How to Know When You Need an Electrical Panel Upgrade

Is your electrical panel malfunctioning or not running as smoothly as usual? If you’ve purchased a home and are unsure of the age of your electrical system, there are tell-tale signs to look for when you need an electrical panel upgrade.

Upgrading before your system fails is always a good idea. Let’s take a look at why it’s important and the signs that you might be missing.

Why Get an Electrical Panel Upgrade?

The electrical panel is the most important part of your home’s electrical system. Without it functioning properly or at full strength, the rest of your electrical system could subsequently fail.

Your electrical panel controls the amount of power distributed and circulated to all of your home’s appliances and outlets. When it starts to malfunction or fail, your appliances, outlets, and lights don’t receive the power they need.

In order to bring more power into your home, your electrical panel needs to be updated. With the upgrade, it will have more power to distribute throughout your home.

How Old is Your Home?

Do you live in a brand new home or is it an older unit? If you’re living in a new home, your electrical panels are likely up to date. With older home designs, the electrical panels were created with a lower number of electrical circuits and lower amps.

With all of the electronics today, having an electrical system that doesn’t have the correct amount of amps to power your appliances is a huge problem. It leads to blown fuses, fires, and overloaded circuits.

If you have an older electrical panel, you might overload the circuit and it’s possible the breaker wouldn’t trip. Any circuit breakers that are older than 25 years could be ready to go at any time.

Making sure your home has safety devices connected to the electrical panel helps with the security of your home and keeps it safe from the looming threat of a fire.

Failure Signs to Look For

What are the common signs to look for that mean you might need a new panel? You may need an electrical panel upgrade if you’re experiencing any of the following:

• Dimming lights when other appliances are turned on
• Using one or more outlet adapters or extension cords to create more outlets
• Circuit breakers that are frequently tripped or fuses that are being blown
• If your circuit breaker is older than 25 years
• If you use a lot of electrical power, including air conditioning

Time for a Replacement

All of the signs that we mentioned qualify for an electrical panel upgrade. If you have any question of whether or not you’re a candidate, you should fall on the side of error.

Having an upgraded or replaced electrical panel means your family will be safe from fire, can sleep soundly, and have the power you need for all of your appliances.

If you’re in the Southern California/Los Angeles County area and are interested in having your system tested, give us a call today.

Signal Alarms and Electric is an electrical contractor in Southern California providing full capacity electrical contracting services for new construction, renovations, tenant improvements, service upgrades, exterior, interior and landscape lighting, retrofits and service installations in the Southern California/Los Angeles County area.