CHARLOTTE – Why you should never say “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” when it comes to an electrical panel. A panel that stops working correctly puts your home and your family at risk. Some small inconveniences such as lights dimming can occur when a panel is not operating properly but major issues such as a fire can happen without warning signs.
Modern homes require more circuits. A panel without enough capacity can produce flickering lights, dimming lights, tripping breakers, and excessive loads leading to arcing, heat, and fire.
Your old or outdated panel may already be showing signs that it needs replacement. An electrician can inspect your panel for worn circuit breakers, deteriorated busbars, heavy corrosion, overloaded circuits, insulation deterioration, loose or burning connections, water damage, and signs of arcing. Outdated fuse panels limit capacity and modern safety features such as surge protection and arc-fault breakers.
Historically some panel brands, such as Zinsco, have been recalled as safety hazards. Known design flaws and inadequate components are causes for as many as 25% of breakers not safely “tripping” which allows an unsafe amount of electricity to pass into a home. These and other known problematic panels should be replaced instead of fixed.
Bottom line is that a panel might not seem “broken” until it has already created a fire or other hazardous condition.
If you have any questions about the safety of your electrical system or any other electrical concerns, please reach out to GB Electrical Services at (980) 500-2378 or visit GetTheBestElectric.com.
