To Upgrade Or Not To Upgrade: Why Are Electric Panel Upgrades Important?

Electric panels are the heart of our homes’ electrical systems. They distribute electricity throughout the entire house and ensure the smooth running of appliances and devices. If you find your electric panel unable to handle the existing load, it means it’s not in good shape and needs to be looked at by a master electrician. In many cases, an electric panel struggling to feed the existing number of appliances simply needs to be upgraded. In this blog, we look into several other reasons why electric panel upgrades are required. 

What Is An Electric Panel?

Before we get into the reasoning, let’s first try to understand what type of electric panel is in your home or business. 

Round glass fuses are a feature of really old electrical panels. If your electric panel has black switches, it is a more modern type of electric panel. 

Regardless of the type you use, if your existing panel is more than 15-20 years old and especially if you find yourself tripping circuit breakers more often than you think you should, it is time for the electric panel upgrade. 

Why Is It Necessary To Upgrade Electric Panels?

Safety

Safety has to be the first and foremost reason to consider electric panel upgrades. If your home is more than 20 years old and you know that the existing electric panel has never been upgraded, you should be urgently considering a panel upgrade. Even if you never had to deal with any electric panel issues, chances are as soon as you hook up an additional kettle or a toaster, your breaker box will start acting up. Look up your local electrical companies in Toronto and have a master electrician inspect your existing electrical panel. You are likely to hear that an upgrade is needed. 

Increased power demands

If you live in an older home but have planned for a major renovation, upgrading your electric panel should be the first thing to do before anything else. If you are renovating your kitchen, you will likely want to replace old appliances with new ones. This means your electric demands will increase, so electric panel upgrades are inevitable. Talk to your general contractor or a master electrician about your renovation plans and get advice on how to upgrade your electrical panel to accommodate the increased power demand. 

Reduced insurance premium

Older electric panels are more prone to fires and other electrical hazards, meaning the chances of you having to pay for damages are higher. However, when your home is fitted with a newer version of the electrical panel, the insurance companies will consider electrical safety risks to be lower, thus bringing your home insurance premium down. 

Call A.S. Electrical Services Inc. for your electric panel upgrade 

Among all the reasons to upgrade an old electric panel, electrical safety is the most important one. Some homeowners try to cut corners by hiring an unqualified professional or DIYing their electric panel upgrades. We, at A.S. Electrical, always recommend that you hire a fully licensed master electrician to do any kind of electrical upgrades. This way, not only you will be guaranteed a job done to the code, but you will also be protected from any liability in case of any accidents resulting from poorly done work. Call us today to schedule your electric panel upgrade with us!