The primary role of your home’s main electrical service panel is to deliver electricity safely for all uses in your home. It must do its job reliably and efficiently. If you need the electrical panel replaced in your home in Westminster, CO, or have concerns about its condition or ability to properly serve your needs, you can depend on Save Home Heat Company for expert, dependable, responsive service.
Electrical Service Panel and Circuit Breaker Background
There are plenty of names your electrical service panel may go by. Perhaps you refer to it as the breaker box or the electrical box or panel. It’s all the same thing. Your main electrical panel is usually grey in color, and rectangular in shape with a metal housing and latched from access door. The box is typically mounted on a wall and located in places such as the garage, a closet, an unfinished part of the basement, or sometimes on the outside of the home inside a weatherproof housing.
Inside the panel enlosure you’ll see a series of switchable circuit breakers (or replaceable fuses, in very old panels).
The circuit breakers housed in the service panel are tasked with controlling the flow of electricity to all the different areas of your home. The average home has around 20-40 different electrical circuits. You’ll typically find both 120 volt and 240 volt circuit breakers in your panel, with the 120 volt circuit breakers taking up a single slot and the 240 volt breakers occupying two spaces. Inside the door to the electrical panel there should be a filled-out list identifying which breakers correspond to which parts of your home. Breakers labeled as a specific appliance are likely a dedicated circuit breaker, responsible only for the electrical flow to a specific appliance such as an air conditioner, furnace, or well pump, for example.
When Does an Electrical Panel Replacement Make Sense?
If you’re like many homeowners, you probably don’t keep up with current electrical code. It’s also likely that monitoring the condition of your electrical service panel is not at the top of your to-do list. Our team at Save Home Heat Company is glad to assist with electrical expertise that will help ensure your safety and peace of mind in your home. Of note, there are a few things you can keep track of on your own, helping to give you some direction as to if, or when, it makes sense to consider contacting our electrical team discuss your electrical panel.
First, how old is the panel? The answer to this question may be as simple as knowing when your home was built. If the answer is 15 years or older, it’s likely that it’s not up to current electrical code. But that’s not necessarily cause for concern; it is, however, something to keep in mind. Another factor to consider is the overall electrical load put on your panel. Another way of thinking about is is, how many demanding electrical devices have you added to your home over the years? In today’s world, multiple televisions, computers, and other technologies are now common throughout the home. Add to that list appliances like new air conditioners, hot tubs, EV charging stations, and more, and it just might be time to make sure your electrical panel has safely entered the modern age as it supplies current to all those devices and appliances.
Perhaps the most obvious sign that you should request the assistance of a trusted electrician to take a closer look at your electrical panel and circuit breakers in your home in Westminster, is having to reset breakers on a frequent basis. If your electrical panel has replaceable fuses instead of resettable breakers, you should consider your panel as living ‘on borrowed time.’
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
With the latest in load center technology, smart panels bring user-friendly features and design improvements worth considering for Westminster homeowners. These features include Wi-Fi connectivity and often smartphone apps to grant you greater control over your home’s electrical system and its performance.
Our featured smart load center line by Leviton comes equipped with the latest in electrical safety design like improved surge protection and advanced false-tripping technology. Additionally, these smart panels offer homeowners the ability to view real-time performance monitoring and calculating of your energy consumption and costs as well as monitoring of the individual circuits around your home. You can even receive remote electrical system alerts when you’re not at home!
Electrical Subpanels as A Solution
In some cases, the replacement of your electrical panel may not be necessary. Instead, an electrical subpanel, also referred to as a ‘satellite circuit breaker panel,’ can be added to power a certain area or appliance in your home. In Westminster, you can depend on Save Home Heat Company to professionally and accurately assess the condition of your electrical system and main service panel, and help you determine if or when adding an electrical subpanel is a solution that makes sense for you.
Expert Circuit Breaker Replacement and Upgrades
It’s not always the case that an electrical panel replacement is needed. Sometimes, it is one or more problematic circuit breakers, and the rest of the system checks out fine.
Most commonly, electric service panels installed in the past 40 years feature standard switchable circuit breakers. Starting in 1999, AFCI (arc fault circuit interrupter) circuit breakers began showing up in electrical code revisions. AFCIs go a step further and also help protect against certain conditions in your system that can potentially cause electrical fires. that can be caused from conditions such as damaged wire insulation or electrical surges. National Electrical Code (NEC) expanded in 2017 to include AFCI breakers in virtually all areas of new homes.
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 Safety
The importance of having a fully operational and up-to-date electrical panel is all about your safety. Over time, with age, your panel and its internal wiring can potentially deteriorate or loosen up. Even if your panel is in good shape, increased electrical load from new appliances in your home can put your panel near the limit of its capacity. Add to that factors such as aging appliances or motors placing more stress on the electrical system than when they were new, electrical surges from interior or exterior sources, and more, and there’s plenty to consider in ensuring your whole-home electrical safety.
In Westminster, Save Home Heat Company is a highly reputable and trusted source for electrical panel replacements and upgrades as well as circuit breaker replacement and other related electrical services. We are familiar and current with local and national electrical code, and have high levels of expertise in navigating panel and breaker upgrades and replacements. You can depend on our Master Electrician and our team of skilled electricians to provide you with a reliable inspection and testing of your electrical panel and breakers and to provide you with professional, low-pressure advice and recommendations that are in your best interests.
Dependable Electrical Panel Upgrades and Service in Westminster
If your home was built prior to the round of electrical code revisions in 2017, it might be a good idea to have an experienced, professional electrician to perform an assessment of your electrical panel, circuit breakers, and your overall electrical system. Our electricians at Save Home Heat Company are highly skilled and will provide you honest, expert advice and recommendations that make sense for your specific situation. We will equip you with ample amounts of information, patiently answer all your questions, and provide professional, low-pressure advice and recommendations so that you can make informed decisions that you will feel good about now and in the future. No sales hype or agenda, ever.
For more information about our electrical panel replacement services in Westminster and surrounding areas or to schedule service, or for assistance with any of your home electrical needs, please contact our team today.
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