An electrical panel, aka breaker box, provides the home with electricity and regulates the amount of energy that is supplied to a circuit. Right when the board is on the fritz, various structures in your home can be impacted. Breakers that are tripping frequently and nonworking outlets are both signs that you need to call in a professional electrician. An electrician can make the necessary repairs to restore your home’s electrical system to proper working order.

Panels are typically found in a garage, closet, or positioned just outside the home. Every homeowner should know the location of their electrical panel and understand its basic functions. There are older panel models that are no longer approved for residential use because of potential safety issues. If you are not sure about how old the panel that you have is, then you can have an electrical safety inspection scheduled.

Breakers are used to control the amount of electricity that flows into a circuit. When the circuit is overloaded then the breaker will automatically shut down the flow of electricity as a safety precaution. This might have happened to you if you’ve had several appliances working at the same time in the same circuit. To be able to fix this all you would need to do is to unplug all the appliances plugged into it and reset the breaker.

Nonetheless, if this is happening regularly, you may need professional service to help replace your old panel with a new one that will provide sufficient power for your home to meet all its needs. If there is the only one tripped breaker then this can simply be fixed by replacing that bad breaker.

You might need to replace your panel if you constantly need to have it repaired. If you’re not the original owner and don’t know the history of your home’s electrical panel, you can assume that breakers have been replaced if you see different colored breakers or breakers of different brands.

Each time you get a new appliance, you should have a technician ensure compatibility with your panel in order to avoid overloading the system. This is very important, especially if the new appliance needs more power to operate than the old one. You may require a new panel if the existing panel is not compatible with your new appliance.

The new panels now have AFCI outlets, shielding cables against fires started by electricity jumps. If your panel is from before 1999, you may not have this safety feature. This could mean that your home is at risk because these outlets serve as protection for the wires.

A skilled electrician can inspect and assess any vulnerability in your panel and outlets. If your panel has no other issues, installing AFCI outlets at the end of each circuit may be more cost-effective than to remove the whole panel.

If you notice rust or corrosion near your panel you might need to replace it. If they are not properly protected, worn-out panels are more likely to be damaged through surges, fires, and other factors.

Other signs that your panel needs replacing include:

•     the panel is warm or hot to the touch
•     lights flickering when appliances are in use
•     burn marks on panel or outlets
•     burning smell coming from the panel
•     hissing
•     popping or other noises coming from the breaker box
•     melted electrical wires
•     appliances overheating quickly when plugged in

If you notice anything unusual with your home’s electricity, contact a professional immediately. If circuits are overloaded then they could “fry” anything connected to outlets, such as your computers, electronics, phones, and more. If you ignore the signs of a faulty panel, it could end up costing you a lot of money and could even be a hazard. Electric shocks and flames can occur because of a broken down the electrical board.

Although your home’s electrical panel should last for years, it will eventually show signs of wear and tear. Electrical wires experience fraying, and leaks can develop in their insulation. In addition, rodents may start chewing on your wires and therefore disrupt your system. Whatever problems you’re having with your home’s electrical system, you can count on a qualified electrician to address them.

You might need only to have a wire replaced, or the entire panel may need to be replaced. If such is the case then the electrician can explain to you about the new panels that are available.

You should have a professional over to check on your panel if you want your household to be safe. It is only the professional electrician who should take on the task of repairing or replacing an electrical panel. People who have no experience in electric work can cause more damage when trying to repair a panel on their own and put themselves at risk for serious injury. Electricians have the training to do all kinds of electrical jobs safely and quickly.

When you arrive home, thoughts of the future often arise, and that future might include a family. But just how big of a family do you envision? Three members? Four? Or perhaps even more? Regardless of the size, one thing is clear: a larger family means you'll require more of EVERYTHING. This includes additional food, water, toiletries, and, of course, more electricity.

The last item can become a major concern if your electrical panel is designed to support fewer amps than a larger family would need. Remember, an electrical panel is specifically built to handle a certain range of electrical demands. If your usage exceeds its capacity, you could encounter significant issues with your electrical system.

What types of issues might arise? You could experience something as minor as a tripped breaker or escalate to something as serious as a FIRE! Indeed, overloading your breaker is a situation you definitely want to avoid!

So, what steps can you take to ensure your family remains safe as it grows and places increasing demands on your electrical panel? The solution is straightforward: invest in an electrical panel upgrade. This is just one of the many exceptional electrical services offered by your local electricians at Fixmatic Electric.

With an electrical panel upgrade, you can put greater and greater demands on your electrical panel than ever before without risking any of the damaging effects that could happen with an electrical panel that’s not fit to handle the usage a growing family might put on it.

If you purchased a home, then you could very well be thinking of starting a family — a family that might be quite a few times larger than you and your other half are at the start. And as your family grows, you need to upgrade your electrical panel as is necessary to continue getting the most reliable work out of your electrical setup possible!

Most of all, of course, be sure to get the SAFEST work out of your electrical panel. To be sure you get that, be sure that your electrical panel is MADE to handle the amount of use you and a growing family will put it to.

Your family is important — their SAFETY is important. To be sure to keep your family as safe as possible, be sure to get a panel upgrade as your number of family members increases through the years!