In our modern world, every home is outfitted with at least one electrical panel. Electrical panels are what let electricity flow throughout the various circuits in your home’s walls. As a homeowner, it’s a good idea to have a basic understanding of how your home’s electrical panel works and its various components.
WHAT IS AN ELECTRICAL PANEL?
Your home’s electrical panel plays a vital role in your home’s overall electrical system. It operates as the central hub for taking power from outside your home, more specifically from the power lines, and dispersing it to the various circuits inside your home. You may hear an electrical panel box referred to as a breaker box, a service panel, a distribution board, or even a load center.
These all refer to the exact same electrical box found inside your home. Homes that have a full basement will typically have the electrical panel positioned on one of the basement walls. If you only have a crawl space or a slab foundation, then your electrical panel box will be installed on one of the walls on the first level of your home (potentially outside). In most cases, it’ll be a matte gray color, though it may be different in order to match your home’s color scheme. Typically, panel boxes are placed in areas that are away from the main areas of your home.
THE MAIN COMPONENTS
When you first peer into your electrical panel box, you might see a ton of different wires running in all different directions. Each one of these wires will be connected to a circuit that runs throughout the walls of your home to your various outlets and light fixtures. Typically, each circuit will have three to four wires attached to it and control a limited number of devices in your home. Each set of wires will be connected to a breaker switch. In cases where you don’t see wires, chances are they’re hidden by a metal panel, so you’ll only see those switches.
Known as circuit breakers, these small components have a toggle switch that can turn an individual circuit on and off. Each circuit breaker will also have a built-in safety mechanism that will turn the breaker off if too much power is provided to the circuit. Ideally, each circuit breaker in your electrical panel box should be labeled with the exact circuit it controls.
Apart from all the toggle switch circuit breakers, there’s going to be another main switch positioned at either the top or the bottom of the electrical panel box. This main switch is responsible for controlling all the power that comes into your home from the outside power lines. If you turn the main switch off, it will kill the power to all the different circuits throughout your home.
THE ROLE OF AN ELECTRICAL PANEL BOX
Your electrical panel box has two main roles that it provides for your household. First and foremost, it provides a location for outside power to enter your home and be distributed to the different devices and outlets throughout your home. The second job of your electrical panel box is to protect against overloads and short circuits.
An overload can occur when there are too many devices attached to one of your circuits. Each circuit has a set limit for operating at a safe capacity. If you go over this limit, you will experience an overload in your system. A short circuit occurs when one of the hot wires carrying the electrical current comes into contact with a neutral wire.
Whenever an overload or short circuit occurs, there’s going to be a sudden rise in the electrical current going through the wires. This can generate a massive amount of heat that can potentially lead to a fire. The circuit breakers inside your electrical panel box are specifically designed to shut off whenever an overload or short circuit is detected to help stop the flow of electricity immediately. Essentially, the breakers are the first line of electrical fire prevention. While electrical fires can still happen with a good electrical panel, the panel helps protect your home and keep electricity flowing properly.
CIRCUIT BREAKERS
Each circuit breaker that is installed inside your electrical panel box is responsible for one circuit. This circuit may be running the lights in your upstairs bedroom or running the power outlets in your downstairs bathroom.
When you closely examine the circuit breaker, you’ll notice that it will have three positions that the toggle switch can be at. These include on, off, and tripped. When the circuit breaker is in the on position, it provides consistent power to whatever devices or outlets are attached to that particular circuit. When the circuit breaker is in the off position, it stops power from going throughout the circuit. This is particularly helpful for situations when you need to have repairs done to the devices or outlets attached to a particular circuit. The circuit can be shut off at the breaker and safely worked on.
From time to time, one of your circuit breakers may be put into the trip position. This is in between the on and off positions. When this happens, it’s the result of the circuit experiencing an overload or short circuit. It’s imperative that you check all the devices that are plugged into that particular circuit. If you notice that it’s tripped, you may have a faulty appliance, or you may have too many items plugged into that circuit and running at the same time. Make sure that you remedy the problem before you turn the circuit breaker back to its on position.
TOP INDICATORS YOUR ELECTRICAL PANEL NEEDS AN UPGRADE
Over time, your electrical panel box can become outdated and need to be upgraded by a licensed professional. There are a few key things that should indicate your electrical panel box may need to be upgraded.
FREQUENT BREAKER TRIPS
One of the most obvious indicators that your panel box needs to be upgraded is that you’re having constant circuit breaker trips. With the numerous devices that we utilize inside our homes today, many of the older electrical panel boxes simply don’t have enough electricity for our current needs.
IT HAS FUSES
If you have a fairly older home, you may find fuses instead of breakers when you open up your electrical panel box. Fuses were the original technology utilized for controlling each circuit. However, as technology has improved, circuit breakers have replaced the position of fuses.
FLICKERING LIGHTS
Another key indicator that you may need to upgrade your electrical panel is that you have lights that are constantly flickering. If you’ve checked to ensure that the bulb is not the issue, then it’s likely your panel box just doesn’t have enough power going to it to supply your lights with all the power they need.
CALL IN THE PROS TODAY
While we rely on electricity every day to do multiple things, it can also be very dangerous when not handled appropriately. Fortunately, when you give Garrett Mechanical in Marietta, GA a call, we can assist you with all your household electrical needs. We also offer various plumbing, heating, cooling, and generator services. Be sure to call us today, and we’ll get a licensed electrician on the way to you.
