You should consider a residential electrical panel upgrade if your panel is outdated, needs to accommodate a remodel or home addition, or isn’t providing enough power for your needs. You should only trust a professional for a house electrical panel upgrade. If you don’t use a licensed electrician or electrical contractor, you risk your safety and the safety of your home. At Mr. Electric of Ontario, we have a team that specializes in electrical panel upgrades in Ontario, Chino, and Riverside, CA. We will make sure that your residential electrical panel upgrade is completed safely and efficiently.
Determine if You Need Residential Electrical Panel Upgrades
You should consider upgrading an electrical panel during a home remodel, or home addition, or if you want to add on more appliances, lighting, security cameras, smart home features, or anything else that might increase your electrical load. Call us to make an appointment for residential electrical panel upgrades if:
- Your breakers keep tripping.
- Your breakers can’t be moved from the reset or off position.
- Your electrical panel contains fuses instead of breakers.
- You hear strange noises from the breaker box.
- You smell a burning smell.
- Your home is more than 40 years old.
- You see melted wires and/or scorch marks on or in the electrical panel.
- Your lights keep dimming or flickering.
- You experience frequent power surges.
- You’re installing more appliances, or larger ones: a hot tub, extra freezer, new HVAC system, etc.
- The electrical panel is rusted.
- You don’t have enough outlets.
- The electrical panel or outlets are hot.
- You see sparks when you plug things in.
- Turning on an appliance makes other ones behave strangely.
- You plan on selling your home.
Certain house electrical panels are outdated and/or pose huge safety issues. If your electrical panel is more than 25 years old, check it to see if it is any of these makes and models that have been found to be defective and unsafe:
- Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) Electrical Panel – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that this panel has a safety defect that warrants an electrical panel upgrade. They have design and manufacturing defects that can cause fires and electric shocks. These panels were installed in homes between 1950 and 1980.
- Zinsco Electrical Panel – Zinsco panels were taken off the market in the mid-70s because their defective design allows power to flow even when breakers are off. Its breaker switches also melt, and the electrical panels pose fire and shock hazards.
- Pushmatic Electrical Panel – Pushmatic panels’ breaker switches are weak and become increasingly harder to reset over time. There is no main breaker switch that turns off the power to the panel.
- Fuse Boxes – Fuse boxes are the oldest type of electrical panel, and typically can only handle 30 to 60 amps. You can no longer buy new fuses for most fuse boxes because these outdated systems are a huge fire and electrocution risk.
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