man throwing circuit breaker at residential service panel

When Is It Time to Replace Your Electrical Panel?

Inside your home, there’s a panel somewhere responsible for handling all the electricity. Secure Contractors has upgraded many of them in El Paso as part of our work. It’s hard to make it through a Texas summer without an adequate electrical panel. Upgrading the one you’ve got at home could improve a lot about your place, too.

Are You Still Using a Fuse Box at Home?

How can you tell whether it’s time to get a new electrical panel at your home? By far, the simplest way to know is by checking to see if you have a fuse box. Older homes had them before builders began installing modern circuit breakers.

Built using old-school fuses, they simply lack many features found in circuit breakers. The main thing separating them is what happens if they’re overloaded. Fuses have a melting point that’s triggered if too much current goes through them. So, if they’re tripped, you have to buy new ones.

Circuit breakers switch off if there’s too much current going through them, too. However, if they’ve tripped, you don’t have to replace them. Just flick them back to their regular position to turn them back on.

Have You Expanded the Home Recently?

Another reason why you might need to replace your electrical panel is if you’ve expanded the house. Usually, when they’re working, builders only use panels big enough for the initial plan.

Expanding on their initial plans could put your home above what the current panel is able to provide. Getting a new one should prevent you from having outages caused by blown circuits.

Do the Lights Flicker a Lot?

As with anything, electrical panels age and lose functionality as you use them. At some point, they’re not able to provide as reliable a service as they’ve given you in the past. That’s because the components necessary for them to function have worn out.

You can tell if your electrical panel is wearing out by paying attention to how your lights look. Constantly flickering lights are a common sign of a worn-out panel.

Has Your Homeowners Insurance Said Anything About It?

In El Paso, many insurance companies won’t cover homes without circuit breakers. So, if you still have a fuse box, you might struggle to find coverage.

Even with coverage, you may have your claim denied if there’s not a circuit breaker in your home. It’s a no-brainer for them to deny your claim if you haven’t upgraded from the old fuse box.

Circuit breakers are much less likely to cause an electrical fire, even when overloaded. So, most agencies incentivize homeowners by only giving them coverage if they have one at home.

Your Trusted El Paso Electricians

Secure Contractors has been operating in the El Paso area for many years. Our electricians are ready to help with your electrical panel whenever you are. Call us to schedule an appointment and request a free quote.