Having your electrical panel and your home’s entire electrical system inspected is important not only for ensuring your electrical system works correctly but also for preventing potential fire hazards. The general recommendation is that you should always have your electrical system and the breaker panel inspected at least every two to three years. We would also recommend having your panel inspected any time you’re having any electrical issues.

Signs That You Should Have Your Electrical System and Panel Inspected

It is always a good idea to open the door on your electrical panel every few months and visually inspect the breakers and the inside of the panel. If you see any rust or corrosion, you’ll want to have the panel inspected immediately. Rust indicates that moisture has gotten inside the panel, and this can be a serious issue since water and electricity are always a bad combination. If your breakers are overly dirty or coated in dust, it is also a sign you need to have an electrician inspect the panel as dust can prevent the circuits from working correctly.

If you ever smell an odor, like burnt rubber or plastic, you should immediately call for an electrical inspection. The same is true if your electrical panel is making a humming or buzzing sound or feels warm to the touch. Any visible singeing or burning inside the panel is also a definite sign you need an electrical inspection.

Your circuit breakers really shouldn’t trip often. If you do have a breaker that trips yet everything works fine after resetting it, you probably don’t need to worry. In most cases, it means that you either have too many things plugged into that circuit or there was a small power surge that overloaded the circuit. If you have a breaker that continually trips, you’ll want to have the panel and circuit inspected to determine what the issue is.

If a breaker trips constantly, it typically indicates that either there are too many things wired to that circuit or that the panel doesn’t have the necessary amperage. This means you may need to have an additional circuit installed or your panel upgraded.

Another sign that your home may have an electrical issue is if your lights flicker or dim whenever you use certain appliances or devices, such as a microwave, hair dryer, vacuum, etc. If this happens, it also typically means your panel doesn’t have enough amperage and will need to be upgraded.

How to Know When Your Electrical Panel Needs to Be Replaced

The general rule of thumb is that electrical panels should be replaced after 25 to 30 years. If your panel is old and outdated, it will likely have at least some issues. Rust is quite common on older panels, and many will also have problems with circuit breakers tripping more frequently. Old electrical panels can also start to overheat and potentially create a fire risk.

Even if your panel doesn’t show any signs of a problem, you should still replace it if it’s older than 20 to 25 years old. This is because new electrical panels usually use AFCI (arc-fault circuit interrupter) breakers that are much safer than older standard breakers. AFCI breakers can detect arcing, which is when the current jumps between different electrical connections. Arcing is usually caused by damaged wiring or cords and will quickly overload the circuit causing it to overheat and potentially start a fire. Older breakers can’t always detect arcing, which means the breaker may not trip and the wiring in that circuit could start to melt and catch fire.

If your home’s electrical panel has fuses instead of circuit breakers, we would recommend having a new panel installed as soon as possible. Circuit breakers are much more convenient since all you need to do is reset the breaker if a circuit overloads. Fuses are designed to simply burn out if the circuit overloads, which means you’ll then need to find and buy the correct fuse and then replace it. Some fuses can also create a fire hazard. This is why some home insurance companies charge more to insure a home with fuses, and some companies may also deny a fire claim if the fire was caused by a fuse.

There is also a chance that your electrical panel was recalled at some time in the past due to issues with overheating and fire hazards. This is another reason why you should have your panel inspected if you’ve never had it done or if you just moved into a new home.

You may be able to look at what brand your panel is to help know if it was part of a recall. The brands to look out for are Zinsco, GTE-Sylvania, Federal Pacific, Challenger Electrical and Schneider Electric. Zinsco and GTE-Sylvania panels were mostly installed during the 1970s, so these aren’t seen often anymore.

Federal Pacific panels were installed through the 1990s. These panels are a huge fire hazard as their circuit breakers often don’t trip when the circuit overloads, and this has led to countless catastrophic fires. Challenger Electrical panels were widely used in homes in the 1980s and 1990s, and these have issues where the panel overheats causing the circuits to melt and the panel to catch fire.

Some models of Schneider Electric panels that were produced between 2020 and January 2022 were also recently recalled due to a fire risk. If your panel was installed between these dates, we would recommend looking inside the door to see what brand it is. If the brand is either Schneider Electric or Square D, you’ll want to have an electrician make sure that it wasn’t one of the recalled models.

The Importance of Testing Your GFCI Outlets

In addition to having your electrical panel inspected every few years, you should also always test all of your GFCI (ground-fault circuit interrupter) outlets at least twice a year. GFCI outlets are required in certain rooms and areas and for all outlets within a certain distance of a water source. All outlets in your bathroom, garage, basement, and laundry room should be GFCI outlets, and all outside outlets also need to be GFCI.

A GFCI outlet is designed to automatically trip if water gets inside the outlet or comes into contact with the wiring to prevent a possible fire. If water does enter the outlet, the outlet itself will trip instead of tripping the entire circuit. If a GFCI outlet ever does trip, you’ll want to have it inspected as there is a good chance the wiring is damaged.

Ground-fault surges are one of the biggest electrical risks, which is why you need to regularly test to make sure the GFCI is still working. Your GFCI outlets should have a green light in the upper corner of the outlet and two buttons in the middle labeled TEST and RESET. To test the outlet, first press the TEST button. This will trip the outlet and the light will go out. If the outlet trips and then the light comes back on when you press the RESET button, then it is working correctly. If the outlet doesn’t trip when you press the TEST button, you should immediately have it inspected.

If you need an electrical inspection or any other electrical service, you can count on the experts at Dream Team Home Services. We also offer a full range of plumbing, heating, and cooling services for customers in Media and the surrounding areas. For more information, contact us today.

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Abby Steele
Abby Steele

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