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Should You Upgrade Your Electrical Panel and Rewire Your House?

Lakeland Mister Sparky Electrician Techs in front of a service vanIt’s critical that all the components of your home’s electric system work properly at all times. Two ways to ensure that this happens is to rewire your home or to get a more powerful electrical panel. In some cases, taking both steps can be in your best interest. Of course, the choices that you make depend largely on your circumstances.

You Might Not Need to Rewire Your House

Rewiring your house is an expensive job that requires cutting away at drywall to get access to the wires currently situated there. Of course, since the job costs a lot of money, it represents an opportunity for electricians to make a significant profit.

The good news is that the folks at Mister Sparky won’t sell you something that you don’t need. Instead, we might recommend that you simply upgrade the electrical panel to resolve issues such as flickering lights or a circuit breaker that frequently trips.

When You Should Rewire Your House

It might make sense to rewire your house if it uses knob and tube wiring that was common until the 1940s. In such a scenario, your house likely wouldn’t pass an inspection to qualify for a homeowners insurance policy. It’s also unlikely that you would get full value for the house from a buyer if you put it on the market.

Rewiring may also make sense if you have wires that are frayed, worn or simply at the end of their useful life. Typically, wires can last for about 20 to 30 years before they should be replaced. Finally, you may want to rewire the house if you have aluminum wires instead of copper.

When Upgrading the Electrical Panel Makes Sense

Upgrading the electrical panel can be a good decision if you need more amps to help power your home. Upgrading to a panel that has 150 or 200 amps may make it easier to run your appliances, a heat pump, and the lights inside your house at the same time without issue. If you want to add a generator to your home, it may require an electrical box that can create up to 300 amps of power or more.

In addition to more power, you’ll have more circuits available if you need them in the future. This can be ideal if you want to add a hot tub or some other outdoor item that requires a significant amount of power.

The Potential Benefits of a Rewire and a New Electrical Panel

Rewiring your home and adding a new electrical panel may make your home more efficient. Therefore, you’ll pay less in utility bills each month, which can help to offset the cost of the improvements made to your home. The home itself may be worth more because it is safer and more efficient. In some cases, you may be able to add another $10,000 to the value of your house, which also defrays some of the cost of the upgrades.

A new electrical panel also means that there is a reduced risk of a fire because wires and circuits won’t be overloaded. An overloaded circuit creates heat that can eventually combust. Any electrical fire in your home can quickly spread and cause damage as well as potential safety issues.

Call the Folks at Mister Sparky Today

If you are considering rewiring your home, give our team a call right away. We can help you determine if you need to take such a step or if you simply need to upgrade your electrical panel. In the event that both actions make sense, we can help complete both tasks in a timely, professional, and affordable manner.