Your home’s electrical panel is the heart of its electrical system. Also known as a load center and, more commonly, as the breaker box, this critical component takes an electrical current from a utility company and distributes it throughout your house. From the electrical panel, the power supply to every part of a home can be turned on or off. Notably, electrical panels should not be confused with subpanels. A subpanel only controls the power in a portion of a home and is powered by energy from an electrical panel rather than the raw electrical current from the utility company.
Electrical panels do so much more for your home than distribute electricity through it; they also provide a crucial layer of protection. Every electrical panel is filled with circuit breakers. If the electrical current becomes too strong in your home, these breakers flip and cut the power to the area of a home receiving too much power.
There are two types of circuit breakers:
While many electrical panels last for years, some of them don’t stand up well to the test of time. Aging, design issues, and quality problems can make certain types of electrical panels unsafe and require replacement as soon as possible. Mister Sparky® of Augusta is ready to come to your home, inspect your panel, and replace it as needed.
Find out more about unsafe electrical panels by reading below and then call Mister Sparky® of Augusta for help at (706) 607-6812.
If you own a home that was built before 1990, there’s a chance that you have one of four types of electrical panels that don't meet modern safety standards. Having an unsafe electrical panel is a gamble that no homeowner should take for the protection of their property and the wellbeing of their family.
In the 1970s, Zinsco (also known as GTE-Sylvania) panels were installed in homes around the nation. While the company no longer exists, many homes still have its panels today. Production of Zinsco panels was stopped after critical design flaws were discovered with them.
At the root of their danger in an aluminum bus bar, a component that can overheat, melt, and cause breakers to fail to trip. Notably, this design flaw can make a breaker appear as though it is tripped while still being active. Panels branded as GTE-Sylvania might be rebranded versions of Zinsco panels and should be inspected by an electrician.
For about 30 years, FPE electrical panels were some of the most popular in the United States. However, they are known to have issues with their double and single pole breakers. Some circumstances can cause these breakers to not trip when they need to, allowing a dangerous amount of electricity to continue flowing to a section of a house.
When breakers fail to trip when needed, a fire can start in overloaded electrical systems. These panels can work correctly for years before a short circuit causes them to overheat and potentially catch fire.
A bus is the part of an electrical panel that connects to the breaker and provides power to a home. When a breaker is not touching a panel’s bus, the power to its section is turned off. Modern electric panels have a single metal bus that’s connected to each individual circuit breaker.
An example of a split-bus electrical panel.
Decades ago, circuit breakers had a split bus that connected to two main breakers. This style hasn’t been used in so long that any split-bus circuit breakers still in use today should be replaced. While split-bus panels aren’t particularly unsafe, ones that are still in use have far outlived their lifespan and may not work as intended. Split-bus electrical panels are identifiable if a group of breakers are wired to a set of main breakers above them.
Before electrical panels used breakers, they used fuses to shut off power to problematic electrical currents. They work by burning out once too much current has passed through them. To fix a burnt fuse, homeowners had to replace them. While they served their purpose effectively during their time, they aren’t safe for use in homes today because they weren’t designed with to meet the demands of modern electrical use.
Fuse boxes have fewer circuits, making it easy to place too much strain on a single circuit. In some instances, a fuse might be replaced with a larger one to stop it from blowing as often. This practice is dangerous because it might provide wires with more current than they are designed to carry. Finally, fuses should never be replaced or bridged using metal. Doing so removes all safeguards provides by fuses and circuit breakers and makes an electrical panel incredibly prone to overheating and catching fire.
If your home has any of the panels above, or are not sure if yours is safe, Mister Sparky® of Augusta is ready to help! Our team of highly trained electricians are ready to come to your home, inspect your system, and replace your old unsafe panel with a modern one today. Safety and quality are always our top priorities, and we’re ready to help you explore options that work with your needs and budget.
At Mister Sparky® of Augusta, we’re always on time, friendly, and back our work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee so you can trust that we’re always working to solve electrical problems the correct way. Call us today to find out why your neighbors already trust our Augusta electricians! We handle all types of electrical panel repair, installation, and maintenance.
Call Mister Sparky® of Augusta to replace your aging and unsafe electrical panels today. We’re standing by to answer your questions at (706) 607-6812.
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1349 reviews
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Stuart was very knowledgeable, patient(with all our questions), answered and fulfilled our concerns. He installed whole house electrical update, i. e. taking out old breaker panel, putting in a new one and labeling them, installed transfer switch for our generator, and installing carbon monoxide detectors on every floor, and smoke detectors in every room, installed grounding stakes, and installed electrical controls outside, also repaired sunken outlets, and bathroom ceiling lights. Rod helped Stuart and they did a great job. It’s not cheap but about $10K is a peace of mind. They thought it will be one day and a half however it took them two days but we’re not complaining. It was a very detailed job and both of them made sure they did a great job and we are happy. Thank you Stuart and Rod!
We scheduled to have an inlet box installed to hookup our generator safely directly to our house. Stuart St John was our tech and from the beginning he communicated when he would arrive, discussed our options and pricing, and more importantly did phenomenal work! As an attorney, I was beyond impressed with the communication and timeliness of arrival bc my schedule is sooo busy! He was always on time and went above and beyond hooking everything up to show me what to do and be prepared. My mom self is thrilled that everything is ready and we will be able to run what we need to and not have to worry about cords all over the house if power goes out in summer or winter! We have other projects and will definitely be using Mr. Sparky and will ask for Stuart St John again!!!
Our community just installed a gated dog park and we have been looking for someone to install the RFID. Stuart, with Mr Sparky, met me and was very professional, friendly and knowledgeable! He offered to call GA Power with the questions that I had no idea to ask. He is also a Veteran and we are always searching for EXCELLENT Veteran owned companies, and I was NOT disappointed. I highly recommend this company
Lawrence completed some work for us today and I must say he did a good job. Throughout our encounter he educated me as well as provided safety tips along the way. I was impressed from the start of the visit until it's completion. Great customer service skills which is extremely difficult to find these days. Thanks Lawrence.
Being new residents to Georgia, we weren’t sure about what company to go with for our electrical needs. I am so glad we went with Mr. Sparky! We read the reviews and decided to take a shot. We were not disappointed. Mr Lawrence Kirksey represented his company very well. He called ahead to let us know when to expect him, introduced himself with a smile and explained everything that he’d be doing after the office scheduled us for service. He showed up ready to go and was laser focused on the job before him. He was fast and efficient and his work speaks for itself. He was very proud of his work and extremely professional. Cleaned up after the job was done and made sure we understood and reassured us that the company stands behind their work. Thanks Mister Sparky for sending him our way. We highly recommend someone of his caliber to any potential customers who are considering a good, solid electrical company.
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