Older homes have an incredible amount of charm and nostalgia. While some of that charm stems from the old-world construction practices of ornate stonework and interesting woodworking, there are also negative aspects of living in a dated home, namely the electrical system. We bought our first older home a few years ago, and it has been interesting to see just how much of a problem the electrical system has been. We knew that we needed to update a large portion of the space, so we started going through and having sections replaced. This website is here to help other people to know when to work with electricians.
The odds are good that your home's electrical system isn't high on your list of potential renovation projects. As with plumbing, most homeowners only consider electrical issues when the system is failing. Just because your home's electrical outlets still work, however, doesn't mean that it isn't worth considering an upgrade. Several levels of home electrical service are still common in the United States, and understanding their use cases can help you to understand if an upgrade should move up on your homeowner's to-do list. Keep reading to learn a bit about how power enters the typical American home.
Coming to Grips With Your Service Panel
Depending on the design of your electrical system, your home may have one or more service panels. These are your circuit breakers or fuse boxes, and their purpose is to distribute electricity throughout your house. Each box does this by dividing your home up until individual circuits tied to a single fuse or breaker switch. These items provide protection and prevent overloads or wiring faults from causing fires. While each circuit will commonly be limited to 15 or 20 amps, the total service to your home will generally be much higher.
Service Options
In the United States, electrical service for new construction ranges from 100 amps up to 400 amps, with 100 or 200 amps being the most common option for most homeowners. Older homes may still use 60 amp service, although this is uncommon with even tiny newer homes. Your electrical service determines your home's overall capacity, which must be sufficient to meet the load placed on it by appliances, lights, HVAC equipment, and so on. HVAC equipment must work harder to control the climate of larger homes, and this is often the primary driver of higher service requirements. Larger service panels may also be necessary if your home uses many electric appliances.
Knowing When To Upgrade
Your service panel requires an upgrade when your home's capacity can no longer meet your home's electrical load, but knowing when this is the case can be tricky. While you can have an electrician performed a detailed analysis of your home's electrical system, there are a few common signs that trouble is brewing. In particular, you should never ignore breakers that constantly trip. Likewise, lights that dim or flicker when major appliances (such as your air conditioner) turn on are a sure sign that too much load is being placed on your system. Adding additional circuits is sometimes an option, but extra circuits will eventually overload your home's overall service capacity.
If you believe that an upgrade may be necessary, the first step is to have an electrician evaluate your current system. This evaluation can help you to understand if you need a new service panel or if another option is available to solve your problem. If an upgrade is required, performing sooner rather than later is usually the best option, as overloaded residential electrical systems can quickly turn into serious fire hazards. For more information, contact a company like Palmer Electric Inc. today.