Your home’s electrical panel is the central component of the whole electrical system. Consequently, an upgrade to the electrical panel can make your home safer and help your appliances and electronics work better and last longer. To assess whether an electrical panel upgrade is worth the investment, you should understand the top benefits. Here are seven advantages that come with an electrical panel upgrade performed by a qualified electrician.
1. Safety Upgrades
One of the most significant benefits of upgrading your home’s electrical panel is improved safety. This is particularly true for older electrical panels that don’t support key safety features.
GFCI and AFCI
You want the system to provide support for ground-fault circuit interrupters, and it may be wise to add support for arc-fault circuit interrupters, too. GFCI and AFCI systems cut power to the outlet if it detects an abnormality in the electricity. A classic example of this would be water splashing into an outlet. For this reason, you commonly see GFCI outlets in bathrooms and kitchens, especially near sinks. AFCI adds protection in case of electricity arcs across a gap, such as when there’s an exposed wire in the terminal.
Proper Grounding
Similarly, you want a bus bar in the electrical panel to support a ground or neutral path. Grounding gives the electrical system somewhere to discharge extra electricity. Although it doesn’t eliminate overload risks, it does mitigate them significantly. Also, good grounding may remove some unstable signals from the line, preventing electrical noise in attached appliances.
Outdated Panels, Wires, or Circuit Breakers
There may be safety issues associated with an aging electrical panel, too. Older panels can develop lots of problems. Corrosion can make connections worse, potentially encouraging overloads if circuit breakers don’t operate properly anymore. Loose circuit breakers’ sockets can arc, and you may see the same safety issue with loose connections throughout the panel.
Many older panels have legacy issues, such as improperly sized circuit breakers. A previous homeowner might have needed more power on a circuit and simply installed a bigger breaker. The problem is that the circuit breaker could support a higher amperage than the wire, creating a fire hazard. Upgrading the panel is a good opportunity to make sure that the amperage rating for every wire and circuit breaker matches.
You also may want to check whether the model of the electrical panel has had any recalls. Defective systems end up in the market, and that was an especially common problem several decades ago. People tend to ignore electrical panels as long as the system works, but this leads to folks leaving panels in place that were recalled. It is wise to be sure that the electrical panel isn’t subject to a recall.
Surge Protection
2. Greater Capacity
The truth is that our modern homes and appliances tend to use more electricity than in past eras. Some houses still have less than 100 amps of capacity through the panel simply because they predate modern appliances and electronics. Maybe the previous homeowner just didn’t use that much electricity. Worse, they may have just overloaded the circuits and dealt with constantly resetting breakers.
We typically encourage homeowners to have at least 200 amps of capacity. That recommendation could go significantly higher if a homeowner has a lot of electrical demands. For example, your home’s electrical panel may need more capacity if you run lots of appliances and power tools concurrently. Throw in something like an EV charging station, and you can easily see how 200 amps of electrical capacity may not be enough.
Note that it’s a good idea to build capacity on a per-circuit basis, too. Some rooms just need more capacity. If your home has a laundry room, that is a classic example of a space that needs capacity. Some folks do very heavy laundry days, and keeping both the washer and dryer running simultaneously is a high-demand application.
Finally, we have more devices and gadgets to plug in. An upgrade can include additional outlets as well as additional circuits to handle your busy household’s needs.
3. Preparing for the Future
If you have long-term plans for your house, like renovations or an addition, you want to solve any possible electrical panel issues now. To prepare, you may want to upgrade to an electrical panel that supports more capacity than you’ll require. You can leave a few slots for the corresponding circuit breakers unoccupied until needed. When you make the addition, you will have some spare connections available.
Some folks upgrade a home’s electrical panel when they move in. This ensures that there won’t be any surprises down the road. Also, it lets you confirm that the house has enough capacity for your current lifestyle and what you expect to come.
4. Improving Efficiency
The ideal electrical panel uses high-quality copper for nearly all of its functions. Of the commonly used materials in electrical panels, copper offers the greatest efficiency. Consequently, a copper system tends to have lower energy costs. However, some folks use panels with cheaper materials like steel or aluminum. Although these have lower upfront costs, they get costly when considering your electric bill over years or even decades. We encourage any homeowner worried about electric bills, efficiency, or quality to upgrade to a panel that uses mostly copper.
Design inefficiencies can also lead to electrical inefficiencies. Most electrical panels have at least two bus bars, and the most efficient solutions balance the loads between them. An unbalanced load can put more heat on one bus bar, leading to heating and deformation. Not only does this make that bar more inefficient over time, but it can shorten the lifespan of the electrical panel.
5. Improved Home Value
The ability to document an electrical panel’s upgrade history tends to raise a house’s value. Especially if you plan to sell your house at some point, an electrical panel upgrade with appropriate documentation can be valuable to the next owner. The prospective buyer knows they likely won’t have to mess with the electrical panel, and that’s one less thing they’ll factor into their bid.
6. Insurance Premiums
Some insurers offer reduced premiums for homes that have modern electrical panels. Ask your insurance provider if they offer lower rates and what they need to see. You can then select an electrical panel that will entitle you to a lower premium.
7. Reliability
A new electrical panel is likely to be more reliable. Circuit breakers are less likely to trip if the panel provides sufficient capacity for every room. No one wants to fight with the home’s electrical panel, so an upgrade simply reduces your headaches. You also can relax knowing that your home’s electrical panel will comply with all current electrical codes.
Liberty Comfort Systems happily serves the people of Anoka, MN, and the surrounding areas. Our electricians are here to handle electrical installation, repairs, upgrades, and maintenance. We also can perform inspections. You can also turn to us for all your heating, cooling, and plumbing needs.
If you wonder whether your house might require an electrical panel upgrade, ask our electricians at Liberty Comfort Systems about it today.
