If you live in an older home, it most likely was built with 60 or 100 amps (units of electrical current), plenty to meet the demand for electricity back in the day. But today your demand is much higher, given more high-powered appliances, electronics, smart technology, and maybe even a car charger. Connecting new technology and products to antiquated equipment or much worse, adding extension cords or power strips, is not a smart long-term solution. With or without them, your system is less than optimal and can lead to:
- Inability to meet all of your current and future needs and demands
- Damaging sensitive electronics
- Fires
Having a complete electric system service upgrade to anywhere from 100 to 400 amps offers the following benefits:
- Safety – your home is no longer an electric fire waiting to happen.
- The knowledge that you can run all your appliances, electronics, etc. without fear of failure.
- Increased capacity to meet the power demands that today’s equipment and electrical codes will require.
- It may increase the value of your home.
Signs You May Need a Complete Electric Service Upgrade
As with any other piece of home mechanical equipment (i.e. furnaces, air conditioners, etc.), aged electrical equipment needs updating. Consideration should always be given to installing new, improved and safer equipment. In general, you should consider an electric service upgrade if your home and electric service panel are older than 25 years. Other signs include:
- Your current electrical panel does not have enough circuits to support your needs, no matter how old it is.
- One or more sub-panels have been installed to add capacity without consideration to the incoming power supply.
- Circuit trips frequently.
- You’ve just added or are about to add high-consumption items such as an EV charging station for your car or a total kitchen remodel that will require new circuit capacity to meet codes as well as new appliance loads.
- You’ve just moved into an older house, and you’ve learned that it may not have ample electric capacity. In the past five years, 95% of home inspection reports provided to future and current homeowners have called out the main electrical service equipment as being overloaded with circuits, antiquated, and in some cases even dangerous due to panels and circuit breakers being eliminated from approved equipment.
Components of a Complete Electric Service Upgrade
A full electric service focuses on the conductors and equipment connecting your local utility to the wiring system of the premises. Here are the components of an upgrade:
- Replacing the meter socket and overhead service riser or underground pedestal, which sits outside your house and encloses the meter that is used to measure the amount of electricity you use.
- Replacing the main lighting panel and circuit breakers (circuit breaker panel).
- Replacing the interior and exterior service conduit and service conductors.
- Upgrading the service grounding and bonding system per code.
Contact Ravinia Plumbing, Sewer, Heating & Electric for a Complete Electric Service Upgrade
As you can see, there are many benefits to having a complete electric service upgrade. But it is a complex effort, and you need a trusted professional like Ravinia Plumbing to perform the upgrade. We’ve been in business since 1928, and we’ve made a name for ourselves as one of the most trusted and reliable electric contractors in Chicagoland. For complete electrical services, including a complete electric service upgrade, contact Ravinia Plumbing today.
