If you are living in house built before 1990, your main electrical panel might have less than a 200 amp breaker. With changes in technology and the increased used by electronical equipment within the household, old electrical panels are not designed to carry the current required load. Most old electrical service panels were designed to carry up to 100 amps.
In recent years, homeowners have had their lifestyles and habits change. For example, you might have a desktop computer plugged in the wall at your home office, as well as laptops, DVRs, Blue Rays, home entertainment centers, not to mention the two-door refrigerator, cooktop oven, microwave, and lastly the big freezer in your garage. All these are hard-wired (needs to be plugged in 24/7) devices, which consume power.
Now ask yourself: does my electrical panel handle the electrical load if I turn on everything at same time? Do your lights flicker, or the breaker trip? If yes, you need to consider an electrical panel service upgrade.
The optimal time for changing electrical service is when you complete a major home remodel. We highly recommend you consider adding electrical remodeling to your home remodel project. Having open walls and sheet rock removed already makes it easier for an electrician to run wire and ultimately will reduce the cost as compared to completing the work later.
If your main panel is made by Federal Pacific Electrical Company (FPE) panels or Zinsco Electrical Panel, these panels are fire hazards due to failure mechanisms, circuit breakers arcing and/or overheating, making the electrical contact unreliable and leading to equipment failure. Damaged circuit breakers are unlikely to perform properly in response to an overcurrent condition. The danger is real. If you have one of these panels in your home, you need to put the safety of your family first and have it replaced. They are a known fire hazard. They work just fine; right up to the point where they burn your house down. We are not trying to scare you. You just need to know the facts.
Here is a partial list of recommended electrical upgrades:
- As a licensed electrical contractor throughout the Dallas area, we will obtain the necessary electrical permit.
- We will contact the local city electrical permit and inspection department and arrange for the final electrical inspection.
- We will change the electrical meter and instal a main disconnect switch on the exterior if needed.
- We will rewire the service cable from meter to power company if required.
- We will upgrade the service entrance cable from meter to electrical panel box.
- We will install ground rods per latest NEC code.
