San Diego Electrician Finds Electrical Panel Alert
The heart of a home’s electrical system is the electrical panel. Circuits and wiring carry electricity through the home similar to the same way our veins carry oxygen & blood through our bodies.
Just the same as a person’s heart needs to work properly to distribute blood throughout the body so does the electrical panel in an electrical system. Without a properly functioning electrical panel, nothing electrical in a home or commercial building will work.
Just as our hearts can develop problems due to age, diet, and other reasons, electrical panels can also develop issues that can create problems for the end user. The purpose of an electrical panel is to not only distribute power to our electrical gadgets but also to protect our electrical system from overloads and short circuits. An overload occurs when you use too much power that what a circuit is rated for which causes the circuit breaker to heat up and trip in a properly functioning circuit breaker. A short circuit occurs when you have a a circuit that allows current to travel along an unintended path such as when a energized conductor comes in contact with a neutral conductor, when this happens the circuit breaker in a properly functioning electrical panel will sense this and trip as well.
The reason why it is so crucial your electrical system protects against overloads and short circuits is to protect itself from overheating and reduce the chance of fire hazard. When you have a short circuit or overload the electrical circuit creates heat and this heat if not properly discontinued could reach a point that it starts a fire. It cannot be stressed how important it is that your electrical system functions properly because overheating circuits can go undetected with no visible signs of an issue.
There are two brands of electrical panels which have been identified to have major manufacturing or design flaws that can potentially put homeowners property and life within harms way. Federal Pacific and Zinsco electrical panels have been identified to have flaws which enable them to work properly and they may not offer your home overcurrent and short circuit protection.
It should also be noted that outdated electrical panels also can create potential hazards as they try to keep up with the demands that society has placed on them. Today most of the home electrical devices didn’t exist or were not as widely used in the 1970’s for example computers, surround sound systems, time clocks, flat screen t.v.’s in each room, cell phones, and the list keeps on going. Most of these older homes had as little as a 60 amp service installed but today a home should have at least a 150 amp service.
There are 3 reported problems with Federal Pacific and Zinsco electrical panels.
- These panels may not pass updated safety codes and would not receive today’s UL listing. These panels would not be allowed to be sold to the general public because they no longer pass certain safety codes. Safety standards that were once acceptable certain years ago are no longer considered safe today.
- Federal Pacific and Zinsco electrical panels may have been manufactured with significant design flaws. For example there has been instances where the breakers of these panels have loose connections which render them useless which means they would not trip when they overheat.
- Experts have identified design flaws in older Federal Pacific and Zinsco panels that may be shared with other panels of similar age. For example some components are aluminum, the connection between the breakers and the buss bar may not be solid, and breakers can appear to be off, yet internally the panel still allows power to flow.
Forward Electric is an expert in modernizing and upgrading older electrical panels and will bring life back to your electrical system. Their trained experts will find the best possible means and methods to install an electrical panel and they will leave your home with a modernized electrical system capable of handling today’s electrical demands as well as leaving no mess or extra work to be performed to your walls or ceilings.