Electrical Panel Upgrade
Every house starts getting old after a certain amount of time and therefore needs repairs and upgrades. Infrastructure might be one of the places where ‘old is gold’ might not hold ground. Especially when it comes to electric supply in homes. The wiring, panels, boards, switches, etc. have a very small life compared to cement, paint, etc. So, that next question that could come into your mind is ‘When to make a change?’ or ‘How to know if it’s the right time?’
One sign that your electrical panel’s amperage is too low is dimming lights. The only reason your lights should ever dim is when you have them on a dimmer switch and adjust them down. Any other dimming is a sign that your electrical panel is straining to keep up with your electricity demands.
The most common time to see your lights dim is when you start an appliance that pulls a lot of power. If you switch on your microwave and the lights in your kitchen flicker, the problem may be in your electrical panel. The same is true of washers, dryers, blenders, air conditioners, and any other appliance that causes your lights to dim. If your lights are dimming, go check your electrical panel.
That maximum amperage is usually on a sticker on the inside of the door. If your electrical panel is a 60-amp panel, you definitely need an upgrade. If it is a 100-amp panel and you are noticing dim or flickering lights, you may also need an upgrade. But if there isn’t one at all, they’re probably better than nothing.
Well if you fall under any of these categories it might be the right time to change/upgrade your electric panel:
-
Too old
Having a routine check and upgrade is always a good idea to prevent accidents. But even if you don’t make sure to upgrade your system for at least after a decade as things that were used in the ’90s might not be able to take the load of current devices. Today, we have houses with two Air conditioners, multiple televisions, and other appliances which were less in amount if we look back 30-40 years back.
Of course, showing signs of old might not mean that it’s not usable, but at the same time, it might be good to have an upgrade so that you don’t have to panic in the time of crisis.
-
Increase in appliances/load
Increasing the load on your electric panel is never a good idea. In fact, with time and money, we tend to increase our family, which might necessitate an upgrade in your electric panel. Expanding your home or buying new devices with heavy electric requirements might mean that you need to have a better panel supporting all your devices without any issues or accidents.
-
Faulty MCB’s
Miniature Circuit Breaker’s or MCB’s are like a failsafe to protect your appliances from overload. MCB’s are necessary for every household for their properties to keep you safe. What an MCB does is that it shuts down the electricity of the entire house in case of an overload called ‘tripping’. So if your MCB is tripping too many times, it might be a sign that your electric panel needs to be upgraded. Light flickers or dims
If on starting an appliance with high power needs such as an oven, or a grinder your light dims or flickers it might be a sign that the electricity needed to run those devices is higher than your panel’s capacity. Thereby it might be time to upgrade your panel to needs inside the house.Overheated Panel
If your panel is too heated or there is a smell of burning plastic lingering inside your house, then your panels are probably needing an upgrade. The smell of burnt plastic might be because of faulty wires inside your wiring system, which might because of the overheating of the wires. While the panel might be hot because of the load that is falling on him. In both, you should change or upgrade your panel before any accident occurs.Wrong positioning
If your electric panel is old, it might be possible that it might be constructed at the wrong place in your house. A place that might not be needed a few years back but is in need now. A place where somehow signs of decay caused by water such as rust can be seen. Therefore, it might be better to change and upgrade your panel’s place before an accident occurs.
Now that you know the signs of how to find out if there is a need for an upgrade, please call Bidram Electric, group of professional electricians that can help you with all your problems as not all symptoms are necessarily about upgrading your entire panel but might have a much easier and better solution.