At the heart of your home’s inner workings lies the electrical panel. It’s the connection between the city’s supplier and everything in your home, from the lights to your appliances. If everything is done up to code, then your electrical system should be safe.
However, if your panel is quite old or your power consumption needs have grown over the years, you could be risking electrical panel failure. The pros at Ontime Electric have compiled this guide to help you spot the warning signs before it’s too late.
It’s 25 Years or Older
The longest you should keep a panel around for is about 40 years.
Anything after 25 years, you should invest the time and money to have it inspected by a professional electrician to see if any problems could pop up in the foreseeable future.
You Consistently Flip Breakers
The electrical panel is designed to flip a breaker when it detects too much power being directed at a single source. It’s a genius design meant to prevent fires and other damage or injuries. But if you notice that the breakers on your panel are flipping all the time, you might need to upgrade the size of your panel.
It’s time to get an expert in your home to check things out. But what if your home doesn’t have breakers? If you live in an older home that still uses fuses, you’ll want to get that changed over to a breaker panel at your earliest convenience.
There’s a Burning Smell
A burning smell should always attract the attention of the homeowner. But if that smell is coming from the electrical panel then that is a serious cause for alarm. If it’s a wood-burning smell then the damage is probably occurring within the walls on one of the studs.
If you are smelling burning plastic, then it likely has to do with a wire inside the breaker box. Either way, you’ll want to contact a professional electrician right away.
Electrical Panel is Warm
While circuit breakers are made to flip over in the case of overheating, you may still notice that the breaker is warm to the touch.
If you do experience this, it’s likely because your circuit breaker is malfunctioning. Again, don’t hesitate and call up an electrician immediately to inspect the issue.
Lights Flicker or Dim when Appliance is Turned on
Do the lights flicker when your fridge’s motor kicks on? Or do your lights flicker when you run a load of laundry in the dryer? This happens when there is too much electricity being drawn from one circuit.
This is also called “double tapping” your electrical panel wiring. In some cases, you can add extra circuits to your breaker, but sometimes the simplest solution is to replace the breaker entirely and upgrade to a new onel
OnTime Electricians in Toronto
Even if it’s not your circuit breaker causing you problems, you should feel at ease leaving all of your electrical issues to the professional electricians at Ontime Electric.
For years, we’ve been helping homeowners across the Greater Toronto Area with a wide range of electrician services, cementing our reputation as the best electricians in Toronto. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Childproofing should be performed by a licensed, insured, accredited and qualified electrician to prevent injuries and accidents. Make sure that you hire a professional that you trust.