Front Range Electric

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5 Reasons You Need to Replace Your Electrical Panel

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Welcome back to Front Range Electric’s blog! It’s easy to forget about your electrical panel. It’s something that functions in the background as we go about our daily lives in our homes and, if you aren’t the home improvement type or an electrician, then you may have little idea how the electrical system of your Colorado Springs home works. If you live in an older home that was built around the early 1900s up until the 1950s, you may want to take a good look at the type of electrical panel you have. Knob and tube wiring and electrical panels were popular during the early 1900s and, though at the time it was the best technology that the electrical industry had to offer, with today’s electrical needs and with the dangers this system posed, it is best to update your electrical panel.

5 Dangers of Knob & Tube Wiring

Your electrical panel is the place where your home’s electrical system connects with the city’s supply and, in basic terms, acts as a gate, keeping issues that the city may be experiencing from causing damage to your home’s system. If you haven’t had a problem with your system you may think that your “old school” electrical panel is just fine. However, leaving your knob and tube panel in place is a violation of electrical codes, uninsurable, and quite dangerous.

Two Stranded

Knob and tube wiring is two stranded, meaning that there is no grounding wire: older systems only have a hot wire and neutral wire. Not having a grounding wire can result in shocks and fires, as well as damage to your appliances.

Deterioration of Insulation

Because the technology of the knob and tube electrical panels uses older technology, the wiring sheathing disintegrates more easily than its more modern counterparts resulting in the risk of electrical fire and other damage to your electrical system.

Overused Wiring

In knob and tube panels, the wiring is fused with 15 amps, but the system itself uses 60 amps. This means more current is flowing through the wiring and could result in an electrical fire or, at the very least, excessive heat resulting damage to your system and other building materials.

Exposed Wiring

Because of the wiring overuse described above and that older systems wiring isn’t meant to handle as much current as it is carrying, the insulation of the wiring becomes brittle and disintegrates, leaving your wires exposed. Exposed wires are dangerous and can cause fires.

Increased Risk of Shock

We have all see those tags on our hairdryers and thought how silly it would be to use our hair dryer in the bathtub. However, just because you aren’t starting your morning routine while having a soak in the bathtub doesn’t mean you’re not at risk. Knob and tube wiring uses two-prong receptacles and — because there is no ground wire — your risk for shock simply from using your hairdryer or small kitchen appliances — near the bathtub or sink — increases.

Need to Replace Your Electrical Panel?

Get your knob and tube electrical panel out of your home and out of your life to avoid the dramas and dangers that this system brings. Front Range Electric can help you replace and install your new electrical panel so you can go about your daily life with peace of mind. Call our team of experienced electricians in Colorado Springs today or visit our website to learn more about Colorado Spring’s Top Rated Local® Contractors!