Ten Symptoms Indicating You Need a New Electrical Panel

Older homes often have circuit breakers that increasingly become unable to support the growing number of larger appliances and electronic devices. If you own a house that was built more than 50 years ago, your electrical panel may need upgrading. An electrical panel is typically a metal box attached to a wall in the utility room or basement. It houses circuit breakers, which look similar to large light switches.

Function

Circuit breakers handle the routing of electricity to wall outlets and appliances inside a home. They also set the capacity limit at a safe level to prevent wiring from overloading when there are power surges from the utility. When there’s an overload, they provide protection by automatically tripping while shutting off electricity to prevent appliances and electronic devices from overheating and starting a fire.

Ten Symptoms

For the safety of your family and home, do not ignore these ten warning symptoms indicating that you may need to replace your electrical panel.

1. Appliances overheating
2. Breakers regularly tripping
3. Burnt spot on wall outlet or electrical panel
4. Burning electrical smell from a wall outlet or electrical panel
5. Electrical panel equipped with fuse box rather than circuit breakers
6. Flickering lights
7. Melting insulation on wiring
8. Odd sounds coming from the electrical panel
9. Plugging in an appliance causes a breaker to trip
10. Wall outlets are hot to the touch

Hazardous Consequences

Consistent overloading of a home’s wiring may result in destroyed wiring, damaged electronic devices, and overheated appliances. Fixing a home’s electrical system will be costly, as will replacing equipment that was damaged beyond repair. However, the two most hazardous consequences from an overloaded electrical panel are electrical shocks and deadly fires causing injury or death.

Electrical Peace of Mind

Providing professional electricians since 1988 in Maryland, Cook Electric is the company you can rely on for all your electrical service needs, including:

• Commercial & Residential Electrical Installations
• Marina & Residential Pier Wiring
• Electrical Service & Repair
• Specialty Electrical Services

For knowledgeable, fair, honest, reliable, and conscientious service, call Cook Electric today at (410) 266-9040. We will be very glad to help you.