Do You Want to Upgrade Your Electrical Service?

A very common question asked by homeowners is “should I upgrade my electrical service?” Upgrading of an electrical service involves an older residence with 100 amperage or less service size and a homeowner deciding to increase the amps to 200. Depending on which part of the country the home is located, the job cost could be as high as $2000 and this sometimes make the property owners question the requirement of such an investment.

Here are some questions, which you need to ask yourself before deciding whether to upgrade the service or not.

Does my residential current service have circuit breakers or fuses?

Before 1960’s all electrical service panels had fuses. Circuit breakers became the standard for electrical panels only after 1960s. However, nowadays fuse panels are regarded as an electrical hazard. When a house is scrutinized for resale, many insurance companies demand the fuse panel to be replaced by a circuit breaker panel before the completion of the sale. If the current service has fuses, it is worth investing to upgrade the service to circuit breakers from fuses. This upgrading does not mean the amps have to be increased.

What amp size is my existing current service?

A current service is generally measured in amperage with standards being 200, 150 and 100 for a home. If a home has 100 amperage services and there is no plan to add any electrical appliances, then there is no need to increase the amperage size. However, if all appliances are going electric, then an increase in service is needed. A professional and experienced electrical contractor does a calculation best on whether more amps are needed or not.

Should I increase the current service to stop the circuit breaker tripping?

If you want to increase the service because you want to stop the existing breaker from tripping, then never do so. An increase in the service amp will never stop it from tripping. Increase in the amperage size will have no impact on the circuitry that already exists. A fuse or circuit breaker that trips does so because the circuit amps exceeds the fuse or circuit size.

Hence, there are mainly two reasons for upgrading the service. You can upgrade it if you want to change your electrical panel to circuit breaker from fuses. You can also upgrade it if you wish to increase the electrical load of your home. Changing to circuit breakers from fuses will increase your home’s value and eliminate the danger of putting in oversized fuses. Moreover, if it is to increase the electrical load, you first need to do the calculations by taking the assistance of an electrician.

If you are looking to hire electrician Chicago for upgrading your existing current service, browse the Internet to find expert residential electricians for your job. Get connected to those online portals that assist consumers to find local trusted professionals with just a click of a mouse. By registering free on a reverse auction style portal, you can get your job done at the lowest price.

Aric Parker - About Author:
GottaShopit.com is a perfect website through which you can get all your queries regarding Perfect technology hire electrician Chicago and electrical service in Chicago, United State.

Article Source:
http://www.articleside.com/home-improvement-articles/do-you-want-to-upgrade-your-electrical-service.htm

Related Home Improvement Articles

Related Home Improvement Topics

dry air hardwood inlay relaxing hammock chair yogibo fly swing chair engineered sous vide glass doors