{"id":1860,"date":"2020-02-17T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2020-02-17T16:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/?p=1860"},"modified":"2020-02-11T08:28:56","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T13:28:56","slug":"when-should-you-upgrade-your-electrical-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/electrical\/when-should-you-upgrade-your-electrical-panel\/","title":{"rendered":"When Should You Upgrade Your Electrical Panel?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1861\" src=\"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/When-Should-You-Upgrade-Your-Electrical-Panel-199x300.jpg\" alt=\"electrician-working-on-electrical-panel\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/When-Should-You-Upgrade-Your-Electrical-Panel-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/When-Should-You-Upgrade-Your-Electrical-Panel.jpg 398w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/>Also known as the circuit breaker panel, the electrical panel of your home is what controls your entire electrical system\u2014incoming electricity is routed to the different circuits through this hub, and the breakers are designed to shut off circuits if there is a voltage overload.<\/p>\n<p>If you have an aging circuit breaker panel, however, or worse yet a fuse box, chances are that you are very much overdue for an electrical panel. Most circuit breaker panels last anywhere form 25-40 years before they need replacing. This is largely depending on how much the electrical demand of the home has increased, and if you\u2019ve experienced any problems with the panel.<\/p>\n<p>Read on to learn more about how to tell if you need an electrical panel upgrade!<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2>Do You Still Have a Fuse Box?<\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s rare to not at least have an update from a fuse box to an electrical panel, but if your home was built prior to 1960, it is possible. Rather than tripping a breaker when there is excess electrical voltage, one of the fuses burns out to stop the flow of electricity.<\/p>\n<p>The thing is, this isn\u2019t particularly safe, especially with the advanced technology and electronics we\u2019re plugging into our homes these days. If your home still has a fuse box, it\u2019s definitely time for an electrical panel upgrade.<\/p>\n<h2>Consider the Age of Your Home<\/h2>\n<p>Even if you do have an electrical panel, you should consider how long it has been in place. Is your home over 30 years old? While any worn down electrical appliance can become hazardous, it\u2019s not necessarily safety we\u2019re worried about here. Rather, it\u2019s your home\u2019s electrical capacity.<\/p>\n<p>Electrical panels more than a few decades old can handle around 60-100 amps, while newer panels can manage up to 200. This is much more suited to the rise in electrical demand in\u00a0most households due to charging stations, computers, and an increased number of electronics.<\/p>\n<p>How do you know the level of amps your panel can manage? Take a look inside the door\u2014there is typically a sticker there stating how many amps are available.<\/p>\n<h2>How Often Are Your Breakers Tripping?<\/h2>\n<p>Chances are, you don\u2019t want to make regular visits to your electrical panel each week just to reset tripped breakers! If this is happening with just a single circuit, it\u2019s probably an issue with whatever appliance is hooked up to it, or wiring problems. You\u2019ll need electrical repairs in this case, but if different circuits are tripping, it\u2019s possible that the panel itself is worn down, or no longer able to meet the electrical demands of your home.<\/p>\n<h2>Beware Flickering Lights<\/h2>\n<p>This typically indicates small power surges in your home. The problem with power surges is that slowly, over time, they damage the appliances and electronics plugged into your electrical system. Power surges occur from larger appliances, such as your HVAC system or water heater, cycling on and sending a high amount of voltage to the panel.<\/p>\n<p>You can defend your home and appliances against this with the professional installation of a whole-home surge protection system. If you\u2019ve already been experiencing power surges though, we really recommend you give our team a call to inquire about an electrical panel upgrade, so that your system can handle your appliances without suffering from as many power surges.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>When you need a professional <a href=\"\/electrical\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">electrician in Eugene, OR<\/a>, look no further than Comfort Flow Heating. <a href=\"\/contact\/send-a-message\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Contact us<\/a> today! <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most circuit breaker panels last anywhere form 25-40 years before they need replacing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[197],"tags":[208,89],"class_list":["post-1860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-electrical","tag-electrician","tag-eugene"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1860"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1863,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1860\/revisions\/1863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comfortflow.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}