When Electrical Panel Upgrades are Necessary for Your Home

A common upgrade that electricians perform in older homes is a circuit breaker panel upgrade. Over time circuit breakers wear out and stop performing effectively, but many homeowners also outgrow their original breaker panel. By understanding when you should upgrade your breaker panel, you can protect your home, make it more functional, and keep up with the expansion of your home and the appliances and equipment inside. Below are some of the leading indicators that you need to upgrade your home’s breaker panel. Use them to help you decide when to hire an electrician, to upgrade or replace your home’s panel.  

You’re Experiencing Signs of Faulty Wiring

If you notice issues in your home such as dimming or blinking lights, sparking outlets, a burnt smell, or mild shocks from some of the appliances in your home, you likely have wiring that’s failing for one reason or another. This is often an excellent time to upgrade your home’s service panel. If you notice any of these signs, it’s vital that you get an electrician to your home or business to look at your wiring for potential problems. The technician will pinpoint any issues in your building and should upgrade the breaker panel in your house while also replacing any wires that need it at the same time. Doing both at once will save you money while also giving you the capacity you need to upgrade your home further. 

If you’re experiencing any signs of faulty wiring, it’s important to have an electrician come look at your home as soon as possible. Failing wiring can lead to fires, electrocution, and cause other safety hazards as well. Even if your wiring isn’t dangerous, it could be costing you more money in utility fees than you realize. Hiring an electrician to look at your wiring could save you on utility costs, and it could help protect your home from fires and other life-threatening risks as well. 

Plans to Install a Major New Appliance

If your home currently has a 100 Amp breaker panel or even a 150 Amp panel, the chances are good that you’ll have to upgrade your panel to a 200 Amp panel if you want to add a serious appliance to your home that isn’t already on a circuit. Adding a hot-tub or a commercial air compressor would require you to dedicate one or two circuits for that appliance. If you don’t have open circuits on your current panel, it’s time to upgrade to a larger and more capable panel. You can go from 100 Amps to 150, 200, or even 400, depending on the size of your home and your electrical needs. Consult with a superb electrician in New York City about which size panel you should upgrade to in order to help you choose the most suitable option for your needs. 

You Have Too Few Plugs Available

While it’s not always the case that if your home has too few outlets for your needs, you need to upgrade to a newer service panel, this is usually only an issue on older homes. If you live in a home that only has two outlets per room, you likely have a small and outdated breaker panel that could benefit from an upgrade. Work with a provider offering H&A NYC Electrician – Top Manhattan licensed electrical services to decide on a new panel size to upgrade to, and also get help adding outlets wherever you want them in your home. 

New Addition or Garage Add-On

When you’re planning on adding an addition to your home, or an additional building such as a garage, you’ll likely need to upgrade your home’s electrical system to handle this new power demand. You may be able to get by with a few circuits from your existing break panel if you have extra space available, but if your circuits are mostly dedicated to existing applications, you’ll have to expand your breaker panel in order to meet the new needs of your addition. It’s even more likely that you need a panel upgrade if you’re upgrading your heating system or adding new appliances to the addition you’re putting on your home. 

If you have any concerns about your current breaker panel, or you’re planning upgrades to your home that will require additional power to operate, it’s important to consult with a local electrician to help you decide whether you need a new service panel or not, and which size you need. Talk with local professionals about any concerns you have and you’ll enjoy the peace-of-mind that comes from getting expert help.