6 Signs That You Might Need To Replace Your Electrical Panel

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) reports that in the United States, there are more than 51,000 electrical fires in homes every year. These result in property damage costing over $1.3 billion.

The main reason for these fires is electric panels that are either too old or have too many things connected to them. If you are not certain about when to change your electrical panel or are hesitant about electrical panel replacement costs, watch for these indicators that shouldn’t be ignored. 

Signs to Replace Your Electric Panel 

The electric board in your house is like the heart of the system of electricity, spreading energy to different circuits and keeping safe use of your electrical machines. But as houses get older and need more electricity, this board might not be up-to-date or have too much load on it, which can lead to dangers for safety. In this text, we will look at the clues showing when you should change your electric board and why it is very important to deal with this matter quickly.

When you often have to reset circuit breakers or face many power cuts, this might show that your electrical panel has too much load. Now that appliances and devices use less energy but need more electricity, the demand for houses goes up. The old panels may struggle with this increased requirement.

Lights that go bright and dark could mean too much is using your electricity box, or the wires are not tight. If you see this happening a lot in some parts of your house, it’s good to ask an electric worker to check your box and the cables.

If you find that your electrical panel is warm or hot when you touch it, this might mean there are problems inside like connections not tight enough or too many things using power at once. If you touch a hot panel, it can cause burns. It’s very important to fix this problem right away.

If your house was constructed many years in the past, it is possible that the electrical panel was made for a smaller amount of electric power than what we need now. Panels from before might have a capability for 60 or 100 amps, and this could be not enough for current houses with lots of appliances, electronic devices, and lights.

In some old houses, there are fuse boxes, not circuit breakers. Fuses work well but they fail more often and you need to change them by hand if they go off. If you have a fuse box in your house, it shows that maybe you should change to a new circuit breaker panel.

Look at your electric board to see if there is any clear damage like burn marks, rust, or things deteriorating. Problems like these can make the board not work properly and safely, which might raise the chance of fires from electricity or getting an electric shock.

Potential Safety Risks

Not paying attention to the signals of an old or too much used electric board could result in important dangers to safety.

Electrical Fires

Circuits with too much load and wrong wiring might create sparks or electric arcs, igniting things that burn close by, resulting in electrical fires. These fires may grow fast and do a lot of harm to your house and belongings.

Electrical Shocks

Wires that are broken or not covered properly can make the chance of getting an electric shock higher, and these shocks can hurt a lot and may even cause death. If someone touches a wire with electricity flowing through it or a metal surface that is not grounded correctly, they could get a very bad shock.

Damage to Appliances and Electronics

If the electricity is not stable or enough, it might harm your machines and electric things as time goes by. If there are any sudden increases in power or low power times, this can make your equipment get old faster and you may have to spend a lot of money fixing or changing them.

Final Thoughts

The electric board in your house is very important for the system that powers everything, and if you don’t pay attention when it gets too old or has too much on it, there could be big dangers and expensive fixes needed. If you know what to look out for to see when this panel needs changing and do something about it quickly, then you can keep your home’s power running well and safely for a long time.