The electricity
requirements of new appliances and other devices keeps going up and up, but the
electrical infrastructure of many homes has not been upgraded to meet this new
demand. Added electrical load creates safety issues in homes and makes it
imperative that homeowners obtain a professional assessment to determine if the
home's electrical system can meet a family's needs.
The amount of electricity a home needs is measured in
amperes, more commonly called amps. An ampere is the amount of electrical
energy flowing through an appliance at any given time. Just
30 years ago, the average home only needed a 60 amp electrical service to
function well. In only 10 years, homes began to need upgrading to 100 amp
electrical service as new electrical appliances and devices became available.
Why is it important to upgrade your home’s electrical
service? Here's a simple example : A
home built in the 1970’s may have had 12 circuits to service the entire
house. Typically a circuit would be run
to serve outlets, or maybe a fixed appliance in the kitchen or utility
room. At that time bedrooms would be
rated to have a clock radio and a ceiling light fixture as average load. In the event new loads ( i.e. appliances or
stereos multiple televisions) are introduced to the circuitry, now the circuit
is being asked to deliver more amps than it was originally designed for , thus
the possibility of tripping a circuit breaker, blowing a fuse, or overheating
the wiring in the walls. As home
electrical demands increased, circuit breakers were introduced into home
electrical systems that interrupt the flow of electrical current when a circuit
becomes overloaded with more amp demand than the circuit can handle.
Increasing
home amp capacity is a result of Americans becoming more and more power
hungry. For example, average homes today are wired with 30 to 40 circuits
. Even a modern air conditioning system will consume more
power than an entire home did 30 years ago.
Many kitchens are now wired with over 15 circuits, which is more than an
entire house 30 years ago! That modern
kitchen now needs circuits capable of
supplying more than 60 amps of demand as we have introduced microwaves, coffee
machines, undercounter lights, subzero refrigerators and more. Yet as this demand has increased, many people
have not thought about increasing the capacity of their home’s electrical
panel.
“Many
people fill their homes with the latest electronics, such as computers, massive
televisions, and high-tech stereos," said Tim
Emsley, owner of Bel-Red Electric. "Yet these same people often have an
old, outdated electrical panel! They’re
plugging in thousands of dollars worth of electronics into a panel that may not
be able to safely serve and protect them.
It’s a potential disaster waiting to happen!”
A
common sign that a home is drawing more electricity than its system can safely
distribute is frequent circuit breaker trips or flickering lights.
“At Bel-Red
Electric, during National Electrical Safety Month (May), I’m offering all
homeowners 50 percent discount on electrical safety inspections," Emsley
said. "One of my highly trained
technicians will conduct a multi-point check of every room in your home, as
well as give your electrical panel a complete diagnostic. This service normally
costs $197, but we’re doing it for HALF PRICE to raise awareness of electrical
safety. Having an outdated or inadequate
electrical panel is a big concern and we want to alert as many people as
possible to the problem and its solution.”
For more
information on Bel-Red Electric, visit www.belredelectric.com and to schedule a electrical safety
inspection, call 425-883-7178.
