Elmira Electrical Panel Upgrades

In Elmira, we all take electricity for granted. We don’t often think about electricity. We just expect it to work when we ask it to.

When we turn switches on, we expect lights to brighten our rooms. When we plug our laptops into wall sockets, we expect them to charge. 

We also consistently use appliances, vacuum cleaners and smart TVs — all of which require our home’s electricity. 

Each year, we seem to ask more and more of our electrical panel. We add new devices to the system. We upgrade appliances to energy-efficient models. And all of these devices require more electricity than older models did.

All these new changes could eventually start taking a toll on your home’s electrical system. If you live in an older home, you could find that your electrical panel has trouble keeping up with your modern demands.

How can you tell whether you need to upgrade the electrical panel in your home?

The ABCs of an Electrical Panel

Electricians install electrical panels in utility closets, basements and garages. These devices are sometimes called a circuit breaker or fuse box.

Electrical panels are generally gray. A group of circuit breakers hide behind a small door that swings open. The separate breakers carry the electrical load for rooms or areas of your house. You can turn off individual breakers to shut off electricity to specific rooms. You will also reset a breaker at the electrical panel if something were to cause it to trip. 

Every electrical panel will include various fuses that ensure the safety of your home’s electrical system. While all electrical panels will look similar and operate similarly, they all have different limits to how large of a load they can carry. It’s important to remember this fact when you are considering upgrading your home’s electrical panel.

If you exceed that load or get close to it, you might need to upgrade your electrical panel.

Signs That You Need an Upgraded Electrical Panel

If you find that fuses trip in your home quite often, you might need to upgrade your electrical panel. A common occurrence in this situation is your electricity stops working when you try to run a vacuum cleaner while your clothes washer is running. Sometimes, you won’t be able to run two major appliances at the same time without your electricity shutting off.

Another common sign of an electrical load problem is if your lights flicker when certain appliances are running. If your lights appear dimmer than they once were, this could be another sign you need to upgrade your electrical panel.

Newer appliances also sometimes require upgraded electricity. If you add square footage to your home, repurposing a room or adding new appliance packages, an upgrade could be in order.

For example, if you were building an addition to your home, your current electrical panel may not handle the load. Similarly, if you begin using your basement as a recreation room, you may need to upgrade your panel.

Reasons to Upgrade

The main reason to upgrade your electrical panel is to ensure the electricity in your home remains safe. An overloaded electrical panel can create a potentially hazardous situation. If you don’t use it properly, electricity can be quite dangerous.

Once you have addressed safety, the other main reason to upgrade your panel is so you can use all your devices and appliances the way you need to in your home. You don’t want to have to strategically plan when you can use certain appliances or figure out which combination of devices is the perfect one. An upgraded panel will help you solve many electrical performance issues. 

How Do You Upgrade an Electrical Panel?

It’s a serious job to upgrade an electrical panel. It’s not a job that an average homeowner should attempt to do by themselves. The only people who should perform electrical work at your house are licensed electricians. 

Licensed electricians can inspect your home’s current electrical configuration and make proper recommendations for fixes or upgrades. If they suggest that you upgrade your electrical panel, they’ll provide you with a recommended minimum load as well as any other features you should consider.

While you’ll have a lot of choices when it comes to an electrical panel, not all will work well in your Elmira home. An experienced and licensed electrician will help you make the proper choice after consulting with you on how you use electricity.

After the electrician sketches a plan, they then will complete all the steps of the installation process. They’ll make sure to upgrade your electrical panel safely and up to code.

Home-Pro Electric Can Handle All Electrical Panel Upgrades

Home-Pro Electric has been serving the Elmira area for more than 25 years, providing local, fast and friendly service. Our licensed electricians offer quality service throughout the region. We can help design and then install an upgraded electrical panel in your Elmira home.

To find out more, visit our website, https://home-proelectric.com, or call us at 888-958-5978.