As we move further and further into the digital age, homes designed with the past in mind occasionally need a bit of upgrading to keep up. In some cases, this can mean electrical panel upgrade for homes like those in Louisville, CO. Whether it’s upgrading the entire panel, adding expanded safety features of AFCI circuit breakers, or performing professional testing and inspection of your panel to determine what might be needed, you can depend on Save Home Heat Company. Our highly experienced electricians are ready to assist you improve the electrical safety, efficiency, and convenience you experience in your home.
An Overview of Your Electrical Panel and Circuit Breakers
You may call it an electrical service panel, a circuit breaker box, or a main electrical box, but it’s all the same thing. Your home’s main electrical panel is usually found mounted on the wall in an attached garage, basement, a closet, or sometimes outside of your home in a weatherproof enclosure. It’s usually grey in color, rectangular, and has a hinged door on the front. Inside the electrical panel, you will see a series of switches called circuit breakers.
Circuit breakers have the task of safely controlling the flow of electricity throughout the different areas of your home. In most homes, there are around 20-40 separate electrical circuits, a mixture of 120 volt and 240 volt circuit breakers. 120 volt breakers take up a single slot in your panel, whereas 240 take up two slots. Your electrical panel should have a chart inside (label stuck on the door) showing what parts of your home each breaker and its electrical circuit correspond to. Some circuit breakers may be labeled for a specific appliance like a furnace or air conditioner; these are referred to as ‘dedicated circuits.’
Do I Need an Electrical Panel Replacement For My Louisville Home?
Contained in your electrical service panel is quite a bit of responsibility for your safety. Controlling the power to virtually everything in your home, your panel is tasked with not only your safety, but helping ensure that a computer turns on smoothly, the AC is running reliably, and so much more. Over time, making sure the heart of your electrical system is operating fully up to par only makes sense. If you’d like to learn more about upgrading your electrical panel or breakers in Louisville, you can depend on Save Home Heat Company to help you determine what, if any, work is needed.
If your home was built over 15 years ago and you haven’t already had your electrical panel replaced, it’s very likely it’s not up to current electrical safety code. That’s no reason to replace a service panel that’s working fine and in good condition, but it is a good thing to keep in mind. Also, consider the electrical demand in your home and whether it’s increased significantly over the years. EV charging stations, computers, and many other electrical additions can mean the electrical load on your panel may be approaching level where you may want to start thinking about a new panel. Safety first, don’t wait to learn more until a potentially dangerous situation arises.
Another thing to know is that over time, the internal wiring in your panel may start to loosen up and break down. If you’ve noticed circuit breakers tripping and needing to be reset regularly, it’s time to find out the cause. In addition, if your panel uses replaceable fuses, it’s time to look at an electrical panel replacement. Your safety is primary concern of our team.
Reasons for replacing your home’s electrical service panel may include:
- Existing electrical panel cannot support current home electrical demand
- Safety concerns
- Loosening internal wiring (usually due to age of the panel)
- Circuit breakers on one or more circuit trip frequently for no discernible reason
- Frequently flickering or dimming lights on multiple electrical circuits
- Electrical service panel, or wiring near the panel, is warm to the touch
- Rust or burn marks inside the panel
- Steady or occasional buzzing sounds coming from the panel
- An experienced, trusted, professional electrician considers the condition or age of your panel to be cause for replacement
- Desire to upgrade to the latest, safest types of electrical breakers that are now required by code in many areas of new homes
Smart Electrical Panels: An Upgrade Consideration
The latest in load center technology brings user-friendly features that our homeowners appreciate. Wi-Fi enabled and often including a smartphone app, smart electrical panels allow homeowners to have greater control over and engagement with their home’s electrical system performance.
The Leviton smart load center line come equipped with the latest in electrical safety design such as advanced false-tripping technology and improved surge protection. Perhaps most attractive is their ability to provide real-time performance monitoring and calculating of your energy consumption and costs, as well as performance monitoring of the individual circuits throughout your home. They can even give you remote electrical system alerts when you’re out and about!
These aforementioned safety and connectivity features are what make smart electrical panels from Leviton an attractive consideration for homeowners looking into a panel upgrade or replacement.
A Subpanel Can Be The Right Solution
In some cases where at first it seems likely, an electrical panel replacement may not always be necessary. In some situations, adding an electrical subpanel, also known as a ‘satellite circuit breaker panel,’ might be the right solution to power a specific area or appliance in your home. Safety and convenience are some of the reasons. Louisville homeowners can trust Save Home Heat Company to provide you with expert electrical information and guidance in determining what the best course of action is for you and your home. All in an informative, stress-free manner.
Circuit Breaker Replacement and Upgrades
In some cases, all that may need to be done to solve an electrical problem is just to replace individual circuit breakers, as opposed to talking about a more expensive panel replacement or upgrade.
Most electrical panels have standard switchable circuit breakers, and many of them and their service panels in our customers’ homes are still in good shape. In 1999, AFCI (arc fault circuit interrupter) breakers started showing up in National Electrical Code (NEC), and then in 2017 were required for virtually all electrical circuits in new homes. AFCIs provide an additional level of protection, helping to protect against conditions that can cause electrical fires. Just because your system may not have AFCI breakers is not necessarily a reason to make upgrading your panel and breakers a high priority.
Reasons to consider replacing some or all of your electrical circuit breakers include:
- Age of your circuit breakers
- Condition of your circuit breakers
- Breakers hot to the touch, appear discolored, or give off a burnt smell
- Specific breakers tripping frequently, will not reset, and all else checks out ok
- To upgrade to AFCI circuit breakers
All About Your Safety
Our primary goal is ensuring your safety. More than just staying current with electrical code, making sure that your panel, circuit breakers, and connected wiring are performing as designed and able to handle your current electrical load is paramount to help prevent potentially dangerous electrical conditions. Your home’s electrical service panel and circuit breakers are the heart of your electrical system and making sure they are in good shape and standing the test of time is not something to be ignored or neglected.
At Save Home Heat Company, our highly skilled and experienced electrical team is glad to assist you in making your home as electrically safe as possible. From electrical panel replacements and upgrades to resolving wiring issues and more, we are here to help. Our Master Electrician and our team of skilled electricians are prepared to provide you the quality service and products that you require.
Expert Electrical Panel Upgrades and Services in Louisville
If you aren’t sure whether it makes sense to have a professional electrician inspect your electrical panel, consider that there’s really no downside when it comes to safeguarding you and your home. Our customers always seem to learn something valuable when we come to visit. In Louisville, Save Home Heat Company is a highly reputable and trusted source of electrical panel upgrades, replacements, and related services. You can depend on our team to provide you with expert, professional, low-pressure advice and recommendations that are in your best interests. Helping you to make informed decisions that are best for you is a big part of our company philosophy. No pressure, no sales hyped, ever.
To schedule service or for more information about our electrical panel replacement and related services for Louisville homeowners, please contact Save Home Heat Company today.
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