Avoid Electrical Disasters by Checking Your Panels

A rubber band wrapped around the sink hose, food coloring in toothpaste, and flipping the breaker switch for a fake power outage, funny and harmless pranks are plentiful on April Fools' Day.

While the first day of April and all its pranks have come and gone, there are still many ways in which we can be a fool when it comes to the maintenance of our home. Many homeowners forget one of the most important components of their home, the electrical panel.

The electrical panel is responsible for bringing comfort and convenience to your home through the form of electricity. Remember that joke of flipping the breaker switch to fake a power outage? Without routine maintenance and proper care from a trained technician, that awful prank could become an expensive reality.

Electrical Safety is No Joke

The electrical panel is the heartbeat of your home. Would you want to perform open heart surgery if you were unknowledgeable of proper techniques? The same thought process is true when it comes to electrical safety and touching a panel without experience and knowledge.

Your electrical panel is the box that controls the electrical current throughout your home and provides you with that reliable source of energy. If it’s damaged in any way, you’ll be unable to power your favorite things like electronics and even your AC.

Before you try to add or repair any electrical circuits in a home, you should be familiar with the layout of the main panel and subpanels that feed power to your house. You should never be working in a live electrical panel no matter what the situation.

It takes two seconds to turn off the main breaker, however, that does not guarantee complete electrical safety. There are tons of cords and subpanels that can cause significant harm and even death. Instead of saving time and money, save your life and call a professional at Elite Electric and Air.

Avoiding an Inconvenient Power Shutdown

For your safety, and the safety of your home, it’s important to understand what circuit breakers and fuses are and what they are used for. Both serve the same purpose of protecting electrical panels and circuits from overloads that can lead to a power shutdown or even cause fires.

Both interrupt the flow of electricity, but a fuse is made of metal that melts when overheated and circuit breakers feature internal switch mechanisms that are tripped by unsafe surges of electricity. For example, if the power goes out in one section of your home, it’s likely that it’s a tripped circuit breaker.

A malfunctioning electrical panel can cause a power shutdown to your entire home. Fuses and circuit breakers are designed to alert during an overload. By shutting off the electrical supply, the break prevents wires for overheating and causing a fire. Anytime a break is tripped, a professional should be alerted to examine any unseen issues.

Fire Safety is Not a Laughing Matter

You flip a switch and expect lights to come on, you turn on the computer and expect high-speed internet. Electricity is a vital staple for this generation and without it, we’re lost. However, being without power is not a worst-case scenario.

Having a fire engulf your beautiful, loving home and pose a threat to your family is the worst-case scenario when electrical panels are not properly maintained and updated. If you own an older home that was built before 1990, you may have outdated, unsafe electric panels in your home that pose a fire safety threat.

Many Port St. Lucie-area homes have older, outdated panels that leave them vulnerable to house fires. Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) panels, Zinsco or GTE-Sylvania panels, split-bus electrical panels, and fuse boxes are all types of unsafe panels you should consider replacing.

We can laugh at April Fools' Day pranks and jokes for years to come, but when it comes to electrical panels and safety, electricity is no laughing matter. If you notice an issue with your electricity, such as the circuit breaker tripping often, call our trained professionals at Elite Electric and Air at (772) 905-3527. We’re standing by ready to help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to make sure your home stays safe and comfortable.