When to Upgrade Your Home’s Electrical Panel: Ensuring Safety and Efficiency

The electrical panel is a vital component of your home’s systems. Why? Because it supplies the right amount of electricity to each part of your home and all the systems that rely on it. But, just like every other system, it will break down over time and need to be upgraded at some point. Since your electrical panel is essential to keeping electricity flowing in your home, it’s important to know the top seven main signs your electrical panel needs to be replaced.

1. You Always Have to Flip the Breakers

Do you find yourself regularly taking trips to the electrical panel to flip a breaker because the power has once again gone out in a certain section of the home? The panel will trip if it believes an area is trying to draw too much power — that’s normal. But if it’s happening frequently, take it as a sign to have the panel inspected and potentially replaced.

2. Your Electrical Panel Doesn’t Have Any Breakers

You may have a fuse panel if the home was built before 1960. These once-new and innovative panels are now considered a fire hazard. If your electricity system is run by a fuse panel, an electrician will need to upgrade it to an electrical panel. 

3. You Notice Rust on the Electrical Panel

Where there’s metal, oxygen, and water, you have a breeding ground for rust, and unfortunately, rust can affect your electrical panel. For example, moisture can make its way inside the electrical panel if the panel is in a humid area of the home. An electrical panel in this sort of location can cause rust and corrosion to bake themselves onto the panel. 

Don’t turn a blind eye to this issue, as it is a fire hazard. Instead, call an electrician right away since there’s no need to risk your and your family’s safety. Additionally, an electrician can quickly solve a rusty panel for you, either repairing or replacing it, depending on how much corrosion has occurred. 

4. Your Home Doesn’t Have Enough Outlets

Walk into the average home, and you’ll find several devices that require an electrical charge. From phones and tablets to laptops and handheld gaming devices, the average American has lots of electrical devices they need to recharge daily. As you look around the kitchen, you’ll see air fryers, toaster ovens, crockpots, and other countertop appliances that also require an electrical socket to work. Let’s not leave out the TVs, desktop computers, speaker systems, and more. 

Some choose to fix this problem with power strips, but that isn’t the right solution. Power strips don’t add more power to the home. The electrical panel is designed to give each outlet a specific amount of power. When numerous devices are drawing more power than the outlet was made to hold, your breakers are more likely to flip, and you should consider upgrading the panel.

5. You Smell Burning Odors Near Your Panel

If you smell burning odors coming from your panel or near it, call a professional immediately. A number of house fires are started by electrical panels during the year, and to avoid it happening to you, you don’t want to ignore what your nose is telling you. 

Does it smell like plastic is burning? That’s probably because the plastic surrounding the wires is melting, indicating that the electrical panel is too hot. Or is that burning wood you smell? This wood smell could mean there’s damage within the walls. Either way, you’re going to need an upgraded panel. 

6. Your Lights Flicker and Dim Regularly

When you turn on a kitchen appliance like the microwave or dishwasher, do the lights flicker or grow dimmer? This flickering or dimming typically happens when the electrical panel doesn’t have enough circuits. Upgrading your electrical panel can eliminate the flickering and dimming by increasing the energy load your electrical panel can safely handle.

7. You Want to Add Appliances

Are you remodeling the kitchen in an older home and adding new appliances? Introducing a large freezer or dishwasher to the old electrical panel is not a good idea. You want to be sure the panel can provide enough power to these appliances and the rest of the home. 

When there’s an increased demand for power, an upgraded electrical panel is required to produce enough juice to keep everything running.

Choose Bonney for Electrical Panel Replacement Services in Sacramento

If you’re looking for electrical panel replacement services near you in Sacramento, Bonney can help. Whenever you notice any of the signs above, our electrical team can inspect your electrical panels and make sure they need replacement. Our team will repair your electrical panel when we can, but when your panel is past the point of repair, we can fully replace your electrical panel for you. We also offer multiple coupons and financing services to ensure you receive any of our services at a price fitting your budget. Learn more about our electrical panel replacement services today. If you have any questions or want to schedule an appointment, please contact us.