An electrical panel is one of the most unifying components in a house or place of business. A well-designed panel with the proper wiring provides the electrical capacity a building requires while also operating as efficiently as possible. However, there are plenty of reasons why an electrical panel might not be up to the job. From obsolescence to physical deterioration, these shortcomings should prompt you to upgrade the electrical panel.
Does that mean now is the time to perform an upgrade? That isn’t necessarily the case. Knowing when an upgrade is in order is just as important. For example, the panel might just need a higher-capacity circuit breaker to better serve one room. With a little rewiring, you may be able to avoid a bigger project. Here is what you should know about why electrical panel upgrades may be necessary and when to request them.
Obsolescence
Consumers are witnessing one of the most aggressive periods of change in electrical demand in a couple of decades at this moment. Rooftop solar systems are going up on buildings at unprecedented rates. Folks are installing backup generators to improve electrical system resilience. EV car owners want to get the most out of their investment by installing charging stations. Heat pumps are changing electrical consumption on the HVAC front, too.
Many of these modern systems aren’t simply plug-and-play solutions that can readily connect to most existing electrical panels. If you want at least one of these new technologies at your home or business, then there’s a good chance that your current electrical panel is obsolete.
Take the example of adding an EV charging station. A top-tier commercial-grade EV charging station requires three-phase power and a 480-volt connection. Even a typical residential-grade station requires a 240-volt setup for overnight charging. Your home’s electrical panel may have some 240-volt capacity, but it most likely is occupied by an appliance like a dryer. Consequently, you need a panel that has room for additional 240-volt power. In other words, you may need to upgrade the electrical panel.
Similarly, generator and solar panel upgrades require specific types of panels. Both types have to detect when power is available in the line from at least two possible sources and manage a changeover elegantly and safely. The simplest way to do this is to upgrade to a new electrical panel that’s purpose-built for your use case.
An upgrade becomes even more important if you want to feed power back into the grid to reduce your electricity bill. Although it is physically possible to plug a solar system into your electrical system without modifications, there are multiple major risks. Foremost, your local electrical utility most likely doesn’t allow it. Backfeeding electricity into the system could endanger utility workers who expect a line to be dead during an outage.
Secondly, you could overload your existing electrical panel, creating a fire hazard. Thirdly, feeding the power into the system could destabilize the voltage and lead to undesirable fluctuations. Unstable electricity could destroy thousands of dollars’ worth of connected devices and appliances. Simply put, adding solar usually means doing an electrical panel upgrade to mitigate all of these risks.
Deterioration
Like any system in your house, your home’s electrical panel is deteriorating. To a great extent, people simply tolerate the deterioration because they’re not going to want to constantly replace panels. For example, corrosion starts almost the instant the panel goes in. With time, corrosion will slowly erode the efficiency of the connections in the panel. However, electricity will normally overcome the deterioration on its own by using more power to complete the circuit. Your electrical bill will slowly go up, but everything in your place will likely keep working.
One day, though, the deterioration will reach the point that something fails. Perhaps a breaker reads the excess draw as an overload and shuts off the circuit. You may begin to notice recurring circuit breaks as the deterioration continues.
Electrical panels also suffer deterioration from power draw. The conductive metals in the panel slowly deteriorate from repeated heating and cooling. They expand or contract, depending on the material in question. Likewise, the internal arrangement of molecules in the conductor changes, altering purity and conductivity. Flooding and high humidity will hasten corrosion, too.
Vibrations can slowly destroy electrical panels also. Every the slight rumble of a vehicle that passes your home or business imparts a little bit of force into the electrical panel. Connections will loosen over years and even fall apart. Especially in high-usage environments with heavy machinery or large vehicles, vibration is oftentimes an overlooked cause of panel failures.
Capacity
Even if an existing panel has all the modern features you need and hasn’t fallen apart, it might not have the necessary capacity for your use case. Residential customers usually run into this problem with older houses. If a house never had an air conditioning unit, the previous owner may have only needed a couple hundred watts of capacity. A new owner might want to run power tools and add an AC, for example. Suddenly, the completely appropriate electrical panel just doesn’t have the needed capacity.
Notably, many electrical panels have unoccupied slots for adding power. The solution could be as simple as adding one or two additional circuit breakers and running the appropriate wiring for the new AC.
Commercial operations are much more likely to have capacity concerns. If a machine tooling company takes over a building that previously was used for storage, the difference in the needed capacity could be quite stark. At that point, an electrical panel upgrade is almost presumed.
Efficiency
Efficiency is sometimes a driver of electrical panel upgrades. The last owner might have opted for a cheaper electrical panel, such as one that uses steel bus bars instead of copper. The upfront cost of the electrical panel was probably better for them, but the long-term cost of ownership might not be great for you. Upgrading to a panel with higher-quality internal materials is almost always a win for energy efficiency. Particularly if you’re looking at rapidly rising electrical bills, upgrading your panel may be the best way to combat them.
Many newer panels also have built-in smart technologies. A smart meter on the electrical panel could tip you off to unexpected electricity draws. Also, many smart systems can remotely turn off circuits to save electricity. If you don’t always need power in your shed, for example, this could save some money. Particularly if you’re trying to get the most out of a solar setup, this is a good way to know your demands and minimize waste.
Contact Us Today
F.F. Hitchcock Plumbing, Heating & Cooling is a contracting firm that proudly serves households and businesses in Cheshire, CT and the surrounding areas. Locally owned and operated, our company is fully licensed. We also have an A+ rating with the BBB. 24/7 emergency services are available, and we handle a wide range of electrical contracting needs. These include electrical inspections, installations, and repairs. Our team also deals with wiring, whole-home surge protection, indoor and outdoor lighting, and EV charging stations. Qualified customers can ask about financing.
If you have questions about electrical panel upgrades, contact F.F. Hitchcock Plumbing, Heating & Cooling today and ask for a consultation with one of our knowledgeable electricians.
Frequently Asked Questions
