Your electrical service panel is the primary hub for all things electrical in your home. As the central distribution point for the flow of electricity to all areas, it directs power to your appliances and helps ensure safety and convenience for your family. If you are considering electrical panel replacement for your Erie, CO home, Save Home Heat Company can help. Providing high levels of expertise in electrical panel installation, quality work, and customer service that you can count on. We are committed to your complete satisfaction.
Locating and Recognizing Your Electrical Panel
There are a lot of names used to refer to the electrical service panel, but at the end of the day, it’s all the same thing. Some refer to it as a circuit breaker box or breaker box, while others call it the main electrical panel, electrical panel, or just the service panel. To identify your home’s electrical service panel, look for a gray rectangular metal box with a large access door on the front cover, typically installed on a wall in your garage, basement, or a closet. It may even be located in a weatherproof enclosure attached to an outside wall of the house.
Inside the panel box you should see two vertical rows of electrical circuit breakers (or fuses, if you have a very old panel). There will be both 120 volt and 240 volt circuit breakers. 120 volt breakers occupy only one slot, while 240 volt breakers take up two slots. Both types of breakers work manage the flow of electricity to different areas (or even specific appliances or devices) of your home.
On the inside of the electrical service panel door, you should se a filled-out list noting which breaker switches control electrical flow to the different circuits in your home. Some breakers may even control specific systems or devices, such as your air conditioning system or a hot tub. Out team feels it’s a good idea for homeowners to spend some time getting to know this list and becoming familiar with how your electricity is disbursed. This will help identify problems if that need arises. If you have any reservations about looking closer at your electrical panel, enlist a trusted electrician to assist you. Safety first!
Important Considerations for Electrical Panel Installation
Many Erie residents aren’t familiar with their home’s electrical panels, so when it come time to discuss replacing the panel, there’s some things to learn. Our friendly, knowledgeable electrical team at Save Home Heat Company is here to guide you through this process and provide the information you need to help you make a decision that’s best for your circumstances. We offer honest advice, friendly service, professional recommendations, and dependable quality and service that you can count on. We are well-versed in National Electrical Code (NEC) and all local requirements, and strictly adhere to all code and manufacturer requirements in all the work we do.
Two of the common considerations that come into play when discussing electrical service panel or upgrades are age and electrical load. It’s not unusual that a home’s electrical panel was installed when the house was first built. While many electrical panels extend well beyond 20 years in their serviceable life, in some cases internal wiring connections can start to age and loosen up or deteriorate, and performance may become unreliable, potentially unsafe. It’s a good idea to have your electrical system looked at by a trusted electrician periodically, to help spot potential issues before they can become safety concerns.
The amount of electricity that a home uses, or its electrical load, may also be a reason to consider replacing or upgrading a home’s electrical panel. It’s not unusual for a family to add a number of major and minor appliances to their daily electrical consumption, or even undertake a basement finish, remodel, or possibly add on to the home. In some of these cases, it makes sense to have an experienced electrician review your home’s electrical load and discuss if any modifications or upgrades make sense to discuss further. In the Denver-Boulder area, Save Home Heat is an excellent source for all things related to your homes electrical supply and load.
Reasons for considering electrical panel replacement in your home may include:
- Existing electrical panel cannot safely support the current or planned increase of electrical load on the home
- A desire to bring the existing electrical panel in line with current NEC safety code requirements
- Internal wiring is showing signs of deterioration
- Multiple circuit breakers frequently tripping for no good reason
- Flickering or dimming lights on multiple electrical circuits
- Service panel is warm or hot to the touch and the cause does not appear to be a specific breaker
- Rust or burn marks, or unusual smells inside the electrical panel
- Buzzing sounds coming from the panel, consistent or occasional
- Strong recommendation from a licensed, professional electrician, due to the age and condition of the panel
- Specific safety concerns with the panel have been identified!
Upgrade Consideration: Smart Electrical Panels
With the latest in load center technology, homeowners can enjoy a range of user-friendly features. These include Wi-Fi connectivity and often a smartphone app to give you even greater engagement and control with your electrical system performance,
We feature the Leviton smart load center line, which is equipped with the latest in electrical safety design. This includes advanced false-tripping technology as well as improved surge protection. Not only that, these Leviton smart electrical panels can give you real-time performance monitoring of your energy consumption and costs and remote system alerts when you aren’t home.
These user-friendly features and safety design improvements make smart electrical panels from Leviton a worthwhile consideration if you’re looking at an electrical panel upgrade or replacement for your Erie home.
Electrical Subpanels as a Solution
Electrical panel replacement isn’t always the best option. For example, there are cases where adding an electrical subpanel to your electrical system may be the more logical and cost-effective solution. If there’s existing capacity in your existing panel, a subpanel (aka. a satellite service panel) can be used to expand the number of breakers in use without having to install a new main panel. Subpanels can also be used to locate breakers for a specific area in a home in a more convenient location, such as for an addition or other applications.
Regardless of the electrical service solution, you can trust Save Home Heat Company to provide friendly, helpful, personalized, professional service for all your electrical needs.
Safety is our #1 Priority
It’s vital that your service panel does its job fully and reliably in order to assure electrical safety in your home. Proper installation and periodic inspection to assure your ongoing safety are key ingredients to a long, dependable service life for your home’s electrical panel, as well as the circuit breakers it houses. Taking the time to have an experienced, trusted electrician (Save Home Heat for Erie homeowners!) walk through and educate you on your home’s electrical system will help you become a more responsible homeowner, and provide you greater peace of mind at the same time!
Expert Electrical Panel Installation in Erie
Our electrical team at Save Home Heat Company is extremely well-versed in electrical panel installations and all aspects of home electrical systems. Whether you need service panel replacement, breaker replacements, or a different electrical solution, we’re dedicated to offering dependable solutions and low-pressure recommendations that are specific to your needs and concerns. Ensuring your safety and exceeding your expectations every time you give us the opportunity to work in your home are ingrained in our company DNA.
To learn more, discuss your electrical service panel options, or to get a free electrical panel replacement quote, please contact us today!
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