Upgrading Electrical Wiring or Panel

Upgrading electrical wiring or panel may need to be done in your home to make your home safer or when doing improvements. Some smaller wiring projects can be done yourself, but there are times when it is best to rely on a licensed electrician.

Many older homes, more than 40 years old, may need to have an upgrade in the electrical wiring or panel done for safety reasons. Outdated wiring can lead to a fire in your home. You can hire a licensed electrician to check out your wiring to make sure that it is safe and up to code. Here are some issues to be on the lookout for:

• Lights that flicker or dim


• Outlets that spark, have become discolored or are warm to the touch


• Outlets that are ungrounded


• Outlets that only have two prongs, instead of three


• Outlets that are not ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) in rooms that are susceptible to the outlets getting wet, like in a bathroom


• If an appliance puts off a tingly feeling when you touch it


• If there is a burning smell when using an appliance


• If there is a burning smell evident in any room of the house


• Breaker that is tripping frequently


• Fuses that are blowing repetitively


• Check the wiring. Many older homes have aluminum wiring, which can be hazardous. Sometimes, just adding pigtails, copper connectors, can head off any hazards.

Upgrading your wiring may be needed for a few reasons, other than safety.

• You may have many gadgets that require more power than in the time when the house was built. Older homes only have 60 amps, whereas 200 amps is more suitable now to run all the gadgets.


• Adding additional outlets can prevent an overload on your home. When there are not that many outlets, you may rely on extension cords, which can pose risk of fire.


• Older homes may have higher home owner insurance rates, but upgrading the wiring may save you some money or keep you from being refused homeowner's insurance.


• Upgrading your wiring can add value to your home, if structured wiring is used. This wiring is actually data cables that allow you to use all the high technology items. These data cables are heavy duty and even offer the option to control the lighting and heating with remote access over the Internet.