Upgrading the electrical panel in your home is one of the best ways to avoid hazards and improve electrical safety. A correctly installed electrical panel may be fine if your home is less than two decades old. However, there are times when even a fairly new home can benefit from a new panel upgrade. If you’re concerned about safety issues or the condition of your electrical panel, consider the following potential warning signs.
1. Electrical Panel Is Only 60 or 100 Amps
In the past, the minimum requirement under the National Electric Code (NEC) was that a home’s electrical service had to be at least 60 amps. By the 1960s, the NEC was updated to require homes to have at least a 100-amp electrical service panel. If your house still only has a 60-amp service panel, it means your panel and likely the rest of your electrical system is extremely outdated and potentially a fire hazard. We’d recommend replacing the panel as soon as possible and also rewiring at least some, if not all, of your electrical system.
While a 100-amp service panel is still the minimum requirement, 100 amps of power is rarely sufficient to meet the needs of anything other than a quite small house. That’s just because our electricity needs have increased so much over the years with the introduction of appliances such as more powerful refrigerators, electric clothes dryers, air conditioning equipment, high-definition TVs, and more.
Unless you have a small home, you’ll likely need to upgrade from a 100-amp panel to at least a 150- or 200-amp panel if you want to add another 240-volt circuit to power something like a new AC system, a hot tub, or an EV charging station. It will usually also be necessary if you want to switch from gas to electric heating or from a gas water heater to an electric unit. That’s because a 100-amp service panel usually can’t provide sufficient power to the entire house if it has more than two 240-volt circuits and appliances.
2. Lighting Throughout Your House Often Flickers
If the lighting in various parts of your house is constantly dimming or flickering, you likely need an electrical panel that supplies more amps. This commonly occurs when a more powerful appliance like a refrigerator, freezer, clothes dryer, or AC first turns on. All of these appliances have motors that need to draw a substantial amount of electricity to power on and quickly start running at full speed. In most cases, the power draw of these motors on start-up is three to five times higher compared to the amount of electricity the motor draws once it’s fully up and running.
Lights flicker for a short time when these appliances first turn on because the starting load (i.e., how much power it takes for the motor to turn on) puts a massive strain on your electrical system. What essentially happens is that the motor draws a high percentage of the available amps, reducing the amount of electricity left to power your lights and the rest of your home. That means the lights temporarily aren’t receiving as much power as they normally should, which causes them to dim and flicker. This issue is extremely common in homes with only 100-amp electric service, but it can also happen in a larger home with a 150-amp service panel.
3. You Experience Frequent Electrical Issues
Electrical issues like circuit overloads and tripped circuit breakers can occur for various reasons. For instance, you could have a faulty or damaged wire or a loose electrical connection in an outlet or light fixture that causes a short circuit and trips one of your circuit breakers. If you experience frequent issues with just a single circuit, it either means that the circuit has some type of electrical fault or that too many things are hard-wired or plugged into that circuit. If you commonly have electrical issues in various parts of your house, it’s a good indication that there’s a fault in your main electrical panel or that it’s too old to work properly anymore.
Any isolated or systemic electrical issue can be extremely dangerous due to the risk of fire and electrocution. That’s why you should get a professional inspection at the first sign of an electrical issue. When performing the inspection, an electrician will be able to properly determine if the problem lies with your electrical panel or some other part of your system. You’ll then know what steps to take to fix the problem and ensure your electrical system operates safely and efficiently.
4. Electrical Panel Is Visibly Rusted or Corroded
You should always be on the lookout for rusting or corroding on the inside of your electrical panel. Brownish-colored rust spots are generally a sign of moisture build-up within the panel, either from high humidity or water getting into the panel. Any flaky brown, green, blue, or white spots or crusting is a sign that the metal components in the panel have started to corrode, which can occur due to moisture within the panel or dust and airborne contaminants reacting with metal components.
One concern is that rust and corrosion within an electrical panel can create increased resistance and cause issues like power outages in some parts of the home or a circuit breaker frequently tripping. A bigger concern is that the increased resistance can lead to overheating and potentially cause an electrical fire. A rusted or corroded circuit breaker can also result in a fire or severely damage things on that circuit since it may not trip if the circuit gets overloaded. All of these potential issues are why you should remember to visually inspect your electrical panel at least a few times a year to make sure you don’t see any rust or corrosion.
5. Electrical Panel Is Old and Outdated
It’s important to understand that your home’s electrical panel won’t last forever. Professional electricians typically recommend that you replace a residential electrical panel after 20-30 years.
While an electrical panel can last far longer than this, you’ll typically experience more frequent electrical issues if your panel is older than 25-30 years. You also run a much greater risk of a fire occurring or someone getting electrocuted if you don’t upgrade your outdated panel.
Along with improving electrical safety, replacing an outdated panel could potentially lower your electricity bills by anywhere from 10% to 30%. That’s because a new panel will reduce energy waste by more efficiently sending power to where it currently needs to go. Replacing an outdated electrical panel will also increase your home’s value and could get you a discount on your homeowner’s insurance as well.
The team at 3 Mountains Home Services is strongly dedicated to helping homeowners in Milwaukie, OR, and the surrounding areas tackle all of their plumbing, electrical, and HVAC needs. We have years of experience, and you can trust our experts whenever you need an upgrade, repairs, maintenance, or any type of installation. If you’re worried about your home’s electrical system’s safety, call us to schedule an inspection or an electrical panel upgrade.
