service panel, is a panel with a series of fuses and circuit breakers that give you full control over all of the electrical devices and components wired into your house. It dives the power into a variety of circuits and each of these circuits has an associated circuit breaker, which protects it.
These circuit breakers can be very fickle things. They are sensitive to a wide range of factors, and so they are something to keep an eye on. There are definitely signs to look out for that will tell you whether you should be looking for an electrical panel repair or installation from a Las Vegas.
You have faults in your wiring
Bad wiring is one of the main causes of fires on residential properties in Las Vegas and other areas in the United States. In fact, the older your house is, the greater the risk of a fire starting due to faulty wiring.
When you have older wiring in your house, there is a strong chance that it may not properly comply with code. There is also the issue of wear and tear. Wires are protected by insulation, which may deteriorate over time, exposing the live wires underneath.
It is a good idea to regularly have a Las Vegas electrician come over and inspect the wiring in your entire house.
There are many ways you can tell if you might have faulty wiring:
- Your lights are dimming or flickering.
- Every time you touch appliances around the house you get a tingling sensation, or even a slight shock.
- There is a burning smell in your house that never seems to go away (it smells distinctly like burned wire, as opposed to other things).
- You have discolored power outlets or, at the very worst, sparking ones.
You’re planning on installing new appliances
This doesn’t apply to smaller appliances, such as a toaster or a blender. This applies to larger appliances that are likely to consume a lot of energy, such as an air conditioner, a hot tub, or even a refrigerator.
When you make such an installation, you should be mindful of the possibility that your electrical panel may not be able to distribute enough power to keep all of your appliances running.
Your average electrical panel provides anywhere between 100 and 400 amperes of power. Anything less than 100 amperes of power is illegal. Meanwhile, you need to make sure the amperage actually meets your power needs, or else your circuit breakers will trip when you try to turn on the energy-intensive appliance.
You need to replace fuses with circuit breakers
At their hearts, fuses and circuit breakers basically do the same job. They protect circuits from overloads and short circuits by breaking the flow of current. That said, fuses are distinct from circuit breakers in that they are only meant for single use.
When current runs at an exceedingly high level, the fuse will melt and the current will stop flowing. On the other hand, a circuit breaker merely needs to be reset and it can be used again.
There’s nothing particularly wrong with fuses, but they are outdated. They are designed for a time when there weren’t many things plugged into the outlets in homes. These days, they may pose a fire hazard.
You’re using too many power strips and extension cords
If you find yourself using extension cords and power strips to plug things in, then you may need to upgrade your electrical panel. You can either install new electrical outlets and associated circuits, or allow each circuit to run directly from the panel. That way you minimize the fire hazard.
The post Electrical Panels – How to Know If It’s Time to Upgrade or Replace appeared first on Callidus Electric.
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