3 Electrical Services Upgrades You May Need

As technology evolves, our standards for household electrical systems also evolve. While your home might have featured a state-of-the-art electrical system when it was constructed, there may now be several electrical service upgrades that you might want to consider. Outdated electrical systems can be dangerous, and the following upgrades ensure that your home is as safe as possible.

1. Knob & Tube Replacement
If you live in a home built prior to about 1955, you probably have knob and tube wiring. While that was perfectly adequate in 1915, 1930 or 1945, today’s homeowner uses far more power than these old systems can handle. This type of wiring, which is found in many older Toronto homes, can be quite dangerous, and truly needs to be upgraded to a modern system that can handle all of the appliances, televisions, computers, phone charging and other devices that require electricity.

2. Electrical Panels
Every house includes one or more electrical panels, and this is the control center of your entire electrical system. If you notice circuits tripping constantly and lights blinking or flashing, it might be time to upgrade your electrical panel. If your home still uses fuses instead of circuit breakers, this is also an indication that you need to upgrade the system. Fuse-based systems can be a fire hazard, and they simply aren’t able to handle the number of items modern homeowners plug into outlets. If you are installing new appliances that have never before been used in your house, such as a second air conditioning system or a whirlpool tub, you also might need more amps and this requires a panel upgrade. Your electrical panel needs to be able to handle the energy used in your home, and we can provide you with a new panel that suits your needs now and in the foreseeable future.

3. Outlet Improvements
Do have outlets that provide no power? Do you have cracked outlets? Do your outlets sometimes feel warm? Are your outlets more than 25 years old? If you answered yes to any of these questions, it’s probably time to contact us for electrical services in Toronto.

With a dead outlet, we recommend that the homeowner check the area to see if other outlets or lights are not working as this could simply be a tripped circuit. This also can occur if a GFCI outlet has been tripped, so if one of these outlets is on the same circuit, reset this outlet first to see if that is the issue. A dead outlet also might not work because it was not installed correctly or perhaps there is a poor connection. For these latter issues, it is wise (and safest) to call a professional electrician to fix the problem.

Cracked outlets or displaced outlets, which can occur as a house settles over time, also should be repaired. Dust can get into these cracks or open spaces, and this dust actually can cause a fire.

Warm outlets indicate that the outlet cannot handle the electrical load. In some cases, it might simply be that you’ve plugged in a device such as a phone charger or you have too many items plugged into the outlet. Unplug everything wait for a few hours, and then touch the outlet to see if it is cool. If it’s cooled down, it’s probably not the outlet, but what you plugged into it that is causing the issue. To check further, plug in something simple, such as a small lamp and see if the outlet still becomes warm. If it does, then it is time to call and request our electrical services in Toronto. We can fix the outlet and even add additional outlets to your home so that you don’t have to plug so many items into one single outlet.

If your home is more than 20 years old, you might want to simply consider upgrading many of the outlets in your home. We can add the latest outlets, including outlets with USB chargers, multi-port connections, dimmers and much more. Technology has changed drastically in the last 20 years, and your outlets need to move with the times.

We recommend that you opt for professional electrical service upgrades for all of these aforementioned electrical services in Toronto. Electrical projects can be dangerous, and many house fires and injures are caused each year by do-it-yourself repairs. In the end, you will save time, money and ensure safety by contacting a professional. If you need any electrical service upgrades, don’t hesitate to give the team Tesla Electric a call today.