How To Know If You Need To Upgrade Your Service Panel
If you have a home and you are wondering whether you are going to need to upgrade the service panel in the near future, you are going to want to keep reading. While typical service panels can last for decades, there could come a time when it needs to be upgraded so it is able to distribute more power throughout the house. To help you figure out if that is something you should be looking further into, check out the following:
The New Additions Require More Power
There are a lot of people that find that they do not have enough room in their electrical panel once they installed a new hot tub or a major appliance. If there is no room in your panel for an additional breaker to be added, it might be time to have the entire panel replaced with one that can handle more power.
The Lights Seem To Flicker A Lot
The occasional flickering of a single light in the house is not usually cause for concern. It might just be that the light bulb is starting to come loose from vibrations in the house. Try tightening or simply replacing the bulb. However, it might be time for an upgraded service panel if a lot of the lights in the house are flickering. There isn't enough power coming through your current electrical panel to give everything in the house the full power they need.
You Get A Little Shock When You Touch Things
If you touch the appliances or the electrical breakers in the panel and you feel the sensation of a small shock, it is most likely time to have the panel upgraded. Then again, maybe there is another issue happening but either way, you will want to call a licensed electrician to come check things out. You don't want there to be an electrical problem that ends up being ignored.
You Can Feel Warmth Coming From The Electrical Panel
The electrical panel should never be warm or hot to the touch. Of course, you never want to just go sticking your hands anywhere in there because of the risk of electrocution. However, if you go to flip one of the breakers and you can feel a warmth radiating off of the panel, it's time to shut off the main power breaker on the panel and call for emergency electrical repair work. Most likely, the panel is not able to carry the electrical load your house needs and it is overheating because of it.
Even if you are unsure whether you actually need the panel replaced with an upgraded one or not, you will want to call a skilled electrician so things can be inspected.
Reach out to a professional for service panel upgrades today.
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